LOVELORN

37|Encounters & reminiscing

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ON MONDAY, following a week of being cooped up at home, I returned to school. The entirety of the night I'd been tossing and turning, unable to get more than a wink of sleep.

When I woke up, I put on more makeup than I usually wore to school, in an attempt to cover up my eyebags. After taking far too long to choose an outfit, I rushed downstairs to eat something before I left, finding my dad already in the kitchen. He'd made me a plate of waffles covered in berries and syrup. My mood lifted a little.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

"Good morning, Dad. Thank you for the waffles. You didn't have to."

I sat down to eat and he came from behind me, giving me a kiss on my head. "No, I didn't. But I wanted to. How are you feeling about today?"

I exhaled shakily. "Nervous. I don't know what people will say."

"People will talk even if it's not their business," he said, going to pour some coffee into a mug, and then handing it to me. "Here, you look exhausted."

I smiled. "You're the best, thank you."

"You got Naya and your other friends to back you up though, don't you?"

Thinking about Naya expanded my smile. I thought back to the late-night, or rather early morning, conversation we'd had the other day. Naya had told me I'd been the third person she told, after Caio and Mai. It made sense, given the fact that they were both gay, so I imagined telling them was easier compared to her straight best friend. I wished it would have happened on her own terms, but it wasn't like I'd known she'd been in there making out with Harper. She was objectively pretty, so I suppose I understood why she'd kissed her.

Her never speaking about boys made a lot more sense now. I'd been assuming the wrong gender for her. No wonder I'd never seen her interested in someone.

"Yeah, I do," I said as I ate, a little quicker than I would have preferred as I needed to leave in ten minutes.

"Are you and Naya back on good terms?"

I hesitated. "It's complicated."

"It always is with teens, isn't it?"

I chuckled. "That's such an old man thing to say."

He looked absurdly offended. "I am in my early forties, that is hardly old!"

"Whatever makes you feel better, old man."

My dad shook his head, muttering something under his breath that I didn't catch, though I could bet he was insulting me. When I saw the time on the clock behind him, I quickly scarfed down my food, gave my dad a kiss on the cheek, and rushed out the door with another thanks for the food and an 'I love you.'

I made it to my first class right on time. Some people sent me looks, but no one said anything as I took my usual seat beside Naya. Her hand enveloped mine to give it an encouraging squeeze. Disappointingly, she let go of my hand after that. We weren't back to normal, but I was hoping I could regain her trust.