One (Sarah Crossan)

The Cafeteria

As we enter the cafeteria,

Yasmeen and Jon

dance around us,

one in front

one behind

so we are not

quite

seen.

Mom, Dad, Dragon, and Grammie

have been doing this for years,

hiding

us

as best they can

from ridicule

and camera phones,

because there’s nothing worse

than a click-click-click

and knowing that in seconds

you’ll be famous via

someone else’s social feed.

We order chipboard pizza,

a Sprite with two straws,

and sit

at a corner table

with Yasmeen and Jon,

talking over

other voices and clinking cutlery,

not about how we live

—the logistics of conjoined pissing—

(which is how I thought the whole day would be)

but about movies

and music

and books

and beer

and the new school year

and the islands of Greece

and coral reefs

and our favourite cereals

and Satan.

We have perfectly silly conversations

and by the time the bell rings

I am starting to wonder—

have we

found ourselves

two friends?