‘What about the dorms? I mean, single-sex dorms, boys or girls. It’s so, like … gender-binary. Can we talk to the school about that?’

That suggestion came from Sarah – or was it Sophia? I made a hurried note in the margins: Sarah = baby bangs. Sophia = good eyebrows.

Mary Kate reached over and, with her red pen, corrected it with a double-sided arrow.

‘What about an LGBTQI-plus Alliance?’ asked Black Nail Polish. ‘Do we seriously not have one?’

Ms Chan answered, ‘St Mary’s always said they couldn’t have an official club for gay students because it’s a Catholic school.’

‘Yeah,’ Sophia – it was Sophia – replied, ‘but isn’t everything different now? The Toothless Beast is here and he’s gay. And I know St Mary’s is really into being Catholic … but they’re really, really into hockey.’

Everyone nodded in agreement and one of the Rowers rolled her eyes and muttered, ‘No kidding.’

I jotted a quick note: Learn the Rowers’ names, too.

Katie Casey’s sweet voice rang out. ‘What about you, Alex? Have you thought of anything?’

‘Actually …’

I looked around the room – at Maggie, who gave me another shy smile; at Preeti, my freshman buddy; at Ms Chan and her funky ear piercings; at the Rowers. One of them was twirling the end of her braid nervously; the other had a cute spray of freckles across her nose that I’d never noticed. They didn’t look so scary now.

‘This semester, we tried – and failed – to put on The Vagina Monologues,’ I said. ‘Most people were totally against it. But some people supported it. And what I learned from that is that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Or a virgin by their crucifix. Or a feminist by their purple fauxhawk. Or a hockey player by their … bloody gums. Even in a place like this, people have stuff going on underneath that you have no idea about, ya know?

‘We’ve all got stories. We’ve all got voices. So let’s tell our stories in our voices. We’ll write our own play. Like … The St Mary’s Monologues: Sex, Love and the Lack Thereof. Ooh, that’s good! I just came up with that.’

‘I think that’s an awesome idea, Alex!’ Katie Casey said. ‘And I know a whole bunch of Save Your Heart girls who will totally do it, too.’

‘Can I still wear a black turtleneck and hide backstage?’ Robbie Schmidt asked.

I said yes, and everyone around the table seemed to be nodding in agreement. Then one clear, decisive voice said, ‘No.’