Ouch. “Wow, okay. Even the school player thinks I’m an uncool, immature little girl. Good to know.”

“Evie, that’s not—”

“I just bought you condoms, Matt. Not even just you! Condoms for everybody!” I kick the leg of Salem’s bed, wishing it were Lucas’s face, and immediately regret it when my toe throbs in response.

“Okay, I’m going to guess that whatever’s going on here isn’t about me, and since my roommate’s not here to translate, I’m just gonna say thank you for these and ask if you wanna talk about whatever bug is up your butt.”

It’s stupid in the grand scheme of things, I know. Lucas and I didn’t exactly do anything earth-shattering, and Heather and I aren’t best friends. But still, holding back on her feels like doing exactly what I flipped out at Claire for doing, and the combo of guilt and hypocrisy is a hard pill to swallow.

“You ever … wish you could make someone see what you see, and know what you know, but you … can’t?”

Matt narrows his eyes at me. “You’re joking, right?”

“What?”

He sighs. “Yes, Evie. I know this phenomenon very well.”

“Yeah, well, there’s that, and some drama from home, and I think I’m just gonna go take a nap and ignore the outside world for a while.” I head out, but pause to catch my hand on the doorframe. “Enjoy the gingerbread.”

For the rest of the week, I throw myself into the talent show, practicing my cardistry, finalizing outfits with Isabel, and watching videos of other people performing so I can practice gestures and facial expressions in the mirror, like the natural I am.

By the time the event actually arrives, I never want to do a card trick again. But I know I’m not the only one who’s been practicing to death; I feel like I’ve already seen and heard everything that’ll be happening tonight. Darryl and Jason from upstairs have been rapping in the halls, Kayla’s been singing under her breath all week, Henry from a few doors down has been getting us all way too well acquainted with his clarinet, the cheerleaders have been jumping all over the quad, and oh my God why are there so many jugglers?

I text Sabrina on my way out so we can walk together, and she confirms that she and Heather are heading out the door now and will meet me out front. Seeing Heather isn’t exactly helping my nerves tonight, and it makes me queasy to see her being extra cheerful and bouncy in her enthusiasm about performing. If I didn’t know she was getting some, I would absolutely know she was getting some.