“Of course.” Her hands grip the steering wheel. “You hear that, Lydia? She’s been ditching us because she’s busy. Like she’s the only one with shit to do.”

I glance to Lydia for help, but she just stares at her lap. I want to scream, but I settle for pounding the back of Claudia’s seat. She barely flinches.

“What’s wrong with you?” I ask. “I’m trying to talk to you about this.”

“Maybe you could talk to Miles about it. I doubt you’re late when he’s waiting for you.”

“Are you serious?” I want to force her to look at me. “That’s bullshit, Claudia. It’s not about Miles.”

“That’s bullshit,” she says, turning to face me. “We all know it’s about him. All you ever do anymore is talk about him or hang out with him. You don’t call us anymore. You said you were coming to GSA and fucking disappeared. We haven’t had dinner at your house in two weeks, and you haven’t answered any of my texts about scheduling a sleepover. All because you started dating some stupid boy.”

“He’s not stupid.” I hate the way my voice trembles, especially now. Miles doesn’t do anything to her, and she doesn’t deserve to talk shit. “What, are you pissed that I’m dating a boy and not a girl?”

“Simone, come on,” Lydia says, finding her voice. “You know that’s not it.”

“Maybe she doesn’t,” Claudia says, shrugging dramatically. “Maybe she’s so caught up in herself that she thinks she’s somehow oppressed because she’s straight.”

“What if I’m not straight?”

She freezes for a moment. I’m not breathing.

“You can’t just pretend to be queer so that we’ll feel bad for you,” she finally says, mouth turned down in disgust. “Are you fucking serious? You wanna be oppressed so bad that you’re making stuff up?”

“Wait,” Lydia says, holding out a hand. “Claudia, that’s not—”

“Fuck off, Claudia.” My voice is so high that I sound like Christine’s soprano in The Phantom of the Opera. “You never listen to anyone besides yourself. You know what? I am oppressed. I’m black and probably bisexual, but I’ve only had one girlfriend, so I guess it doesn’t matter, right?”

Her eyes are the widest I’ve ever seen them. I watch her mouth twitch open, but nothing comes out.

“Simone,” Lydia says, her voice soft. “Who was it?”

I blink back tears. God, I haven’t told anyone about what really happened with Sarah, and now is the absolute worst way for it to come out. I never told Claudia about it because I assumed she’d be weird. That she would accuse me of lying never crossed my mind.

“Simone.” Claudia’s voice trembles. “I didn’t—”

“Shut up.” My voice is hoarse. “Just shut up.”