“Really?” Lex says, her dark eyebrows shooting upward. She whips her phone out of her jeans pocket dramatically and clears her throat. “ ‘Wish my hair was as perfect as Ana’s,’ ” she reads. “ ‘Thank god Ana helped me with this choreo.’ ” She scrolls down and continues reading my texts aloud. I shrink further into myself with every word she reads. “ ‘Ana called Ms. Mooney the human equivalent of a meerkat and I’m literally peeing myself laughing.’ ” A snort escapes her. “And then you just kept sending me photos of bad drawings she’s done . . .” She pauses and glances up at me, her finger still pressed to the screen. “Do I need to keep going? Trust me, I can.”

“No,” I mumble.

“I stalked her online to find out if she’s gay,” Lex says, her lips curling into a catlike smile. “I mean, if you’re totally sure that you’re not interested in her at all, I won’t tell you what I found . . .”

I purse my lips in annoyance. I don’t like Ana. We were enemies up until two weeks ago. Sure, we get along, and I guess I talk about her a lot. But I would know if I liked her. Still, I am curious. “Tell me what you found,” I say reluctantly.

Lex immediately looks so smug that I want to take back my words. “Well, there wasn’t anything obvious on her WizConnect or Insta,” Lex says. “She mostly retweets dance stuff on Twitter, but I did find her retweeting some stuff about Miranda Martinez.”

“Who?”

“Iconic Latina actress,” Lex says. “She’s bi.”

“Okay,” I say slowly. That seems like a weak link to hang an argument that Ana’s gay on, but it’s not nothing.

“But wait!” Lex says, throwing her hands in the air. “Then I found her Finsta.”

“Oh, you went deep,” I say admiringly.

She flips her ponytail over her shoulder and preens. “Thanks.” She leans toward me, lowering her voice for dramatic effect. “Her bio has pink, purple, and blue hearts in it. Like, all in a row.”

“Okay?” I say, not picking up what she’s putting down.

“Like the bi flag!” Lex slams her hands against the prep table.

“Oh,” I say, a little thrill running through me. I don’t like her, but it would be nice to have a queer friend. Right now, I’m sorely lacking in that department. I squelch my excitement quickly. “That’s not, like, proof, though.”

“I know,” Lex says sympathetically. “But it’s something. I’ll keep looking. In the meantime, you should make a move tonight.”

“I’m not—I don’t—”

Pilar sails into the room, retying her purple apron behind her back. “The coast is clear, mija.”

“Thanks,” Lex says. She blows me a kiss and bounces away, leaving me behind in the prep room to fuss over our conversation.