He lives alone and claims his cooking abilities don’t extend beyond the use of an electric can opener to open up Hormel chili. He wants to try a vegan diet because he also thinks he’s lactose intolerant. Poor, sweet Raj. If he was younger, he’d be perfect for Parisa. She always goes for the sensitive, artsy, writer types like Gideon, but I think someone like Raj would make her so much happier. Stable, kind, lacking any form of pretense. It’s too bad he could be anywhere between the ages of twenty-five and forty-five. He either looks great or terrible for his age.

I take a break from my sketch and direct my attention to Mr. Holcomb’s face for a few minutes, so I can make it seem as if I’m paying attention, but then I let my gaze drift to Wes. His hair has grown out a bit since lockdown, and he’s actually sporting some stubble. And when you can only see him from the chest up, it’s easy to forget that he’s all long limbs and loose, gangly bones. I feel like if we ever had sex, I’d probably get bruises from being pressed up against his knobby joints. I hear Parisa’s voice in my head. Timothée Chalamet is tall and skinny, too, she’d probably say, and you would definitely sleep with him. Correct. The truth is, I’m not nearly as indifferent to Wes as I pretend to be around Parisa. In fact, I think he’s pretty wonderful. Maybe that’s why it’s hard for me to entertain the idea of dating him. It’s not because the feelings aren’t there; it’s because they are, which makes me terrified of ever hurting him.

“How’s it going?” I hear Elena whisper from behind me.

She’s being careful to stand out of the frame of my video. Raj let us do a practice Zoom with him when he gave me the laptop, so he could show me how to use the Mute and Stop Video functions. He’s basically my new, middle-aged best friend.

“Fine, Mom,” I tell her. “It’s going really well.”

She asks if I can stop the video for a second. I’m not sure if that’s against the rules, but I decide to indulge her. I turn around in my seat.

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. I’m just really happy that you’re liking school right now.”

“Me too.”

She puts her hand on my shoulder, then just as quickly moves it away.

“Gabriela, I love you so much.”