“This sucks, doesn’t it?” I hear a voice yell out. I look up to find Lizzy Pearson lounging on her balcony with her iPad on her lap.

“Yeah,” I manage to reply.

“It’s Parisa, right?” She mispronounces it, but I don’t bother correcting her.

“Yup. Lizzy, right?”

She laughs. Everyone knows her name.

“Yeah, it’s Lizzy. I think you used to be friends with my boyfriend.”

Used to be.

“Yeah,” I say.

“Cool,” Lizzy says. “I like your pajamas.”

They’re actually Neda’s. Millennial pink with tiny white stars all over them.

“Thanks!” I blurt out, a bit too enthusiastically.

“Anyway. See you around.”

She walks back inside her bedroom. We’ve lived across the street from each other since the beginning of high school, and this is the first time we’ve ever spoken. I wish Gabriela was here to tell me not to read into it. I wish she was here to remind me that anyone, even Lizzy Pearson, can be nice.

WINTER

Gabriela

Merry Effing Christmas.

Parisa

Right back at you, Ebenezer.

Gabriela

Sorry, but is there anything to actually be merry about?

Parisa

We’re alive?

Gabriela

#Perspective.

How was your Xmas? Ours was meh, TBH.

Parisa

Same. My parents had a work emergency, so we opened presents by ourselves.

Gabriela

We didn’t have presents.

Parisa

You win.

Gabriela

Parisa, I have to tell you something. There is no Santa Claus.

Parisa

WHAT? Then whose elves built us a Peloton?!

Yes, you read that right, my mom got me a Peloton. It’s like, I get it. I’ve gained weight during quarantine. Geez.

Gabriela

The adults have all lost their minds. You should have heard Elena go on a wild tirade when she saw all the long lines at the airports on the news. I’ve never heard her drop so many F bombs. But like, WHYYYYYYY are people traveling in a pandemic???

Parisa

I don’t know. I feel so at peace knowing I don’t have to get on an airplane anytime soon.

Gabriela

This might sound really selfish, but I felt at peace thinking that maybe this year my entire extended family wasn’t celebrating the holidays without us.

Parisa

Unless they think Adema is a hoax.

Gabriela

Ugh. They probably do. They are awful people and I’m glad they’re not in my life at all. Thrilled! Psyched! I. Dodged. A. Bullet.

Do you think they even think about Julia and Elena on holidays now?

Parisa

How could they not? They’d have to be sociopaths.

Gabriela

Es posible.

I tried to play some Spanish holiday music today, and Julia turned it off and whispered that it was very triggering.

Hello, everything is triggering.

Parisa

Did you tell her that?

Gabriela

Of course not.

Okay, don’t freak out, but the day wasn’t completely blah and uneventful.

Parisa

Because Wesley stopped by? LOL.

Gabriela