When I came out, I saw that her face was white and she hugged me. We went outside where it was cool and it made the hotness on my face feel better. We waited for Evelyn’s mother to pick her up and Evelyn and Leah talked more about the movie, but their sentences were short and choppy and when they talked they looked down at the ground. I tucked myself into Leah and she rubbed my arms up and down like it was freezing outside, even though it wasn’t, and we waited until Evelyn’s mother came and she got in and they drove off.

When we got into the car, Leah helped me with my seat belt. I was shaking and she turned the heat on high until it got very warm. Finally, it was quiet and all I heard was the sound of our tires rolling over the pavement and Leah crying. She made a funny noise and said, “Franny, when I am with you, I remember the person that I was before. The person I am supposed to be.”

I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t know what she meant. I went into my pocket and uncurled the top of the popcorn bag and stuck my hand inside. It was cold and greasy, but I managed to get one out. It felt stiff in my fingers, like a piece of Styrofoam and I couldn’t imagine eating it. But then I thought about Leah and how I had made her cry and before the flapping in my stomach could start again, I shoved one into my mouth. I only bit it once before I heard a loud crunch that rumbled in my ear and sent slivers of pain into my forehead. It scratched the roof of my mouth and before I could swallow, a little piece got stuck in my tooth. It was hard as stone and after I pried it loose, I swallowed it.

My eyes filled with tears and I didn’t know if I was crying because of the popcorn or just because. The traffic light turned red and, when I looked outside, I saw that we were stopped in front of a park. I wiped my nose with the back of my sleeve and watched perfect little girls with perfectly bouncing ponytails circle the baseball field in their perfect pink bicycles. I couldn’t take my eyes off them, but then the light turned green and Leah sped off, the sound of bicycle bells ringing in my ears.