“No, I know.” She laughs. “I know.” We exchange looks and she smiles. “You freak.”

I laugh, relieved.

I wish I’d worn gloves. I stick my hands in my hoodie pockets. Lottie sniffs a few times, then wipes her nose on her sleeve.

“Who was that guy you were talking to last night?” I ask.

“Oh. Um, Luke. He’s a junior. He’s cool.”

“Nice.” I know who he is, and that he’s got a sister in our grade, but not much more. He’s one of those hockey guys. Part of a gang of goons I never thought Lottie would be into. I wonder if she likes him but feel I can’t ask for some reason. Some kind of wall went up when we started hanging out with all of them, and I’m not sure where the door is.

Kajunk kajunk.

“What’s the deal with Breanne?” I ask, feeling my way around for an opening, fumbling for a key.

“What d’you mean?”

“Like, don’t you think she’s mean to Paige?”

Lottie shrugs, flipping her board up into her hand as we arrive at the park. “Not really. She’s all right.”

“No, I know. But I guess she seems kind of bitchy sometimes.”

“Nah, that’s just how she is. She takes some getting used to. You’ll see.”

She gets back on her board and sails down a ramp. I wonder if she’s been getting used to Breanne when I’m not there, and what happens without me.

The park is empty, which is a relief, because we don’t really like showing off how bad we are on the ramps while other kids are doing tricks. Lottie does a couple of easy runs, then comes up to sit with me on the bench at the top of the bowl.

“What’d you do after Paige’s?” I ask her.

“Just went home, why?”

“I dunno,” I say, at a loss.

But the truth is that I do know. We had all been standing around under the streetlamps outside. I had my hands on my handlebars, my legs straddling the bike frame. I was watching Lottie, looking to catch her eye so we could head back into our neighborhood together. She was talking to that Luke guy, and when she finally turned and saw me, she said, “You going?” and I said, “Yeah, you coming?”

“I’ll catch up with you later, K?” she said.

“Okay. Bye!” I called out to everyone, and turned my bike around and rode away alone, because what else could I do?

But at home, I wondered if they had all done something afterward, if I had missed out on something.

Lottie looks out past the park where the highway rumbles.

“What’s going on with you?” I ask, finally.

“Nothing!” she snaps, then softens and sighs. “Sorry. I just have some stuff going on.”