I don’t rush to get up, not like I once might have. I try to hold Paige’s stare as I walk slowly around, behind the counter. Dee and the others are watching, their cards still in their hands.

“Yes?” I say, matching her bitch for bitch.

Breanne gives me a cool smile and orders a chocolate dip. I say nothing and turn around to make it.

“Nice hairnet,” I hear Paige mutter, my back to her. Breanne snickers. My shoulders tense, but I keep moving the soft serve into a spiral. There is a lump in my throat, and I blink a few times. Keep it together. When I’m done, the chocolate dip drying, swirled to perfection, I turn and hand it to Breanne. Paige stares at me, challenging. Something hard in her expression. It hits me right in the gut.

Breanne looks at her cone. She turns it back and forth, evaluating the swirly top. Then she looks over her shoulder at Dee, Michelle, Antar, and Ava, and says, “Hey! This looks familiar! It’s you, Antar!”

There is a shocked silence. Paige looks at me, her face faltering for a moment.

“Seriously?” I say to her. “Why are you friends with her?” I point at Breanne, feeling bold and furious, fearless outrage coursing through my veins.

Breanne looks at Paige, and there is a moment, and then Paige laughs, a hard bark of a laugh, like she’s forcing it. Then she takes Breanne’s cone and shakes it back and forth like it’s talking. She puts on a voice like Apu from The Simpsons and says, “Thank you, come again.”

Breanne covers her mouth in that way of hers, all shocked laughter. Paige shrugs. Breanne tosses a few coins on the counter, and they walk to the door. Getting into the spirit, she looks at Antar as she takes a bite out of the ice cream, grinning savagely. The door chimes.

“Bitches,” says Dee immediately.

Jesse puts his hand on Antar’s shoulder and asks if he’s okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine. They’re idiots, whatever.” His mouth is set in a straight line, and he’s looking out the window. “Hey,” he calls to me, “can we get some more fries? I am starving all of a sudden.”

Later, Dee and I walk toward my house.

“I can’t believe them,” I say, clenching my fists.

“I told you. Paige is no better. She is completely evil,” Dee agrees.

“But no, see, she didn’t used to be. Like, I felt like there was some good in her, even after everything. I always thought she just got swept along by Breanne. But now? I cannot.” I pause, shaking my head. “We should do something, you know?”

“Well, sure.” Dee smiles.

“People should know that she’s, like, a racist bitch. Just as bad as Breanne.”

Dee glances at me and smiles. “Yeah.”

“What should we do?”