BooksBarbecue
Back Nobody in Particular
Chapters (61)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  4. ONE DANNI
  5. TWO ROSE
  6. THREE DANNI
  7. FOUR DANNI
  8. FIVE ROSE
  9. SIX ROSE
  10. SEVEN DANNI
  11. EIGHT ROSE
  12. NINE DANNI
  13. TEN ROSE
  14. ELEVEN ROSE
  15. TWELVE ROSE
  16. THIRTEEN ROSE
  17. FOURTEEN DANNI
  18. FIFTEEN DANNI
  19. SIXTEEN ROSE
  20. SEVENTEEN DANNI
  21. EIGHTEEN ROSE
  22. NINETEEN ROSE
  23. TWENTY DANNI
  24. TWENTY-ONE DANNI
  25. TWENTY-TWO DANNI
  26. TWENTY-THREE ROSE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR ROSE
  28. TWENTY-FIVE DANNI
  29. TWENTY-SIX ROSE
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN DANNI
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT ROSE
  32. TWENTY-NINE ROSE
  33. THIRTY DANNI
  34. THIRTY-ONE DANNI
  35. THIRTY-TWO ROSE
  36. THIRTY-THREE DANNI
  37. THIRTY-FOUR ROSE
  38. THIRTY-FIVE ROSE
  39. THIRTY-SIX DANNI
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN ROSE
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT DANNI
  42. THIRTY-NINE ROSE
  43. FORTY DANNI
  44. FORTY-ONE ROSE
  45. FORTY-TWO DANNI
  46. FORTY-THREE ROSE
  47. FORTY-FOUR DANNI
  48. FORTY-FIVE ROSE
  49. FORTY-SIX ROSE
  50. FORTY-SEVEN DANNI
  51. FORTY-EIGHT ROSE
  52. FORTY-NINE ROSE
  53. FIFTY ROSE
  54. FIFTY-ONE ROSE
  55. FIFTY-TWO DANNI
  56. EPILOGUE ROSE
  57. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  58. Also by Sophie Gonzales
  59. Praise Page
  60. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  61. Newsletter Sign-up

Maybe I will get Molly to put that video up. If two people think it was that good, then I should probably believe them.

Still, I’m nervous. Nervous enough that it takes me hours to fall asleep that night. The memories of being mocked—and the urge not to give people any possible ammunition to use against me—have been stirred up enough that it feels like a present threat instead of just a really shitty thing I went through over a year ago now.

But, I remind myself, that was an entirely different school. At Bramppath, the people who know I exist are decent, and for everyone else, I don’t even register on their radar. I’m nobody to them, for better or worse.

I just have to trust that becoming aware of my existence won’t be enough to put a target on my back. That just knowing me isn’t a good reason to hate me.

Maybe that sort of trust is something that only comes with time, though. Time, and proof. And the only way to get proof is to do something scary like this, and have it be fine.

It’s going to be fine.

TWENTY-TWO DANNI

The next morning, I wake up after four hours’ sleep, ready to face this piano challenge head-on, and discover a huge magenta hickey on my neck.

I take a photo of it and send it to Rose, alongside the message:

Good morning. I fucking hate you.

I try to put concealer on it, but it is extremely obvious, no matter how many layers I put on. I ignore Rose’s texts of apology—no time—while I wipe it off and try again. Then, way too soon, Molly’s knocking on the door to grab me for breakfast.

“Hey, I overslept,” I call out. “I’ll see you in there, okay?”

“Oh,” she says from the other side of the door, probably wondering why I’m not opening it. Unfortunately, I’m too tired to come up with any convincing explanation. “Do you need help?” she asks after a second.

“Nope! I’ll be there in a sec. Save me a seat.”

In the end, I pull up a video tutorial on applying concealer. It’s better, but still pretty obvious. And then I realize it’s too late now either way. I can’t walk into breakfast without getting a chorus of stamping feet, and today of all days, I’d rather go hungry than let that happen.