“Do you think she was a nicer teacher before she married Mr. Fiehl? Like, she was reasonable and then once she married a guy whose surname is pronounced like ‘fail,’ she figured she had to live up to it. I wonder if her maiden name is Pass.”

“Ha!” Marian exclaims. She sits up with a clap. “So it’s my turn. What topic to pick, what to pick …” She taps her chin, but it’s pretty clear she knows exactly what she’s going to ask. And that I probably won’t like it. Usually I can spot a Gleason trap a mile away. Not this time. “Oh, I know! Neil! As in, thoughts regarding Neil.”

I internally beg my face to not betray me by turning crimson, although I know it’ll be a lost cause. Of course Marian would’ve figured out that there’s something going on. Or not going on. It’s hard to keep anything from her. It isn’t like I don’t want to talk about it, but she used to take baths with him as a kid. I doubt she wants to hear about her best friend thinking about him in such non-innocent ways.

“Okay,” I say as my mind races to think of things to say about Neil. It’s pretty easy: he’s sweet, he makes butterflies swirl in my stomach, his forehead crinkles in this swoony way when he’s concentrating on something. But what can I say about him to Marian? “He’s currently my favorite Gleason,” I start, even though I’m not sure whether that’s a truth or lie at this point.

“Hey!” Marian says. “I’m just going to stop you right there because I know for a fact that’s a lie.”

I feel relieved for only a split second, because there’s no way she’s going to let me off that easy.

“Anyway, I really want to do this. Ready?” she asks, and I’m not sure if I am. “He refuses to eat green M&M’S, he’s bungee jumping this summer, and he’s going to ask someone out this week.”

My heart plunges at the last one. Do I want that to be a truth or a lie? I know that there’s something about his older brother telling him as a kid that green candy was snot-flavored, so I think the green thing might be true. The Gleasons and their hang-ups on candy. Neil isn’t the bungee-jumping type, but his family does like to dare one another. “The lie is asking someone out?”

I realize I’m holding my breath as Marian studies me. “Do you really think that boy is going to jump from anything while tethered by his ankles?”

“Well, your family loves its crazy bets,” I reason.