I can see her brain doing somersaults, and honestly I can’t blame her. I know that gender is fluid and that there’s more than just male and female, but the actual reality of how Hannah and I fit into all this is . . . a little hard to define, especially for a small town.

“Let me start again,” says Mrs. Leonard. “Each king nominee will be paired with a queen nominee to complete a project, which you will both work on together.”

Callie groans. “A group project? Really? We can’t even choose our partners?”

“Yes, a group project,” confirms Mrs. Leonard. “And partners will be randomly chosen. Now, obviously this does not mean you’ll each be running for king and queen as a duo, but you will work together. Staff appreciation is a project you’ll complete as a thank-you to the staff on behalf of the graduating class. We’ve had breakfasts in the past. Car washes were another popular idea. Be creative. Your legacy project is a campus improvement you do on behalf of your class as a gift to underclassmen and future students.”

“Like a construction project?” asks Bryce Dooley with disgust in his voice.

“What’s wrong with construction work?” I ask. My dad might be the boss of his own company now, but not too long ago, he was working on other people’s construction crews under the hot beating sun, and he still spends lots of time out there with his crew.

Bryce turns around. “I’m not really a fan of getting my hands dirty.”

I roll my eyes. “And people call me a queen.”

“All right, all right,” says Mrs. Leonard. “Quiet down. The legacy project can be a physical gift, like planting a garden. But it doesn’t have to be. It can also be something that changes the culture on campus.”

“Like what?” Mitch asks.

“Starting a new club or tradition. One year, a cheerleader wrote a new cheer.”

“How groundbreaking,” says Melissa, and Callie laughs.

Mrs. Leonard takes two mixing bowls around the room and has the queen nominees pick from a bowl.

Callie reaches her hand into the bowl and holds her breath. Admittedly the stakes are high for Callie. Not only is Bryce, her ex-boyfriend, nominated, but so is her current boyfriend. She cringes as she reaches into the bowl and mutters a few prayers under her breath. Carefully, she unfolds her paper and sighs with relief as she sinks against Mitch’s shoulder.

“You sure this isn’t rigged?” asks Bryce.

Next up is Bekah. She unfolds her paper and reads, “Hannah.”

She turns around and smiles, and Hannah gives her a thumbs-up.

Next is my turn. Either way you slice it, this sucks. Bryce or Tucker. Both are my own personal nightmare fuel, but at least Bryce doesn’t pretend to be anything he’s not.