“It’s only because he got that whistle from a claw machine last night and didn’t know what to do with it,” she whispers to me, covering her mouth with a hand. She then glares at him. “Victor, the whistle is so not necessary. You’re going to give us all a migraine.”

Despite her chastising, his childlike excitement doesn’t wane. “Just seeing if it works in case Lari and Pedro start arguing.”

“What if I start arguing with you?” she snaps.

Cintia is on edge today. I catch a glimpse of all the books she’s borrowed from the library—most of them on trig—and the mass of textbooks and study planners peeking from inside her open backpack. Maybe she’s stressing over school?

“Everything alright?” I ask her in a low voice, while Victor is distracted, squinting into the whistle.

She gives me a sheepish smile. “I’m okay. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Any reason in particular?”

“No,” she shakes her head, noticing I caught a glimpse of her study material. “It’s nothing.”

It doesn’t seem like it’s nothing. “Let me know if you want to talk about it.”

“Thank you for offering. I think I’m just overthinking stuff. I’ll be okay,” she says, suddenly busying herself with reorganizing her books so she can get her backpack to zip. I hope I’m not making her feel uncomfortable, so I don’t hover.

I take the chance to pull Victor outside with me. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. That we’re okay,” I say to him.

Never in my life would I have imagined myself standing with a cute boy dressed as a referee in an empty school cafeteria after turning him down at my first date. But the truth is, I don’t have many friends. I don’t want to mess things up with the few I have.

He gives me a genuine smile in response. “Lari, we’re okay,” he says, and I probably make a worried face, because he adds, “I promise you we’re okay.”

I don’t deserve Victor.

“I heard something about you and Pedro arguing after the party...” I begin to say, and he looks a little embarrassed.

“It was nothing,” he says, just like Cintia earlier, so I squint at him skeptically. Victor takes one step back, looking like he’s considering bolting back into the kitchen. “We talked and we’re friends again, so don’t worry.”