Every day at lunch I settle in at the library, planning as if I’ll be alone like always, trying to tamp down the spark of excitement that Zoe might show up. And somehow, every day she does, and fans that spark into a flame. We mix our lunches up and make asymmetrical multicolored messes of questionable but entertaining flavor profiles. We dip randomly shaped chunks of granola bars into hummus and pour ranch dressing on peanut butter and jelly. It’s disgusting. It’s hilarious. And it makes my heart feel like a fucking supernova.

When we aren’t together, the world between us continues to build, and the fairy tale I’ve written for her takes on a life of its own. We both have study hall last period on Thursday, and I use the time to tell the next part of her tale.

Me: *sneaks out of study hall, flees through the door in the sky, and beckons you to follow* *enters teleportation turret of castle to pick up where our quest for the key to the kingdom left off*

Zoe: *races after you*

My breath still catches every time she comes after me.

Me: *activates hyperdrive* *crash-lands in a dark and tangled forest, noticing that objects grow on the trees* *gets snagged on a weeping willow that grows fish hooks instead of leaves*

Zoe: *carefully extricates your ponytail*

I blush thinking about what it would be like if she touched my hair in real life. I’d probably implode. The first quest I set for her is to find the key to a kingdom, so we need a locked door . . .

Me: *finds a trail that leads toward a wall over which the turrets of a castle peek in the distance*

Zoe: Could this be the kingdom we’ve been searching for? *edges along the wall looking for an entrance*

Me: *tugs on ornate gate of metal and glass sealed with a rusting lock, but it doesn’t budge* *presses ear to the keyhole but hears only the whistling of the wind*

Zoe: *notes that its tone is a G* We need to find the key!

Me: *hurries back into the forest* *passes trees growing hacksaws, light bulbs, trowels, washcloths, and single-ply toilet paper* *scurries under the canopy of one blooming with glass chimes, another of bells, then stops under a third covered with keys tinkling against each other in the breeze*

Zoe: *notices that most of the tones are B-flats or E-flats*

Me: *tries to sing an E-flat but ends up sounding more like a Z-sharp* *gets clobbered on the head by a tiny silver key that also sounds like a Z-sharp but is clearly the wrong one for the gate we are trying to open* *hopes you can match the pitch of the wind on the other side of the gate*

Zoe: *sings a G*

Me: !!! *catches a gleaming glass key just the right size*