BooksBarbecue
Back The Henna Wars Save as PDF
Chapters (43)
  1. Cover
  2. TheHennaWars
  3. Copyright Notice
  4. Dedication
  5. Content Warning
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. acknowledgments
  41. about the author
  42. Newsletter Sign-up
  43. Copyright

“Where have you been?” Her voice has that high-pitched quality it always gets when she’s angry. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Sorry … Ms. Grenham wanted to talk to me.” I link my hand through hers and begin to lead us out of the school. The hallways are almost empty now—only the students participating in today’s after-school activity are left behind. “It was useless.”

“They didn’t find the person who did it?” Priti asks, her voice suddenly sounding grave.

“We know who did it,” I say. “And … I think I know how to get back at them.”

“Get back at them …?” she asks slowly. The plan is clicking together in my head slowly. I just need Priti to be on board.

“They outed me to the whole school because of this … henna competition. We can’t just let them get away with it.” The anger I’ve tried to suppress is still throbbing somewhere deep inside of me, growing bigger and bigger with the more weight I give it.

I’m the one who has to go into school every day and face rooms full of people who know something about me that I never told them. Something they had no right to know. Just because I had a crush on the wrong girl. Because I entered into a competition with someone who decided they could appropriate my culture and win.

I can’t let them win.

“Are you sure that it was Flávia?”

“If it wasn’t Flávia, it was Chyna because Flávia told her,” I say. “You can’t give Chyna that kind of information without her spilling it to the whole world. You know the kind of things Chyna does.”

Priti frowns, looking like she’s really considering it. “Does it really mean that much to you, getting back at them?” she asks.

“Why do they get to take away my right to come out, and win a competition with my culture on display?” I ask.

Priti sighs. “Okay … what’s your plan?”

21

THE NEXT MORNING PRITI AND I GET TO SCHOOL WAY earlier than usual, just as the doors are opened. Only a small number of people are in. Priti grumbles something incomprehensible before staggering off to her locker on the other side of the school. Rolling my eyes, I make my way to my own.

I stand in the hallway, fiddling with my phone as I wait for the rest of the school to file in. Flávia and Chyna are nowhere to be seen, and I have no idea when the two of them usually get to school. I don’t even know if they come together.