ON MONDAY MORNING I HAVE A RENEWED PURPOSE. IF Ammu and Abbu aren’t going to accept me, that’s fine. If the girl I have a crush on is going to compete against me using my own culture, that’s fine too. But I’m tired of being ashamed. My choice is clearly laid out in front of me. I’m going to choose me. And I’m going to beat Flávia.

I walk from the bus stop to the school with a renewed fervor. If Priti notices it, she doesn’t say anything, but she does look at me skeptically before waving goodbye and heading off toward her locker.

“I have a plan for how to beat Flávia and Chyna.” It’s the first thing I say to Jess and Chaewon, who are huddled together by our lockers, speaking in hushed whispers.

“Well, good morning to you too.” Jess turns to me with a smile.

“And what are you talking about?” Chaewon adds.

“You didn’t see?” I’m already slipping my phone out of my bag and flicking to Flávia’s Instagram page. I thrust it in front of their faces. The page is filled with pictures of henna. Different designs, different people. How does she already know so many people at this school?

“Oh.” Jess peers closer at the photos, like she’s trying to take in all of the intricacies of the henna designs, every pixel of the pictures. “Did you know?”

“Of course I didn’t know. If I had known, I would have said something.”

“Well, I thought she was your friend?” Chaewon says, unhelpfully.

“I knew her in primary school, but barely. I don’t know her.”

“Well …”

Jess and Chaewon share a look that is full of … something. Some meaning or some history. The kind of look Priti and I share sometimes. Or Ammu and Abbu share all the time.

“We’ve been talking this weekend, you know? About the business project,” Jess says.

“Competition.” I correct her.

“The business competition, right. And we were thinking … maybe the henna thing isn’t the best way to go. And with this, Flávia or whatever, doing the same thing, I think it means we should try something else.”

I take a step back and study them. Chaewon is fidgeting with the collar of her shirt and Jess is looking everywhere but in my eyes. They must have been discussing this for some time. They just decided not to clue me in.

“What’s wrong with the henna business?”

“It’s just …” Jess looks to Chaewon as if asking for help. “We don’t really feel involved. Your sister set up the Instagram page over the weekend when we weren’t there to help. And you even named the business after yourself. This feels like your thing, not ours.”

“It can be all of our thing,” I insist.

“But it isn’t, is it?”