“Lily?” I venture a guess. I pat my face dry and then bend to see a pair of feet under one of the stall doors. “Are you okay?”

“Leave me alone!” Her voice is thick with mucus, and she clears her throat in the silence.

“I’m not here to laugh at you or judge you,” I explain. “I’m Anora Silby, the new girl. I…just want to make sure you’re okay.”

There is a pause, and I hear the door unlatch. Lily comes out of the stall. Her eyes are rimmed with red and puffy, but she’s pulled her hair away from her face, so I have a clear view of her features. She’s pretty—blond hair, brown eyes, heart-shaped face.

“This place sucks, you know that?”

I nod. “I’m sorry people were mean to you. You know they’ve all done worse.”

“Yeah, they have. But it doesn’t matter. I’m the one everyone is talking about.”

I shake my head. “That’s ridiculous. It’s such a double standard. If you were a guy, no one would care. Or they’d be high-fiving you.”

She smiles at me. “You’re nice, but you should know they’ll eat you alive.”

“Thanks for the warning, but I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, I thought that too,” she says. Walking to the sink, she turns on the faucet and splashes her face with water. I watch her in the mirror.

“Hey, in a few weeks, no one will remember this, and if not, in the end, this is only high school.”

She smiles, but it’s sad, and she looks away from me. “I wish that were true.” We stand for a moment in awkward silence, and then Lily speaks. “Is it true, what Natalie said? That you got kicked out of your old school?”

“Yeah.” The truth is far harder to explain.

Lily tilts her head to the side. “Funny, you don’t seem like a troublemaker.”

I offer a small laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.” There is a pause as I study her, eyes downcast. “Hey…you should come to the game with Lennon and me Friday. It’ll be fun.”

The ending is tacked on—Lennon’s words, not mine.

“Are you sure?” She watches me. Her eyes search my face like she thinks I’ll crack under pressure and admit I don’t want to be associated with her.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, you’re the new girl. Aren’t you worried about your reputation?”

A laugh tears from my throat, and I choke on it. “No. I’d like to be your friend more.”

Lily’s lips twitch, and I get the sense it’s been a long time since she’s smiled.

“I’d like that too,” Lily replies.

Chapter Twelve

Anora and the Telescope