"Zhenna, what happened?" Lisa shouted as she rushed to Zhenna's desk to pull out her chair.
"The usual, messing around on the second-floor balcony and losing balance."
"Did you break it?" Lisa asked, inspecting Zhenna's wrist.
"No, just sprained."
Unaware, Lisa slapped Zhenna's shoulder playfully. "You're gonna kill yourself," she said jokingly.
Zhenna winced and held her hand protectively.
"Shoulder too?" Lisa asked quietly.
When Zhenna nodded, Lisa gently rubbed her friend's back and apologised.
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Zhenna struggled through her morning sessions. The pain in both her shoulder and wrist made writing a challenge, and attempting to make notes with her left wasn't as easy as she had bragged it would be to Kaitlyn. Five minutes into break as she finished making her notes, a hand ran across her back, then lightly gripped her neck, fingers playing with loose strands of hair. Zhenna turned and came face-to-face with Kaitlyn.
"You look like you need help." Kaitlyn whispered against her ear.
Zhenna watched as Kaitlyn pulled her chair closer and sat down. "I do."
Kaitlyn reached over and took the pen. She hooked her arm in her friend's elbow and finished writing the notes. Zhenna watched Kaitlyn closely as she worked.
"I spoke to mom about helping you. But...she's really busy right now, so she won't be able to take the case."
The girls stared at each other silently for a moment before Zhenna broke eye contact. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Kaitlyn reassured.
For the rest of their classes, Kaitlyn shared her notes with Zhenna. At lunch, the two agreed to meet at their usual spot.173Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqXLp3NKCE
While Kaitlyn headed off to buy lunch, Zhenna headed to the textiles workroom.
Ms. Blackwood was in the middle of assisting some fifth-year students when Zhenna knocked. Despite the students' frenzied bustling about the room, Ms. Blackwood remained calm, dishing instructions and barking out insults. Her face lit up briefly when she saw Zhenna, but hearing the girl maintain her decision to quit the Scouts and Rangers, her face soured. Ms. Blackwood nodded, then shooed Zhenna from the textile room. "You shouldn't be down here unless you have business in the textile room. You're disturbing the students and their setup."
When Zhenna started to apologise, Ms. Blackwood continued shooing her away. "Come on, come on, get out. You're wasting precious time."
A shout from behind stopped Zhenna as she made her way through the hall towards the court. Just as she turned around, a hand slapped her bun, and a short girl sprinted past.
"Nikki!"
"You're it." Said the short girl, jumping and taunting ahead of her. "Oooh, what happened to your hand?" Nikki asked, walking back to inspect Zhenna's hand.
"Sprained it last night."
Zhenna and Nikki continued walking towards the court, talking and laughing. Just as they approached the tuck shop, Kaitlyn stepped out with her food and drink.
Kaitlyn greeted Zhenna with a smile, "Hey."
"Hey, let's go."
"You're not staying on the court today?" Nikki asked disappointedly.
"No. Today I'm going to eat with Kaitlyn. Not that I can play much with my hand the way it is anyway. I might be able to play a bit tomorrow. Come with us."
Kaitlyn turned to look at Zhenna, shock and sadness plastered on her face.
"Are you jealous?!" Nikki taunted.
Zhenna looked at the two girls and sighed. "Kaitlyn, go on ahead; I'll be right there." Once Kaitlyn was out of earshot, Zhenna turned to Nikki. "Why don't you get along with her?"
"Cause, she's stuck up and acts like she's better than everyone." Nikki said, kicking a loose bottle cap into the drain.
"No, she doesn't; she's just shy."
"Shy my ass. I heard she has sex with married men for money; that's why she's always buying lunch."
"Have you ever seen her do that?"
"No. Doesn't mean she's not."
"Come have lunch with us. Get to know her."
"I'm good. I'll see you later." Nikki said, scampering off to the court.
When Zhenna arrived at the back of the band room, Kaitlyn was absentmindedly playing with the paper wrapper for her straw. Even after Zhenna sat down, Kaitlyn didn't look up from the wrapper.
"What's up?" Zhenna asked, leaning over to look into Kaitlyn's eyes.
Kaitlyn looked up solemnly. "You have so many friends." She said softly.
"You're my friend too." Zhenna said reassuringly.
"Not the same way. You talk and play with them in the open. With me... we're hiding back here."
Zhenna took hold of Kaitlyn's hand. "Remember what I told you about the house?"
"The safe house you'd build for women like me?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't do that for anyone else."
"You'd let me stay at the house?"
"Mhm. You'd be my first. No men would ever be allowed inside."
"That'd be like a harem." Kaitlyn chuckled.
"Yeah, just like that," Zhenna said excitedly.
Kaitlyn looked at Zhenna, surprised, but seeing her friend's innocent, happy face, she just smiled. Leaning closer to Zhenna, she whispered. "Then...you can't have more than seven women staying at the house."
"Why not?" Zhenna asked, confused, as she turned to her friend.
"Because...we'd all want to spend time with you. I know I'd want a whole day for myself." She blushed as she squeezed Zhenna's hand.
"You'll get your own special day." Promised Zhenna.
Kaitlyn got up and stood in front of Zhenna. "Let's go to California."
"Why?"
"They just made same-sex marriages legal. We can get married. What do you think?"
Zhenna met her friend's hopeful gaze. "Is that what you want?"
When Kaitlyn nodded, Zhenna exhaled loudly, breaking eye contact. "We can go after we graduate." She said softly.
"Really? You'll come with me?"
"Yeah," Zhenna said with a chuckle.
Kaitlyn grabbed Zhenna's head and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Thank you."
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Before the bell chimed, signalling the end of lunch, the class was in a frenzy. The word among the girls was that the teachers were conducting checks for cellphones. Some girls hurried to the bathrooms to hide their phones, while others searched for unassuming pockets in the classroom to hide theirs.
In the end, the teachers only checked their desks and gave a short warning and reminder that phones were not allowed without written notice from their parents. After the search, Zhenna and Kaitlyn requested bathroom pardons, as they had gotten caught up in the frenzy and hadn't relieved themselves.
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