9781250209153

It’s a beautiful March day when we break free of the senior locker hall
and wind our way to the parking lot. Irene hasn’t joined us yet; she told
Honey-Belle she had to email the Benson cheerleading coach first. It’s
weird to hear college names dropped into every conversation now. Irene
talks about Benson all day long. Kevin has already gotten into Morehouse.
Gunther has his sights set on Kennesaw State, and Danielle got into
Vanderbilt. I’m still planning on Georgia State; I can picture myself down
in the city. The only one of us who doesn’t mention college much is Honey-
Belle, but that’s because she wants to take a gap year. She’s thinking about
becoming a doula. Gunther had to look that one up when she told him about
it.
We’re strolling lazily toward the parking lot, Danielle and Kevin
holding hands, Gunther and Honey-Belle wrapping their arms over each
other’s shoulders. It’s not the group I would have expected to finish out my
senior year with. It’s better.
The early spring weather is gentle and calm. Golden sun on our hair,
birds chirping timidly. The marquee has read PROM NEXT MONTH all week,
but someone messed with it so it now reads PROM SEX MONTH.
There’s a steady beat of music coming from the parking lot. We turn the
corner and head to our cars, and suddenly the music is blaring. A thumping
drumbeat. A lone figure standing by my Jetta—
It’s Irene, hoisting an old-school boom box above her head, wearing a
trench coat over her cheer uniform. So much cuter than John Cusack. I
laugh with my whole heart, because what else can I do?
My friends don’t look surprised: They hang back and watch me
approach her.
Irene grins, bites her lip. She dials the volume down and sets the boom
box on the roof of my car. That’s when I realize she’s not even playing the
right song. It’s not “In Your Eyes.” It’s the Fine Young Cannibals song we
listened to during our first week carpooling together.
I grin and press into her. “Why the song change?”
She rolls her eyes. “Because the other one is so fucking cheesy. ‘She
Drives Me Crazy’ is much more our vibe.”
“Where did you even get this boom box?”