The In-Laws

Spencer hasn’t come back to our house for the last couple of weeks. She and Kyla have been working on a project together, but she has insisted that all outside work be done at the Carlin residence. I think she’s trying to avoid Waldo, Aiden, and Ben, but I wonder if maybe I said something I shouldn’t have. What if I bored her two death the other night, and she just doesn’t want to deal with me anymore?

For the first time, I actually listen to Kyla talk about her crush, hoping to learn anything about her. She likes Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream; her favorite color is purple; she wishes the leaves would change color in autumn; why doesn’t anyone care about the fate of Lonesome George the tortoise? (Having no idea what Lonesome George is and Kyla being too… outrageous to understand, I was forced ask Talise, who directed me to one of her many, many books. Apparently, Lonesome George is the last surviving member of his particular subspecies of Galapagos Island Tortoise.)

At school, the vultures are no longer as vicious as they are in the beginning of the year and leave me alone during lunch. As usual, a couple of people invite me to sit with them, and as usual, I decline. The thing is, all these people offer out of pity and have nothing in common with me. If I accept, I’ll sit there awkwardly for a few days and spend the rest of the year trying to avoid them. There’s nothing to gain from listening to a bunch of kids complain while eating lunch. I always feel like a tick. It’s more convenient to eat alone.

One day, as I walk through the living room, I hear Kyla half-crying as she tells our mother something.

"-and her mother is horrible. There was something on the news about a kid’s suicide because they bullied him for being gay, and she just said that he got what was coming to him." I pick up my pace and scamper into the kitchen before either of the two notice me, but not before hearing, "If her mother’s like this, what will Spencer think if she finds out I like her." The last statement confuses me because I already told Spencer that Kyla is bisexual. Is she just pretending she doesn’t know, or was I somehow unclear?