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cook and while he did try his best, it usually ended up with the smoke detector going off. I had learned the basics of cooking from watching my mom do it, and when she was gone, I had taken over the responsibility of cooking.
    We sat in silence as usual until I declared that I was done and went upstairs to start my homework. Around five thirty, the phone rang, and I ignored it until Dad called up the stairs that it was for me. I moved sluggishly down the stairs, offering him a small smile as I took the phone.
    “Hello?”
    “Um, hi, Arianna.”
    I didn’t even have enough energy to slam the phone down, as I should have.
    “Can I help you?”
    “I, uh . . . are you all right? You just . . . you didn’t seem like yourself after—” He stopped.
    I stared hard at the floor. “How’d you get my number?” I finally asked.
    “I know how to use a phone book. Are you all right?”
    “Peachy.”
    “Did I do something?”
    “Why would you think that?”
    “You were just . . . you don’t normally zone out like that is all. I just . . . Arianna, did I do something wrong?”
    “Listen, Evan.” I sighed. “Whatever you seem to want to pull off won’t work if you’re too embarrassed to be seen talking to me. I’m not a secret, and I refuse to be yours.”
    “You don’t understand my friends, Arianna.”
    “Anna,” I snapped.
    “What?”
    “I hate my full name, so stop it.”
    “Okay, well, Anna , you don’t know what my friends are like. They need to . . . they need a warning.”
    “Should I wear a bright orange jump suit? Better yet, put me in a cage and smack a sign on the outside that says Don’t Feed the Anna . Hell, God knows I’d lose weight then, wouldn’t I?”
    “I’ve never said anything about—”
    “You didn’t have to. No one ever has to.” I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “This is your choice, Evan. I was perfectly fine without talking to you.” The memories I have from when we were younger are better, anyway. “You wanted another chance, and I gave it to you. You’re not doing such a great job with it so far.”
    “I don’t know how to act with you. You’re not . . . you’re not like the rest of them, and I don’t know what the fuck I should do about it.”
    “Take me for what I am, Evan, or leave me alone.”
    “I can’t exactly do that though, can I? We have a project—”
    “That I told you I could easily get you out of,” I said, interrupting him and running a hand through my hair. “This is your choice, and I’m not doing anything to influence you.”
    He was quiet, and I thought that he’d hung up before I heard a muffled curse. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the wall.
    “I can’t come over tonight,” he finally said.
    “I know. You have a date.”
    “Do you listen to everything ?”
    “When she’s standing right there and has a voice like someone is slowly letting helium out of a balloon, it’s kind of hard to miss, Evan.”
    He grunted, and I opened my eyes and slid down the wall, wrapping my arm around my upraised knees.
    “I have practice tomorrow night until five again, so I’ll come over around quarter of. Is that okay?”
    “That’s fine.”
    “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
    “Sure.”
    I could practically hear his teeth grinding, and I smiled to myself and played with the hem of my jeans.
    “Bye, Anna .”
    “Bye.”
    I carefully set the phone down and stared at it for a few moments, tapping my fingertips against my thighs.
    “Everything okay, Anna?” Dad yelled from the living room, his eyes no doubt focused on whatever documentary he was watching.
    “Everything’s fine, Dad.” I sighed and stood up, starting back up the stairs. “Everything’s just peachy.”

    I nearly screamed the next morning when I closed my locker door to find Evan standing behind it, his eyes darting nervously around the hallway while he shifted from one foot to the other. I raised my eyebrows and leaned against my locker as I stared at his