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the automatic set of actions carrying me from one delivery to the next, one minute to the next until the day was behind me.
    I found myself leaning on the ivy wall that afternoon waiting for Jill, scanning every face that passed, looking into the windows of every shop, searching for anything that would help me figure out who it was. I paused when my eyes found a guy leaning against a building across the street. Tattoos ran up his neck and down his fingers, and he smoked a cigarette, bouncing his gaze between the school’s gate and me. I stared a hole in him with my nerves screaming. But then a woman walked up to him, and he flicked his cigarette away as she kissed him. It wasn’t him. The couple smiled and laughed, taking off down the street holding hands, never looking my way again.  
    When the school bell rang, I jumped, heart racing as I turned and focused my attention on the door. As soon as I spotted Jilly’s smiling face, I felt better.
    “Hey.” I smiled back as she walked up, hoping it didn’t reveal too much. Judging by her face, I wasn’t really selling it. “How was your test?”
    “Pretty sure I aced it.” She fist pumped as we started walking.
    “Well, then you earned your shake.”
    She side-eyed me. “So, are you gonna tell me what’s going on?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just got a weird feeling last night and wanted to make sure you were okay.”
    Jill narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t I believe you?”
    “I don’t know. Why don’t you?” I tried to joke, but she wasn’t biting. I realized then that evasion might be impossible.  
    “Maybe because you always keep things from me.”
    “Like what?” I asked, hoping I could redirect her.
    “I don’t know what, you ass,” she said with a laugh and slapped me on the arm. “You keep it from me.”
    “Ow.” I rubbed my arm where she’d hit it.  
    Her smile faded. “You’ve always been that way, even when I was little.” There was longing in her words. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t know you at all.”
    My chest ached, but I tried for a smile. “Well, what do you want to know? For the next half-hour, I’m an open book. Probably.”
    She laughed, and tension dissipated. “What’s your favorite color?” she joked.
    “Easy. Black.”
    “That’s not even a color, Cory.”
    “Sure it is. I wear it every day.”
    She snorted and rolled her eyes as we crossed the street.  
    “What’s your favorite song?”
    I scoffed and stuffed my hands in my pockets, feeling almost normal. “I can’t just pick one. That’s like asking me to count to a billion.”
    “Okay, top three.” We stepped under the red awning for Genie’s Diner, and I pulled open the door for Jill.
    “Hmm.” I hung my bag on the back of a chair at the long diner bar, and we sat down while I thought about it. “No, I can’t decide that either. Pass.”
    “Psh, don’t waste your passes because I’m just getting warmed up.” She shot me a serious look, and nerves twisted through me. I didn’t know what exactly to expect. The only thing I did know was that whatever she would ask wouldn’t have an easy answer. I braced myself.
    A waitress in a pink uniform dress laid a couple of napkins in front of us with a smile. “What can I get for you girls?”
    “I’ll have a chocolate malt, please,” Jill answered.
    “Make it two,” I added.
    “Sure thing, ladies.” She patted the counter and turned for the kitchen.
    I spun my chair to face Jill and rested my feet on her foot bar, leaning back and folding my arms. “All right, fire away.”
    “Are you seeing anyone?”
    My heart lurched. “Nope.”
    “Bullshit.” Her eyes narrowed, looking me over. “I thought we were being honest here?”
    “That’s the honest truth. I was seeing someone, but I’m not anymore.”
    The hardness in her face melted away, and she shifted, angling her body to me. “What happened? Was it serious?”
    “It might have been, but we’d just gone on a couple of