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don’t think his mom was convinced.)
    For
remiss
, which means careless, he made “miss” jokes.
I missed what you said. I missed my bus. I’m so careless I missed dinner.
When he said the joke about missing dinner, he clutched his stomach and moaned like he really was hungry. Sophie literally collapsed into a heap of laughter, which made Billy laugh too. As I sat there watching, it was pretty obvious there’s a lot of chemistry between them.
    I’d be remiss not to notice.
    How’s that for a mnemonic?
    Wednesday, December 17, 10:17 p.m.
Talked to Leo for an hour
    Leo called tonight while I was studying. “I can’t talk,” I said. “I have an Algebra test tomorrow.”
    â€œI can help,” said Leo. “I love Algebra.”
    â€œIt’s impossible to love it,” I said.
    Leo laughed. “Algebra helps us understand and make sense of the unknown.”
    â€œThat makes no sense,” I said. Leo and I spent the next half hour debating the merits of Algebra, although I doubt that will help me on the test.
    Once we’d said everything there was to say on the topic (at least in my opinion), somehow we started talking about the fact that he’s leaving for college in less than three weeks. He told me about the classes he’s taking and the dorm he’ll be living in and about his roommate, who is from China. Then Christmas came up, which made me think about Brynn.
    I told Leo that even though she’s been a jerk for a while, I feel kind of sorry for her about the whole Billy thing. “She was my best friend for a long time,” I said. “It’s the holidays, and I feel like I should try to reach out to her. I’m just not sure what to do. She’s made it pretty clear that she doesn’t want to be friends.”
    â€œWhy don’t you invite her to yoga,” suggested Leo.
    I smiled at the memory of the day Leo took me to yoga.
    â€œI don’t think it’s Brynn’s thing.” I paused. I was thinking about Leo, not Brynn. “I like that you always have a unique solution for things.”
    â€œThat’s me,” said Leo. “Mr. Unique Solutions.”
    I laughed. “I was being serious. You always have good ideas.”
    â€œAre you surprised?” asked Leo. He sounded like he was offended.
    â€œNo, but you did say you’re not good with girl issues.” I paused. “You seem pretty good to me.”
    â€œI guess you never know what you’re good at until you try,” said Leo.
    Thursday, December 18, 4:40 p.m.
    My last exam was today. It was Algebra, which I have with Brynn. My seat is right behind hers. When she came into the room, she sat down and never turned around. I finished my test early, and after I turned it in, I spent the rest of the time looking at the back of Brynn’s head and wondering . . . What goes on inside it? I thought about what Dad said—that I should try to talk to her. But when the test ended, Brynn got up and walked out of the room. She never even looked at me.
    What do you say to that?
    Friday, December 19, 3:07 p.m.
Dance team holiday lunch
    I just got home from Pizza Hut where the dance team met for lunch and to exchange Secret Santa gifts. Brynn had drawn Emily’s name. I watched as Brynn gave Emily a spa bath set and then as Vanessa gave Brynn a Chia pet. There’s no way Brynn would like that gift, but she acted like she did.
    I could say a lot of negative things about Brynn, but one of her best qualities is that she loves giving and getting gifts. No matter what she gets, she’s always gracious and happy about it. Brynn and I have always made a big deal over exchanging Christmas gifts, and it made me wonder if Brynn has even thought about getting me a gift this year. That’s when it occurred to me that I hadn’t gotten her anything, but I should. It was the solution I was looking for. It’s probably bad holiday karma not