I stomp all the way to school in my steel-capped boots. My fists are clenched. Because if someone gives me shit I’m going to punch them in the eye. My arm is really itchy. I pull up my sleeve and there is a red rash there. When I arrive, Sierra is sitting by herself in the empty quad. She watches me approaching. Her face tells me nothing. ‘Are you always this early?’ I ask. ‘My mum,’ she explains. Sierra travels with the lady from the front desk, of course. I sit on the bench next to her, slipping my bag down between my feet. We are silent for a moment, and then I figure I should just say it. ‘So, umm, do you have a problem with me being’— there is only the slightest pause—’gay?’ ‘What? No!’ Sierra says, blushing. ‘No! Not at all. As long as…’ Then she giggles. ‘As along as?’ I raise an eyebrow. ‘Don’t worry, I was just teasing.’ She waves her hand at me. ‘Never mind.’ ‘What were you going to say?’ As long as you don’t hit on me. That’s what she was going to say.
