Then three things happen—and all three concern M, V, & A. First, Veronica catches me after American History, a class I’m so lost in that I can hardly pay attention even if I want to. She grabs my arm as I leave the room and pulls me into another of those comfort groupings. Her fingernails catch my skin. I don’t really want to talk to her for a bunch of reasons. Mostly, I don’t want to get yelled at for my talk with Melanie in the morning. Veronica’s hair is different than it was a few hours ago. It’s not as elaborate. She has it combed away from her face and pulled into place with a plain barrette. I’ve seen that style before. It means that she tried on a bunch of clothes, probably in those stores she was talking about. Plus, she’s wearing a diamond-studded bracelet that fits over her sleeve. She got rewarded for something, or she made a lot of money in her transaction that morning. “Hey,” she says, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She wants to pull me into one of the chairs, but I won’t sit down.
