THIRTY-SIX
ME: MEET AT HARVEY DELI at 12?
Cami: YES!
June: Yup!
Saara: See u there!
After I group-text to confirm the plans with my lunch table friends (it doesn’t feel right to keep calling them the Whatevers now that we are at group-texting levels and have actual plans), I ask my mom if she’ll drive me over to the Harvey Deli.
“Did you make up with Ari?” she asks on the drive over.
“No.” I turn up the music. “I’m meeting some other friends.”
“Well, that’s nice.” She smiles, and I can tell she’s trying to contain her enthusiasm.
My mom drops me off in front and tells me to call when I need to be picked up. “Please don’t leave the shopping center on your own. And if you do go back to someone’s house, call and let me know where you are.” She leans her head over to kiss me on the cheek. “And have fun.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I get out of the car, and I get that bubbly nervous stomach I get whenever I’m in a new situation. I’ve never hung out with these girls outside of school before. What if we don’t have anything to talk about?
I walk inside and they’re all already there. Did they come together? Maybe. They do all live kinda close to each other, pretty near here.
“Hi,” I say, and do some kind of over-the-top dance to the music playing in the deli.
“Kaylan!” Cami squeals, standing up. “You’re the funniest. I’m so glad you’re here.” She runs over and pulls me into a hug.
I walk over to the table, and all of us squee and say hi, and Saara offers me a sip of her black cherry soda. “It’s the best, and they only have this kind here!”
I’ve never seen Saara so excited about anything, and it pumps me up.
“So, should we order?” June asks.
We nod and hop up and go over to the counter.
“Two Dr. Johnny Fevers and two Blanches?” I ask. “And we’ll all share?”
“Um, duh.” Cami laughs.
“And four black cherries,” Saara adds. “I want another one!”
We go back to the table and wait for our food. I debate telling them about what happened at the party last night, but I don’t want them to feel bad that they weren’t invited in the first place. And I don’t want to think about how horrible it was (before we left).
“Soooo, guys,” Cami sings. “What’s new?”
I shrug. “Nada. Just getting ready for the talent show,” I say. “You guys?”
“That kid Chris texted me,” June says. “We may hang out again!”
“First Kiss Chris?” I ask, cracking up.
“Yeah, First Kiss Chris,” June replies, laughing, too.
Saara turns quiet then and sips the rest of her black cherry. “I had a first kiss miss,” she starts, and we all startle, shocked that she’s talking about this.
“What?” Cami shrieks.
“I was at this party at my cousin’s house, and all these kids were in the basement, and then this boy Aiden and I were playing mancala.” She looks up at us. “You know that game?” We all nod, and she goes on. “And of course I beat him, but whatever, and then out of nowhere, he leaned in to kiss me!”
“Saara!” I shout, and everyone in the deli turns around. I shake my head and mouth Sorry. “So what happened?”
“I just backed away.” Her cheeks turn red, and she glances over to the counter to see if the food’s coming. “It was too weird! I didn’t even know him!”
I nod. “Yeah, that is super-weird.”
“Mega-weird,” Cami adds.
Finally the food comes, and we all eat our sandwiches.
“Best sandwich ever,” Cami says between bites. “Agree?”
“You know I agree,” I add.
“We agree, too,” June says. “Right, Saar?” She nudges her with her elbow.
We spend the rest of the meal talking about the sandwich—the crispiness of the eggplant, the crunchiness of the cucumbers, and the creaminess of the mozzarella cheese. It’s a masterpiece.
We walk around the shopping center, browsing in the card store, picking out the matching necklaces we’re going to buy each other for Christmas and Chanukah.
“I can’t believe it took us this long to hang out,” Cami adds when we’re waiting for our moms to pick us up. “It’s like we were destined to be friends.”
I smile, but my throat stings. “Yeah, I agree.”
I’ve moved on from Ari, I guess. I have my own friends. They like me, and I like them.
But, the thing is, I still miss her.