I looked up when Kai dragged a chair toward me and sat down next to me with a plate of pizza in their lap. Kai didn’t seek me out for anything. They were cool and aloof; the only real smiles I’d seen from them were because of or for Diego and Jeremy.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hi,” Kai said. “Can I get some advice?”
Oh man, breakthrough. I put my phone away so I could give them my undivided attention while trying not to seem too eager. “Of course you can. Anything, Kai.”
They nodded while picking off pieces of pepperoni from the pizza and popping them into their mouth. “So, there’s this girl. Like, real pretty. She’s got long hair and she’s funny and she laughs really big. You know, with her whole body.”
I didn’t know where this was going. “Okay,” I said slowly. “She sounds great.”
Kai nodded. “Oh, she is. She’s smart and nice and everyone likes her.”
“That’s awesome—”
“And I hate her guts.”
I blinked. “What?”
Kai shrugged. “Weird, right? Like, I get the appeal. I mean, she volunteers at an animal shelter, for fuck’s sakes.”
“Do you not like animals, or—”
They ignored me. “And she’s going to probably go to a fancy college and get a fancy degree and cure cancer or go to Mars or write a self-help book about finding your true self that everyone will read.”
I stayed quiet.
Kai wiped off their fingers with a napkin. “And I want to like her, you know? For all intents and purposes, I should like her. She’s nice to me, and she’s in the LGBTQ alliance at school and even asked if she could come down here at some point this summer to see if she could help, even though she’s straight. An ally. Like you talked about before.”
I thought back over the last weeks to see if I remembered someone like her. “I don’t think I’ve seen her?”
Kai shook their head. “Nope. Because she hasn’t come down here. I told her to stay the fuck away.”
I frowned. “That’s not cool, Kai.”
“I know. But I did it anyway.”
I chose my words carefully. “I know you’re proud of who you are and being queer is important to you, but we can’t dismiss anyone who wants to help.”
They snorted. “It’s not about that.”
“Then what is it?”
“She likes Diego. Like, really likes Diego.”
“Ah. I see.”
Kai sighed. “Yeah, and it’s a pain in my ass. I mean, I get the appeal. Diego’s awesome.”
“So awesome,” I agreed.
“And hot.”
“So—” I coughed. “I’m glad you think so.”
“And he could do better than someone like me.”
I was alarmed. “Whoa. Wait a minute. Kai, you need—”