He held onto his abs, exaggerating an upset stomach. “Okay, Sassypants. You win.”
Lilith clapped and jumped up and down in her seat as Landon handed her a crisp, five-dollar bill from his wallet.
I noticed that she’d been carrying around a small bag with her, which was unusual. “What’s in the bag?”
“It’s a gift for Landon and the paper I wrote about you, Rana. I got an A on it. I was gonna read it to you.”
“You didn’t have to get me anything.” Landon leaned in. “And I’d love to hear what you wrote.”
“Okay.” She looked uncharacteristically bashful when she asked, “What do you want first? The gift or the Rana thing?”
“Let’s hear what you wrote.” Landon winked.
Lilith adjusted her glasses and opened the notebook. She cleared her throat and began to read.
“Rana by Lilith Anastasia Allen.” She looked up at me once. I gave her a reassuring smile before she continued, “We were asked to write about someone we admire. I am writing about Rana instead. Because she’s funnier than Amelia Earhart or Michelle Obama. And no one else is going to write about Rana. Who is Rana? Well, she comes to visit me once a week and spends time with me for no reason. I don’t even really know where she came from. Mars, maybe. But that doesn’t matter. There are a lot of places in the world that Rana could choose to be, but she chooses to be with me. Sometimes she probably doesn’t have the time or maybe isn’t feeling good. But she shows up anyway. Except this week, but I forgive her because she’s in California with a boy she has a crush on. His name is Landon, and he owns a lunch truck with really cool sandwiches. Like not bologna. Really cool ones. But back to Rana. Her hair is really, really long, and if you want to know what she looks like, look up Princess Jasmine from Aladdin. That’s her. One time she came to see me with two different pairs of shoes on. I didn’t tell her because I thought it was funny that she didn’t notice. And another time, the tag was still hanging off of her shirt. I didn’t tell her that, either. She’s also late a lot and smells like bus fumes. Even though she is a mess sometimes, she still finds the time to see me, to ask me how I am, and to play with me. She’s not perfect, but she taught me that it’s okay not to be. Do you have a Rana? If not, I feel really bad for you. So, I don’t want to be Rana when I grow up. Because there’s only one Rana. And she’s my friend.”
I knew she didn’t mean to make me cry, but I couldn’t help tearing up. Landon grabbed my hand and squeezed it. He knew how much her words meant. It made me so happy that she considered me a friend and recognized my devotion to her, even if she had no clue where it originated.
“That was amazing.” I wiped my nose with my sleeve. “Thank you for choosing to write about me.”
Landon rubbed my back. “Seriously, Lilith, I think if I didn’t already know how awesome Rana is, I would totally want to meet her after that.”
“You want your present now?”
“Sure.”
Lilith handed him the bag.
Landon reached in and took out what looked like a bun of artificial hair that was almost the exact shade of brown as his own strands.
What the?
His mouth hung open. “This is…wow. What is it?”
“It’s a clip-on man bun.”
“Where did you get that?” I asked.
“Online. I had a gift card from Christmas. I didn’t use the whole thing, just part of it. I’ve been holding onto this present for a while.”
Landon was trying not to laugh. “How do you know about man buns?”
“This girl in school…her dad has one. Some boys were making fun of him. Ava told them off and explained that it was actually a cool thing. Before that, I thought only girls wore buns.”
“Your mom didn’t question you buying it?” I asked.
“No.”
“Put it on,” I insisted.
Landon struggled to open the clasp. Unable to contain my laughter, I took it from him and proceeded to clip it onto his head.
He flashed a crooked grin. “How do I look?”
Truthfully, he looked pretty hot with it.
“Buntastic.” She laughed.
“Well, I will proudly wear this and think of you, Sassypants.” He turned his head toward me fast, causing the bun to fall out.
The three of us were cracking up.
On the ride home, Lilith and Landon bonded over music. He let her control his phone as she scrolled through songs. She took the front seat while I sat in the back.
Landon pulled up to her house and put the car in park.
She reached her hand into her pocket and took out the five-dollar bill that he had given her.