“I guess some General Tso’s chicken,” I said. “And orange beef. And maybe some fried dumplings. And how about some spare ribs? You guys always look like you’re really enjoying those.”
But my mom, instead of looking happy that she didn’t have to order a vegetarian entrée that no one but me was going to eat, looked concerned.
“Mia,” she said. “Are you really sure you want to—”
But I guess something in my face made her change her mind about finishing that statement, since she just shrugged and said, “All right. Whatever you want. Oh, and Lilly called. She wants you to call her back. She said it’s important.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thanks.”
Mom opened my bedroom door—BANG! Giggle. BANG! BANG!—and left. I stared at the ceiling for a while. On Michael’s ceiling, in his bedroom back at the Moscovitzes’ apartment, there are glow-in-the-dark constellations. I wondered if he’d put glow-in-the-dark constellations on the ceiling of his new bedroom. In Japan.
I leaned down and picked up the phone and dialed Lilly’s number. Dr. Moscovitz picked up. She said, “Oh, hello, Mia,” in a not-very-warm voice.
Yes. My boyfriend’s mother hates me now.
Well, she has a right to.
“Dr. Moscovitz,” I said. “I’m sorry about—well, everything. I’m a huge jerk. I understand if you hate me.”
Dr. Moscovitz’s voice warmed up a tiny bit.
“Oh, Mia,” she said. “I could never hate you. Look, these things happen. I—well, you and Lilly will work it out.”
“Right,” I said, feeling fractionally better. Maybe I didn’t have dysthmia after all. I mean, if I could actually feel something. Besides bad. “Thanks.”
Except…did she say “you and Lilly”? She must have meant “you and Michael.”
“Um,” I said. “Is Lilly there, Dr. Moscovitz? I’m returning her call.”
“Of course, Mia,” Dr. Moscovitz said. And she called for Lilly, who picked up the phone and said, without preamble, “YOU KISSED MY BOYFRIEND????”
I stared at the phone, totally confused. “What?”
“Kenny Showalter says he saw you kiss J.P. outside your Chemistry classroom today,” Lilly snarled.
Oh, God. Oh. My. God.
The Quarter Pounder with cheese moved up my throat a little more as complete and total panic gripped me.
“Lilly,” I said. “It wasn’t—look. It wasn’t what Kenny thinks—”
“So you’re saying you DIDN’T kiss my boyfriend outside your Chemistry classroom?” Lilly demanded.
“N-no,” I stammered. “I’m not. I did kiss him. But just as a friend. And besides, technically, J.P. is your EX-boyfriend.”
“You mean like you’re technically my ex-best friend?”
I gasped. “Lilly! Come on! I told you! J.P. and I are just friends!”
“What kind of friends KISS each other?” Lilly demanded. “On the mouth?”
Oh my God.
“Lilly,” I said. “Look. We’ve both had a really bad day. Let’s not take it out on each other—”
“I haven’t had a particularly bad day,” Lilly snapped. “I mean, sure, my boyfriend dumped me. But I also got elected as the new student council president of Albert Einstein High School.”
I actually sat up upon hearing this. “You DID?”