Page 21 of Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling

Because I don’t want anyone in my real life finding the dozens of essays and mocking me mercilessly. Because just the thought of Eric, of my parents, reading them makes my skin start itching with imaginary hives—which, good thing I’m actually in the hospital right now because they can probably help me with that.

But I can’t say all that to Delilah. It doesn’t match the chill, confident Reggie she met last month. The one she SEARCHED FOR ONLINE.

“I don’t know... I guess it’s because I started that way. Then I got, like, a pretty big following and I didn’t want to mess with that by changing my name. But, man, I probablyshouldchange it tomy full name and get credit for all this knowledge I’m dropping.”

I sound convincing. I believe myself.

“You should,” she says. “But what’s the pseudonym? So I can find you in the meantime?”

“Keepin’ It d100.” I say it loudly, without hesitation. Even though my natural instinct is to mumble or immediately make fun of myself.

“Ha! I get it!” She points at me, doling out another tiny smile. From anyone else, I would be searching for the insult, because there’s almost always an insult, but I can feel she’s genuine.

It makes me feel even bolder.

“You forgot something,” I say.

“I did?”

“Yep.” Before I can overthink it, I grab a thing of rainbow sprinkles and shake them over the top of her yogurt. “Here. You need something special. Because, you know... you’re special.”

Her cheeks flush and she looks down at the counter. “What if I hated sprinkles?”

“Oh, damn... oh my god. That was—I’mso stupid. Let me remake—”

Her giggles interrupt my tragic attempts to regroup, and I realize she’s not backing away in horror. She’s smiling. “I love sprinkles.”

“Me too.” And I smile back, hopefully in a completely normal way that doesn’t give away how my heart is doing somersaults and cartwheels and probably a whole-ass Simone Biles routine.

“Well...” She scoots the other three containers of yogurt ontothe scale. Because—oh my lord, clearly!—she didn’t come to Cultured just to ask me about my D&D essays and make my heart try to win an Olympic gold medal. She’s here with her boyfriend—her goddamnboyfriend—and the other guys in her band. This was all a coincidence, not her seeking me out on purpose.

And was I really trying to flirt with sprinkles?! Man, what is wrong with me?

“Yeah, yeah, sorry about that.” I ring her up, tell her the price. I see her wallet out, but I can’t stop myself from asking, “So um, is your boyfriend coming back in to pay for this?”

Her big brown eyes go wide and her cheeks and neck turn pink. I can tell immediately it’s not the good kind of blush like before. “My boyfriend?”

I nod to the glass doors behind her, where the three guys from her band are huddled over a phone, talking so loud that we can hear the rumble of their conversation from here. “The guy that came outside... on New Year’s?” And kissed your cheek and looked at me all smugly and made me feel like a total idiot for thinking I even had a chance.

“Charlie? Charlie’s not my boyfriend,” she says, but it’s clear from her strangled voice and flaming cheeks that’s not the whole story. “They’re all just my friends... or, I guess, band now? We all, uh, met at Willmore. Willmore Prep?”

The fancy private school over by El Dorado Park? Well, that explains why I’ve never seen her before.

“Oh, all right. My bad.”

“Yeah, Charlie and I... we’re not like that at all. That’s whywe’re here, with Asher and Beau, getting yogurt on Valentine’s Day.” She lets out this strange fake laugh and holds up her cup. Yup, definitely something going on there.

I gesture behind her, where two kids are filling their cups with so many marshmallows that they’re spilling out onto the ground. I’m gonna have to clean that up later.

“Not your ideal date spot?”

“Definitely not.”

Should I say it? I have to just say it. New Reggie wouldsay it.And if she’s really not with this guy... maybe New Reggie has a chance?

He may have taken an L with the sprinkles, but New Reggie is still winning! New Reggie is living his best life!

“Well, whatever he is to you, it’s kind of shitty that he left you in here alone to buy his food. That they did, I mean—”

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