Page 50 of Never Have I Ever
“Leila,” both me and Madi reply.
Leila’s been a vegetarian for as long as I’ve known her. I was horrified one day in high school when I offered her a stick of gum, and she gladly stuck a piece in her mouth, only to look at the packet and see that it had gelatin in it. I mean, who knew gum wasn’t vegetarian? Definitely not me.
“How is Leila?” Madi asks. “Last I saw her, she seemed stressed out.”
“More than usual,” Gabi says.
Leilaisalways stressed. She’s somehow also the most laid back and carefree of the four of us. She’s fun and likes having fun, but when it’s to do with work or school, she closes up and becomes a hermit hiding out until she can get whatever it is, done.
But recently, every time I saw Leila, she seemed irritated, and I can pretty much guess why. “It’s her roommate, I think,” I tell the girls. “Leila walked into her room the other day, and her roommate was on Leila’s bed with a guy.”
“Oh my god,” Gabi says, and then she nudges Madi. “At least I’ve never done that before.”
Madi narrows her eyes at Gabi. “You wouldn’t be walking if you had.”
Gabi rolls her eyes. “You can stop with the empty threats. I haven’t brought anyone back to the dorm after that ‘incident.’”
“You mean the incident where I heard you have sex? How nice of you to have the common decency of not hooking up when I’m there.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. Once we move out next year, we’ll have separate bedrooms. I can be as loud as I want.” She grins.
Madi stops and holds her hand up. “Um. No, you can’t because we’ll still share a wall.”
Gabi shrugs. “I’ll buy you earplugs.”
Madi rolls her eyes. “Dear God, help me.”
I snicker. “You two are moving out next year?”
“Yep,” Gabi says. “I’m sick of dorm rooms. I need a place where I can leave a chocolate wrapper on the floor without Madi here, being passive-aggressive about it.”
“Why would you leave a chocolate wrapper on the floor when we have a trash can? Plus, you’re my best friend, so I can’t be aggressive over it.”
“Aw.” Gabi coos, looking at me. “She just called us best friends.”
Madi tries not to smile but ultimately loses and ends up laughing.
“How was the audition?” I ask Madi.
She groans, her eyes closing for a minute, and she sighs. “I thought it went well, but it’s been a week, and they haven’t called back yet, so…” she says, shrugging.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her. I’ve seen Madi’s audition tapes before, and she’s great. I have no doubt that she’ll be a famous actress one day.
She smiles weakly. I can see how much she’s upset by it, but she still tries to put on a brave face. “It happens.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Gabi says. “You’re still in college. I know you’ll end up getting the audition that you’re perfect for, and that’s perfect for you.”
Madi squints her eyes, looking at Gabi. “Why are you being nice to me?” she asks. “It’s scary.”
Gabriella laughs at Madi. “I’m always nice to you.”
“Yeah.” Madi scoffs. “When you steal all of my snacks and then feel guilty afterwards, so you suck up to me.”
“You know about that?” Gabi asks, her eyes widening.
Madi laughs, shaking her head. “Everything in my cupboard is empty. Did you think I just assumed it was a rat?”
“No, I thought you’d think it was a raccoon,” Gabi adds with a shrug.
