Page 25 of I Can't Even Think Straight

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She smiles sympathetically.

“Okay, I can do that,” says Jyoti.

Her agreement reveals her gossip about us

has already spread far and wide.

Paranoia—After School—Yiayia and Bapou’s Garden

“Why are you friends with this Matt guy?

Not only is he a closet case,

but he’s also a master manipulator.

That’s a toxic combination.”

Vass takes my hand

and asks with mock-sincerity,

“You’re not in love with him, are you?”

Vass wears a lime-green Charli XCX T-shirt,

the word “brat” in black lowercase letters across their chest.

It’s cropped to expose their midriff.

I pull my hand away

because Yiayia and Bapou are just there

in their garden chairs by the back door,

while Vass and I sit on a swing set

we’re far too big for

at the far end of the garden.

Yiayia and Bapou watch on

like they don’t quite understand us,

but they’re happy to provide for us, nonetheless.

Like we’re winged visitors at a bird feeder:

a different species from them.

When we were little, we swung high

and it felt like I could fly.

Vass’s hair was long, even back then,

and they loved it when

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