Page 9 of The Publicity Stunt
Chugging the rest of her coffee, April slides the empty cup across the table and perches her chin on her palm. “That’s because you are.”
I pick up a fry and throw it at her. She laughs and moves sideways to dodge it.
“Your turn,” I say.
“Oh, I dream a lot. Sometimes even when I’m awake.”
“No, you fool. Your weird quirks.”
She smiles. “Fine.Pride and Prejudice.”
“Pride and Prejudice?” I squint.
“The movie.”
“You think that’s weird?”
“No. I just wanted to throw that out there, in case you thought I’m some comic-book-obsessed, Taylor Swift-listening sap.”
“You don’t listen to Taylor Swift?” I ask.
“Of course I do. My personality has multitudes.”
“You think likingPride and Prejudiceand Taylor Swift are two different personality traits?”
She shrugs and picks up a napkin to wipe the corner of her mouth. “I also love,lovecheesy, sappy romantic comedies with grand gestures. The less sense they make, the better.”
“Shocking.”
“Ooh! Especially the ones where the guy makes a big speech at the end.”
Weird doesn’t even begin to cover this girl. “All right, Taylor Swift,Pride and Prejudice, and a kink for speeches. Got it. What else?”
She looks away for a few seconds and then says, “Okay, I don’t think it’s that weird—”
“It probably is. Go on.”
She flings a single chocolate chip at my head. “I don’t like the rain. But it’s not weird. A lot of people don’t like—”
“It is weird. What do you mean, you don’t like the rain? You likePride and Prejudiceand don’t like the rain?”
“I just … I don’t get the appeal. It’s so gross and wet, and there’s mud everywhere. All your makeup gets smudged. And God forbid you wear contacts. I don’t think any kiss in the rain is worth an eye infection.”
“I don’t think that’s how contacts work—”
She cuts me off. “I hate rain.”
“You’re a fraud.”
She gasps and lurches back. “Am not.”
“I can’t believe I’m friends with a comic-book-obsessed, Taylor Swift-listening fraud.”
“Oh, we’re friends now?” She throws another chip at me.
“Stop wasting food.” I laugh, dodging it. “And of course, we’re friends. I’ve seen you puke. That’s first base. Tomorrow we hit second.”
April raises a single eyebrow and the corner of her mouth curves up slightly. “And what’s that?”
