Breathe by Elena Dillon

it’s interesting that he’s taking you there when he has never, ever, taken a girl there before… and there is really no way you would know what it means, but everyone else will,” she informed me, all in one breath.
    Mandy was nodding, and Julia stared at me wide-eyed. ”Wow,” she muttered.
    I was officially panic-stricken. I was already scared out of my tree about going anywhere alone with him again. I had made an idiot of myself so many times already, I couldn’t believe he didn’t think I was a complete loser. I also had to figure out a way to go to the diner with him and not have my mom find out. All this added pressure was not helping.
    “I think you all are overreacting. I’m sure he doesn’t mean it like that. It’s probably just because all his friends are going.”
    They laughed. “Uh, no,” Raquel responded. “No way.”
    Julia finally started the car, and we made our way to her house. She lived in an upscale neighborhood. Even though her house was definitely on the fancy side, it had a very lived-in feel. Cozy and homey. It was one of those houses that had a great room that opened to the kitchen, where everyone hung out and ate popcorn and watched movies together. It was so different from mine. Not because it was fancier and nicer but because it had a lightness that I recognized. I remembered the lightness. There was nothing weighing it down. There was no burden of grief here. My house used to feel like this. It had been gone a long time. I wanted it back, but I wasn’t sure if it was possible or how to go about making it happen.
    Her mom was really nice. She was bustling around the kitchen fixing dinner for us: Chicken Caesar Salad, homemade crusty bread, and sweet tea. It was wonderful not to have to think about cooking. My mom had been working so much this week, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen at home. I do the majority of the cooking for our family and have since Daisy’s murder. I don’t mind cooking. I actually like it sometimes, but I was always happy when someone else took care of it. I felt like I was being spoiled.
    After dinner, we helped clean up and went upstairs to freshen our look. Quick showers were in order. I hadn’t known, but the girls made two sets of rally shirts. Apparently being seen in the same shirts from the rally was bad. Curling and straightening hair, and makeup, needed to be done and we only had a short time. As there was never enough time for four teenage girls to get ready, of course we were late.
    Waiting in line to get in, I couldn’t believe the crowd. By the time we got through the gate, I felt like I needed another shower. It had not cooled off much from earlier, and the air was still thick with humidity. The lights in the stadium were so bright, it was lit up almost like daytime. It was immense and loud. I could hear the band playing and smell the popcorn. I hadn’t gone to many of my high school football games at home. Daisy’s murder had happened, and I just never got involved or even cared, so I really couldn’t wait to be a part of it all now.
    The game hadn’t started, but we had to hurry to get to our seats before it began. The other juniors were all in a section together, and we just smushed in with the rest of them. There was more jumping, yelling, and shouting, similar to the pep rally but much louder. I didn’t know all the rules, but I could keep up with the game well enough. I spent most of the time following number four, anyway.
    We were ahead at halftime. After watching the cheerleaders’ halftime routine, we all needed to run to the bathroom. Of course the line for the girls’ bathroom was ridiculously long. We spent the time in line talking about the game and what everyone was wearing. The boys all seemed to smirk at us when they came out of their side and saw we were still waiting. So unfair. When I finally got into the stall, my phone vibrated. It was a text. I figured my mom wanted me to introduce her to Julia’s mom. When