other side of the park.
“Yo,” he said when I answered the door.
Finn and his friends all started saying “Yo” to one another last spring and apparently it hasn’t gotten old—at least as far as they’re concerned.
“Hey, Red,” I replied.
His black hair looked moplike-shaggy, as usual, and he was dressed in his uniform of dark skinny jeans with a silver wallet chain and a T-shirt from some obscure indie band show. Little round glasses, too. Red often wears sunglasses indoors and I used to think it was cool, but ever since the Taylor Swift incident I’m wondering if it’s actually kind of pretentious.
“Happy birthday squared.” He flashed me a peace sign and a goofy, all-braces grin. He knows we’re not into any cutesy twins stuff, but he likes to tease us anyway.
Finn was standing right behind me, and he scoffed. “How long did it take you to come up with that one?” he asked.
“I only just now thought of it,” Red said.
He and Finn slapped each other five. Then the slap turned into a handshake, snap, fist-bump, and something else that got too complicated for me to follow.
The doorbell rang again, and this time it was Otto, who said “Yo” and went through the same slap, shake, snap, fist-bump thing with Finn and then with Red and when he turned to me I just waved.
Beatrix came next, and for that I was glad.
Some cool things about Beatrix:
1) She’s super tall, but she doesn’t slouch like a lot of tall girls.
2) She wears flip-flops even when it’s not flip-flop weather, because her feet don’t get cold until there’s actual snow on the ground.
3) She just moved over the summer to Brooklyn from Manhattan and she’s allowed to take the subway by herself.
“Yo,” Otto and Finn said to her.
“Hi, guys,” Beatrix replied, smoothing out her curly brown hair. It’s sort of puffy like the top of a mushroom (both before and after her attempts to calm it down).
Beatrix wore a black cotton skirt. It was the first time I’d seen her in anything but jeans and I wondered if kids in Manhattan dressed up for each other’s birthday parties. They didn’t in Brooklyn and I hoped Beatrix wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Of course, she didn’t look uncomfortable. Not even with Red so blatantly checking out her legs.
When he noticed me noticing, he turned red and looked away. He’s often quick to blush, so maybe his name fits him better than I’d thought.
I pulled Beatrix away from the guys and over to the other side of the living room. We flopped down on the couch giggling, both of us knowing why and not needing to say.
Then the doorbell rang again and it was Sonya. When Finn let her in she looked a little panicked, standing in front of three guys. But then she noticed us and hurried over and sat down on the other side of Beatrix.
Sonya’s long dark hair was braided into two neat plaits that hung down her back. She had on a tie-dyed skirt and a white long-sleeve T-shirt with a giant rainbow on it.
Both my friends had skirts on. Maybe that’s what turning twelve means—dressy party clothes. I wore black pants and one of my favorite shirts—a silky baby blue button-down. My black boots had a chunky heel that made me feel tall, even though they only added an inch and a half to my height. So I didn’t look like a total slob, but I wondered if maybe I should’ve worn a dress instead.
Lucy showed up next in cargo pants and a cute green sweater. Not hand knit or anything, but it still made me think of her scarf, so I asked her where it was.
“Oh, I didn’t finish,” she said.
“What scarf?” asked Beatrix.
“She’s knitting this scarf for—”
“No I’m not,” Lucy said, interrupting. “I changed my mind.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “How come?”
“No reason.” She stared at me with this panicked look on her face, so I dropped the topic. But I didn’t know why I had to. It was only a scarf, after all.
Suddenly I noticed Ivy standing in the entryway. She just
“Yo,” he said when I answered the door.
Finn and his friends all started saying “Yo” to one another last spring and apparently it hasn’t gotten old—at least as far as they’re concerned.
“Hey, Red,” I replied.
His black hair looked moplike-shaggy, as usual, and he was dressed in his uniform of dark skinny jeans with a silver wallet chain and a T-shirt from some obscure indie band show. Little round glasses, too. Red often wears sunglasses indoors and I used to think it was cool, but ever since the Taylor Swift incident I’m wondering if it’s actually kind of pretentious.
“Happy birthday squared.” He flashed me a peace sign and a goofy, all-braces grin. He knows we’re not into any cutesy twins stuff, but he likes to tease us anyway.
Finn was standing right behind me, and he scoffed. “How long did it take you to come up with that one?” he asked.
“I only just now thought of it,” Red said.
He and Finn slapped each other five. Then the slap turned into a handshake, snap, fist-bump, and something else that got too complicated for me to follow.
The doorbell rang again, and this time it was Otto, who said “Yo” and went through the same slap, shake, snap, fist-bump thing with Finn and then with Red and when he turned to me I just waved.
Beatrix came next, and for that I was glad.
Some cool things about Beatrix:
1) She’s super tall, but she doesn’t slouch like a lot of tall girls.
2) She wears flip-flops even when it’s not flip-flop weather, because her feet don’t get cold until there’s actual snow on the ground.
3) She just moved over the summer to Brooklyn from Manhattan and she’s allowed to take the subway by herself.
“Yo,” Otto and Finn said to her.
“Hi, guys,” Beatrix replied, smoothing out her curly brown hair. It’s sort of puffy like the top of a mushroom (both before and after her attempts to calm it down).
Beatrix wore a black cotton skirt. It was the first time I’d seen her in anything but jeans and I wondered if kids in Manhattan dressed up for each other’s birthday parties. They didn’t in Brooklyn and I hoped Beatrix wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Of course, she didn’t look uncomfortable. Not even with Red so blatantly checking out her legs.
When he noticed me noticing, he turned red and looked away. He’s often quick to blush, so maybe his name fits him better than I’d thought.
I pulled Beatrix away from the guys and over to the other side of the living room. We flopped down on the couch giggling, both of us knowing why and not needing to say.
Then the doorbell rang again and it was Sonya. When Finn let her in she looked a little panicked, standing in front of three guys. But then she noticed us and hurried over and sat down on the other side of Beatrix.
Sonya’s long dark hair was braided into two neat plaits that hung down her back. She had on a tie-dyed skirt and a white long-sleeve T-shirt with a giant rainbow on it.
Both my friends had skirts on. Maybe that’s what turning twelve means—dressy party clothes. I wore black pants and one of my favorite shirts—a silky baby blue button-down. My black boots had a chunky heel that made me feel tall, even though they only added an inch and a half to my height. So I didn’t look like a total slob, but I wondered if maybe I should’ve worn a dress instead.
Lucy showed up next in cargo pants and a cute green sweater. Not hand knit or anything, but it still made me think of her scarf, so I asked her where it was.
“Oh, I didn’t finish,” she said.
“What scarf?” asked Beatrix.
“She’s knitting this scarf for—”
“No I’m not,” Lucy said, interrupting. “I changed my mind.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “How come?”
“No reason.” She stared at me with this panicked look on her face, so I dropped the topic. But I didn’t know why I had to. It was only a scarf, after all.
Suddenly I noticed Ivy standing in the entryway. She just
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