Her

16

PHOENIX

Saturday. 3.30pm. The trailer park. I'm standing in front of Aza's trailer, waiting for Cass. I'm checking my phone. 3.32pm. What if she's bailing on me? What if this whole thing was a joke?

"Hey, Phoenix."

"You're late, Cassandra."

"Oh, sorry. I thought we said 3.30." She pulls out some keys.

"We did. It's 3.32."

"What are you? German?"

I roll my eyes. She smiles. She opens the door, and we step in.

"This is weird. It's like breaking in."

"It's not breaking in if you have keys."

"Pretty sure that's something a criminal would say."

"Well, we have to do this so you two get the perfect date."

"It's not a date."

"Sure it's not."

Cass gets the camera and hands it to me.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with being gay," she says.

"I know," I say. "It's just that not everyone knows that."

We leave the trailer and Cass locks the door. She turns to me.

"Well, have fun," she says.

"Thanks." I bite my thumbnail. "And thanks for this."

"You're welcome."

"No, seriously. Thank you."

"Seriously, you're welcome."

She smiles at me. I think it's the first time that I smile back at her. Maybe she's not as bad as I thought. And maybe I understand now why Aza likes her.

"I should go."

"I guess you should. Or else you'll be late for your date."

"It's not a date."

_____

PHOENIX

I'm sitting in my car, parked near Moon's. Technically I could still leave. I could forget about all of this and drive away. I could return the camera and eat all the food in the back of my car on my own. Or I could go to the zoo on my own.

My phone buzzes. A text from Aza - or well, The Coolest Person Alive.

what are you doing, princess?

Another text:

want to meet?

It's quickly followed by another one:

for the project

I write back:

sorry, i'm busy

I see the three dots, telling me she's typing. Finally she says:

okay

Several seconds pass. Then, another message:

busy with what?

shouldn't you be working?