“Well, I think Colm and Barry have that football match Saturday morning? Maybe we could go support them and then hang out together?” Deirdre suggests.
“That sounds perfect,” Aisling says. “We can go to Eddie Rocket’s and get milkshakes.” Another place that has barely any vegetarian options. I don’t say that out loud this time. I’ve learned from my mistakes. And I don’t want to jeopardize everything now. Still, I try to catch Hani’s eyes, but she’s not looking at me. She’s looking everywhere but at me.
“Hey, Hani … do you think we can talk outside the classroom for a second?” Hani’s eyes snap to me and a frown appears on her lips. Before she can reply though, Aisling cuts in.
“Sorry, you’re not allowed to do that.” She slings an arm around me once more and it takes a lot to not try and claw her hands off of me. The way she touches me feels too familiar, too comfortable. Way more comfortable than I want her to be.
“We’re not?” I ask, trying to wiggle out of her grasp without making it seem like I am.
“No … because it would be pretty unfair of you guys to go off somewhere and start shifting or whatever, when we can’t do it.”
Hani does catch my eye at that. I’m happy to say that she looks as confused as I feel.
“Um, you could shift Deirdre anywhere you wanted,” I say. “I mean, I wouldn’t stop you.”
“No …” Aisling rolls her eyes and finally lets me go. “I mean, because we’re in an all-girls school, and Barry and Colm are like super far away. It’s not really fair. It’s like … heterophobia.”
“Well, we weren’t going to—”
“Heterophobia doesn’t exist, Aisling.” Hani snaps before I can finish my sentence. “That’s a ridiculous word.”
“If homophobia exists—”
“Yes, because …” Hani trails off, before shaking her head and standing up abruptly. Her chair scrapes loudly when she does. She doesn’t really look at any of us. “I have to go. I … didn’t do my Irish homework, so … I have to go.” With that, she grabs her bag and rushes out of class.
“What’s up with her?” Deirdre asks. “She’s been in a bad mood all day.”
Aisling asks. “I’m sure she’ll come around.”
“I should talk to her,” I say, getting up too. “I’ll … make sure she’s okay … and help her with her Irish homework.”
“Is this your guys’ way of—”
“No.” I cut Aisling off before she can say anything else homophobic. I shoot her a small smile. “See you guys later.” I give them both a little wave before slipping out of the classroom.
chapter twenty-seven
hani
“CONAS ATá DO CHUID OBAIR BHAILE AG DUL?” ISHU WALKS up to me with a hesitance that is definitely not on brand for her.
I sigh. “What are you doing here?”
“Helping you with your obair bhaile, obviously,” she says, sitting down beside me on the ground. It’s going to get her skirt dirty, but she doesn’t seem to mind. “Aren’t you cold?”
“A little,” I say.
“I would give you my jacket if I hadn’t left it in my locker,” Ishu says. “That would be like … the thing to do, right?”
This is exactly the reason why I didn’t want to talk to Ishu. Because she says stuff like this and sends my heart into a tizzy. Makes me think that there could be something going on here, reminds me that we maybe could have been something, but we obviously aren’t. And really, it’s my fault. I came up with this whole fake dating gimmick to start with.
I just sigh and scoot away from her. I dig into my bag and look for my Irish book, but of course I’ve left it in my locker. I don’t even think I have Irish after lunch, but since it’s the excuse that I used, I’ll have to stick to it. So I just take out a copy and my fóclóir. Opening up my foclóir, I begin to sift through it, like there’s a particular word I need to find.
“Your Irish homework is …？”
“Writing,” I say. “About … stuff. A timpiste. So I need to find some words. To do that. Let me focus, please.” I don’t glance at her, but I can feel her looking at me for far too long.
“Should we talk about Saturday?” Ishu finally asks. “Like … we don’t have to, but I don’t like you being mad at me.”