A Tale of Two Besties Read Online Free PDF Page A

read from the Pitchfork comment board in a silly accent without me.”
    â€œPromise. Pact made,” I said, offering my hand for a business-deal shake. “But only if you know that you’re getting, like, the raw end of the deal. You’ll be stuck with me by your side forever!”
    â€œOkay. Promise,” said Harper, shaking my hand and immediately enveloping me into a big hug.
    We sat like that, eyes half-closed, listening to the waves crashing louder and louder as the light grew dimmer.
    â€œHey,” Harper said gravely, the first to pull back. “I didn’t mean to sound like you had to walk around high school in your wings all the time, if you don’t want to.” Why did she have to say that? Did she know something I didn’t? Was Pathways really anti–fairy wings or something? Was there some rule in the dress code I didn’t know about?
    She must have seen the worried look on my face.
    â€œStop spiraling!” She admonished. “I can always tell when you are overthinking things! I just mean, wear what makes you feel comfortable, not what makes you look like everyone else. Listen, as long as we are our dope selves we are ALL GOOD. And I’m sure you will find some magical creatures there and I’ll have to get my own wings just to fit in with you guys. And maybe our mission in high school is to help people break free of the stereotype that all high schools are just made up of mean girls, jocks, and nerds. Between PuppyGirl’s Empathy powers and the Gawkward Fairy, we help those in social distress. We use our powers for good, not evil.”
    â€œOh, darn, and here I was, planning to become a super villain the moment your back was turned.” My voice was sarcastic, but I was still spiraling: Why would Harper even say that thing about bullying? Did she think I was a monster? I had never made fun of anyone, ever, but now that she’d mentioned it, I wondered if Harper was secretly scared that without me, she’d become one of the mean girls.
    We sat a little longer, but the magical moment had passed. It was getting dark and cold. I could almost hear my own personal Minerva hooting in my ear, and there was nothing more I wanted in that moment than to run off toward the amusement park, away from the Pier, out of California forever, only looking back to cry over my shoulder, “Too late! Too late! Too late!”

Someone should make a reality show about the first day of freshman year. You can get sixteen contestants from all over the country, force them to wake up at six in the morning, get dressed in their most stunning casual outfits, and go face the world sitting down at a desk for the next eight hours. There can be a challenge called “Lunch,” where you have to tell yourself “I’m not
not
here to make friends.” There can be elimination rounds based on how much chemistry and calculus you can do. And then at two p.m., when that final bell rings, you can stop smiling and pretending that it was “
so
great to
see
you!” to the same group of Traumas—the Murderers and Spirals and Emotional Vampires—that you’ve known since you were six.
    Sorry, let me explain the Traumas to you.
    Traumas are basically the people who need to be avoided at all costs, because they will turn your life into a nightmare and never, ever let go. Luckily, Traumas are very easily broken down into the following types, making it very simple to spot one right away:
Spirals. A Spiral is a girl who is constantly freaking out over one specific thing, but also everything. If she stains her shirt with cafeteria food, it will remind her how it was her favorite shirt, which, oh
no
, she can’t replace because she bought it on vacation in Morocco with her mom and dad and now her parents are divorced and what’s the point of living if she knows she’s just going to flunk the SATs? SHE CAN BARELY WEAR A SHIRT, HOW CAN SHE BE EXPECTED