“She always shortened my name to Bro,” I cut in, just so Sophia wouldn’t keep talking. “So then I started calling her bro because she looked like a dude.” I turned to Sophia. “Right, bro?”
“Yeah, Bro,” she said slowly.
“How old were you guys?” Xander asked, appearing truly interested.
This time Sophia and I made eye contact so we wouldn’t say something different than the other. “Uh, what were we, Soph, like…five and seven or so?”
“Something like that,” she agreed.
“So whose idea was it for you to get your hair cut short?” Aniyah asked.
“And did your parents buy you the boy clothes on their own?” Xander added. “Or did you ask for them?”
Sophia hesitated before saying, “I can’t remember. Does it matter?”
“It does through a sociological lens. This would’ve been before assigning a gender to your child would’ve been considered taboo to some of our society, so the details seem important to your development as a young woman.”
Toby was studying us like we were guinea pigs in an experiment he was conducting. “This is all so interesting. I’d like to know the specifics as well.”
“You know,” Taylor said, clapping her hands together once. “It was an awkward phase. Sophia doesn’t really like to talk about it.”
“Right on,” Xander said. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Toby and Aniyah nodded and muttered their agreement. “We can drop it.”
And thank fuck they did. If it wouldn’t have made an already strange situation even stranger, I would’ve kissed Taylor right then and there. She’d saved our dumb asses.
“But if you need any help planning Cody’s party,” Aniyah offered, “I’m happy to help.” It was a clear effort to ease the tension and transition to a subject Sophia was comfortable with. She probably didn’t actually have any intention of helping with Cody’s party, but she’d offered, and it’d be rude of me to decline.
“Thanks,” I said. “That’d be great.”
S O P H I A
Drew and his group got back to work pretty quickly after that, and I was happy to have things go back to normal. Or as normal as they could be anymore.
Taylor looked at me wide-eyed as we headed to the kitchen to grab some snacks. I wasn’t sure if it was the tequila or the conversation I’d just been a part of that had me feeling queasy, but something told me it was probably a combination.
Taylor started opening up cabinets like she was raiding a house in some sort of apocalyptic society. Apparently, people there survived on Wheat Thins and peanut butter, because she currently had both in her hands, and she was clutching them to her chest like she was afraid someone might tear them from her grasp.
I didn’t want to tell her that person would be Drew. The food was his. She probably wouldn’t give it up even if she’d known, so I’d just have to replace the items later. I couldn’t blame him for being possessive over his Wheat Thins.
Taylor opened the box and dug into the bag, pulling out a handful of the crackers and tossing a few into her mouth. Planning on getting something of my own, I managed to restrain myself for only a few seconds before I caved and realized I couldn’t resist them. I’d be replacing them anyway, so what the hell.
We each poured ourselves a glass of wine—at least that was mine—as we ate and chatted some more about the party I’d be throwing in November. Aamee was doing a costume party for Halloween—a musical couples’ theme. So I’d opted for a black-and-white theme with the twist of allowing green and silver accents, which were the school colors.
We were just deciding whether we’d encourage any shade of green or if it had to be the Lazarus University hunter green when Xander spoke up from his spot on the couch.
“So you’re just having people follow a dress code like we’re in some kind of elitist private school?” He laughed, making his comment seem less insulting than it originally came across.
I spun the barstool I was sitting on so I could face him. “It shows school spirit, which is important since I’m running for president of a school-sanctioned group.”
“It’s cute,” Taylor added.
“It’s lame,” Aniyah said. “You need something innovative and trendy that’ll make you stand out.”
While she did have a point, I hesitated to admit it. It would not only mean going back to the drawing board, but I also had no idea what was considered trendy and innovative. Pretty much every theme had been done at one point or another. All you had to do was Google it. Which we’d already done for forty-five minutes before deciding on the black, white, and green theme.
“Okay, did you have an idea?” I asked, careful not to sound rude. I was honestly curious.
If Aniyah had anything good to offer, I’d be more than happy to entertain the option. I’d go with whatever would result in the best turnout and most funds raised. And unlike Aamee, who valued her own opinion more than any other, I thought it was important to gather a mix of perspectives. Even if a few of them would never step foot in a sorority event.
Aniyah thought for a minute, putting her pen to her lips before looking back up at me. “I don’t, actually. But I bet if we all thought about it, we could come up with something better.”
“Okay,” I said, looking to each person in the room to gauge if they seemed like they were on board to brainstorm.
Toby was on the edge of his seat. Literally. He’d probably never been involved in something social at school, let alone a party with so many females. He looked ready to explode with excitement.
Xander, on the other hand, appeared less thrilled. He pulled his beanie down lower so it almost covered his eyes and settled back against the couch cushions. I wasn’t sure if he was preparing to tune us out or take a nap.
“Do you guys really want to help?” I asked.
“Of course we do,” Xander said slowly and with so much sarcasm, it practically bled from his pores. Then he looked to his other group members out of low eyelids. “We’re never finishing this project, are we?”
“Relax,” Drew said. “We’re almost done. I can type the rest of it up tomorrow and share it with you guys to edit.” He looked to me at the mention of typing, which almost made me laugh. But I’d be happy to help him, especially since he’d been so helpful to me.
“Okay,” Xander said. “Let’s think about this logically. Most of the same people who attend Aamee’s party will be the ones attending yours, right?”
“Yeah, I’d assume so. Why?”
“I’m just thinking they aren’t gonna want to go to two parties that close together.”
Taylor looked at him like his head had just fallen off his neck and she was trying to figure out how he was still able to speak. “Do you know anything about college kids?”
“Uh, yeah. I am one. I get that they like parties, but there are a million of them. Sophia should do something different. Something that will raise a lot of money and still have a ton of participation.”
“Obviously,” Taylor said. “That’s the whole goal.”