“So you gonna ask anyone to the dance?” says Max, grinning. “Ew! No way!” I say, jokingly pushing him. I squirm in my seat, a bit uncomfortable by the thought, also a bit uncomfortable because the bus seats are hard as rocks. I fidget with my bracelets until the bus stops. Kids scramble out of the bus and into the school doors. I slowly walk at the end of all the students, thinking about the dance. My stepdad is always saying that I should get a girlfriend and then maybe I wouldn’t mope around the house all weekend playing horror video games and reading webcomics (also horror), but then again he always says that “choosing” to be nonbinary was a mistake, and I know that’s not true. I know my stepdad and mom want me to their perfect son, but I’m not perfect. And I never will be. “Hey?? Riley, you there??” Max says, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. “Oh! Yeah.” I say, embarrassed. We walk in silence to math. We sit in our separate seats, I sit in the front row, he sits in the back. I sometimes feel bad I’m not trying hard enough with our friendship, but- My thoughts are interrupted by the speakers. “Can Riley Sage please report to the principal’s office?” Oh gosh. What now? First: This Next: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1218880381/ Prev: No Characters: Riley, They/She Max, He/Him
