Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137077 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“Sounds like a good routine. Your curls are gorgeous.”
“Hannah doesn’t think so,” she mutters, telling her hair more so than me. Grace has gone still and quiet, two things the vibrant, energetic girl never is, which tells me how affected she is by whatever happened with her friend.
I lift my gaze to Cameron in alarm. His jaw is hard-set and his eyes meet mine, saying ‘see?’
“That’s the friend you said listens to Stray Kids like you, right?” I ask, my fingers deftly working from Grace’s crown to just behind her ear, leaving a neat, precise plait in their wake.
She’s talked about her friends in passing, mostly during run-on sentences in answer to the question ‘How was your day?’ but I don’t feel like I have a good picture of who this girl is and what she means to Grace.
“Yeah, she likes Felix, one of the band guys.”
Grace doesn’t say more, so after a second, Cameron does it for her. “Hannah is Grace’s best friend. They’ve been nearly conjoined at the hip for the last year, doing sleepovers, going to the trampoline park, having playdates, talking on the phone, filming silly videos, and more. Best friends,” he emphasizes, “but last week, she suggested that Grace straighten her hair.”
Grace’s shoulders climb up by her ears, but she nods. “She said I should straighten it so it’s not frizzy.”
I gasp. “She did not!”
Grace nods, adding, “But it’s not. I spray it in the morning and make sure it looks good.” Her voice goes higher and louder, showing how much the one comment from a friend affected her.
As I finish the first braid and secure the end, she turns around, her eyes pleading with me to understand that she’s doing the best she can.
“It’s always looked great when you go to school and still looks good when you get in the car after school too,” I assure her. She visibly relaxes, her shoulders dropping a bit. “The horse-riding helmet’s not doing you any favors, but I don’t think helmet hair looks good on anyone.” I throw her a wink, trying to be sure she hears the full honesty and understands that the compliment is equally as genuine.
“Did you talk to her like we discussed?” Cameron asks her.
“Yeah.”
It’s the right answer, but not the relief you’d expect her to have after a heart-to-heart with a bestie. Her reluctance to tell Cameron more is written all over face, and he bends down, getting closer to her, and softens his voice. “What happened?”
Grace nibbles on her lip but finally says, “She laughed and told me to quit being so sensitive.” She throws her voice with the last bit, so I think that’s exactly how Hannah said it to her… disrespectful and snide.
“That bitch!” I spit out before I can stop it. I slap my hand over my mouth, just as surprised by my outburst as they are. I meant it to be an internal thought, not an out loud statement, but now that it’s out there, I stand by it. So despite Grace’s dinner-plate sized eyes and Cameron’s frown, I shrug and dig my grave deeper. “Well, it’s true.”
Cameron sighs heavily, rolling his eyes like he’s searching for patience and calm, and I’m not sure if it’s to deal with me or this Hannah character. Chances are, it’s me. To his daughter, he says, “You are not being sensitive. Hannah hurt your feelings, and feelings can’t be wrong, only actions can be, and what she said was rude.”
He sounds like a self-help book, or one of those psychobabble internet memes, but in a sweet way. He cares about Grace’s feelings, and judging by the rigid set of his spine, he’s working hard to maintain his poise amid his anger.
“I guess,” Grace mutters, not sounding like she believes that any more than Cameron does.
I have extensive experience with adolescent girls and their savagery is downright terrifying sometimes. I don’t want that to be the case for Grace, who is sweet despite her occasionally absent filter. But friendships are nuanced in ways that are difficult to explain, and even more difficult to navigate, especially at Grace’s formative age. How these complicated relationships are dealt with can make or break a girl’s confidence, so I need to step carefully and guide delicately. However, that doesn’t mean avoiding the obvious. Sometimes, facing it head-on is the best course of action.
“The first comment was rude. The second one was bitchy. Are you sure she’s not a mean girl?” I ask bluntly.
Grace’s head falls forward, and though I can’t see her face, she seems to be laser-focused on picking her cuticles. “She’s my friend,” she virtually whispers.
I give Cameron a look, because my heart is breaking into pieces for his little girl. His eyes reflect the same pain. I lift a brow, silently questioning whether he’s okay with me addressing this. I’ve already overstepped once, and this is something he’s already handled, but it’s not done. Not with Grace still hurting.