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"Hey…uh out in er kne to interact with people, and ood, we’re good," Sean laughed a little "We’re leaving a bit early to co…hey, don’t kill us, okay? Eyes on the road, you can talk to her later…Sorry, she h and Sean’s voice was coet out of here until Tuesday; have to finish soet into toe canat MicNic’s?" I asked,into Reed’s Jeep, just like we used to--instantly

"That’d be aweso aainst us: UofA and ASU squared off every Thanksgiving break I wanted to be there desperately, especially knowing that it ht be Reed’s last But I wasn’t sure I elcome

"Uh…I don’t know Sean," I started, but he cut o You knoants you there Besides, Buck will insist on it," he was acting as if nothing rong

"Sean, you don’t know that We…Reed and I…we haven’t talked Not in a long time I think he’s moved on," I admitted it out loud, and it made me choke a little

"Yeah, I’ve heard you both say that sa it Look, it’s clear you two have so of how to say his next sentence I appreciated that he was dancing around e "But look, you have to start soood for you"

I soaked in his words I couldn’t see how ht not even knoas there--would be good for us, but I was a little co, just hiding, blending in, and taking in his last rival college game for my own satisfaction

"Noles? Are you there," Sean asked

"Oh, yeah…was just thinking So…okay, yeah I guess I’ll go to the ga

"Of course! We’ll see you at Buck’s for Thanksgiving anyway," he said, matter-of-factly

"Uhm…what?" noas confused

"Yeah, so…Buck invited your parents, and since you and Reed both like to pretend nothing’s wrong, everyone thinks you’re together and lovey dovey, so we’re all having turkey at the Johnsons Happy Thanksgiving! See you there!" Sean hung up as soon as he was done

Fuck! Hoas I going to get through this? I started to fast forward to the day, envisioning Reed staring daggers throughdown in tears in front of everyone, hi my parents how I kissed sonant!

I let , all the way to the writing center for a special Saturday session My tutoring see that still held joy foron the poe than irl, Kira, who reminded me so much ofwith her Kira had been struggling to come up with a topic for the winter showcase She suffered from Tourette’s syndrome, her muscle spasms almost constant, and her stutter a continuous wall in her way She was one of irl, but so trapped because of her disability And for some reason--probably more than any of my other students--I wanted to help her find words that would chip away at her cage I knew they wouldn’t coht if we could just coether, that she could recite in front of a crowd…despite the pauses and stutters that would undoubtedly work against her, she

But I wasn’t ether, and she practiced saying lines, so one or two out before her body and brain betrayed her And I was proud But e sat down to work on her topic, I wasn’toff options and ideas Instead, I just sat there and tappedat the lines until they bled together