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Tetia activated the floatglow lamp and set it down on the floor, inviting the others to sit in a circle around it. “There!” she said. “Now we’re all ready!”
“And why did you call us to your and Richeh’s room?” said Agott, folding her arms. “I wanted to work on my drawings before bed.”
Tetia shyly rocked from side to side. “The thing is...I wanted us to have some girl talk. We’ve never done that before, and I thought, you know, we’re old enough to start getting crushes... ” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And I’ve always wanted to do ‘girl talk’ with other girls...”
“Okay!” said Coco, eager as always. “What kind of girl talk?”
“Crushes!” said Tetia. “The classic! Do you like boys or girls? Or both? Or maybe neither. Or something else.” She laughed awkwardly. “Sorry. I didn’t think too hard about this.”
Richeh petted the brushbuddy curled up on her lap. “You should go first,” she said. “You’re the one who called us here.”
Oh. That made sense. Besides, maybe the others were just nervous. Maybe they’d feel more comfortable if Tetia went first. “Okay,” she said. “I like both! Or all. I like boys and girls!” She clasped her hands in her lap. “When I started living as a girl, I assumed I must like boys, and I do, but soon I realized I really like girls too.” She smiled shyly at her friends. It felt good to say that out loud for the first time. “What about you, Agott?”
“Me?” said Agott, somehow jumping back despite sitting on the floor. “I...it’s... none of your business!”
Everyone jumped. “Um!” said Tetia.
Then Agott turned pink and awkwardly looked away. “Fine! Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I...I think I like girls. There. Can we move on?”
“Thanks for telling us, Agott!” Tetia said encouragingly. Tetia wondered if there was a girl Agott had a crush on, but she had the feeling she shouldn’t push. “What about you, Coco?”
“Me?” said Coco. She fidgeted with her hands. “I don’t know. I never thought about it before. Ummm...hmmm...” She rocked from side to side. “I think...I think I might like both.”
“I always thought you seemed like the type to like both!” said Tetia.
Agott awkwardly looked sidelong at Coco. Oooh.
“Okay, now it’s your turn, Richeh!” said Tetia. “Boys or girls? Or both? Or maybe neither?”
Richeh shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Richeh doesn’t need to know what genders Richeh likes.” She paused, then added something else. “And Richeh doesn’t mind joining in on girl talk, but Richeh’s not a girl. Richeh is Richeh.”
“Huh?” said Tetia.
Actually, the more she thought about that, the more sense it made. Richeh was Richeh!
“Okay, then!” Tetia beamed at her friends. “Richeh is Richeh. Thanks, everyone! I really liked our girl talk. And our not-girl talk.” She’d learned so much about everyone!
This talk had made her really happy.