Now she’s annoyed at me. I hadn’t shown her I cared in the slightest, and I don’t know how to go back on what’s been

Mrs. Sefson’s halfway through explaining the activity when she notices me on my own.

“Ashira, you don’t have a partner? Never mind, just join a group.”

Oh, joy.

I stand up, trying to look confident and nonchalant, but like hello, Mrs. Just-Join-a-Group Teacher, can’t you just make things even more awkward by pointing out to everyone that I’m friendless? And now what, march up to a pair and ask them to let me join?

I’m not joining Tammy and Fraida, that’s for sure.

Raizy, no chance, not if she’s busy playing let’s-pretend-we’re-not-cousins again and deep in whispered conversation with Suri at her desk at the back of the room.

“Come join us,” Miri says, turning around. It can’t have been more than two seconds of the awkward scanning the room for salvation, but I’m so relieved to drag my chair over. Miri’s nice, and Shevi’s just plain fun, even if they probably won’t get much work done.

“Thanks,” I tell Miri.

“Hey, sure thing,” Miri says. “I mean, if you’re as good at English as you are at cooking, we should thank you!”

She and Shevi giggle. I’m faintly annoyed; do these girls take nothing seriously? But then again, they’ve just rescued me from social mortification, so I should just smile back and be grateful.

Still, I can’t help but let my eyes stray over to Tammy’s desk, where she’s sitting and determinedly working with Fraida Berg. What was that all about? Since when do she and Fraida have anything to do with each other? And why… why now do I realize that I’d really have preferred working with Tammy, more than any of the others?