Sometimes, she looks around the classroom and wonders how everyone else gets it

“How was school today?”

There’s too much meaning in Ma’s question. And there’s nothing good in the fridge. Mimi closes the door harder than necessary.

“Yeah, fine, good,” she says. Not.

“Homework tonight?”

Talk about subtle. Mimi almost rolls her eyes.

“Yeah. There’s always homework. Shoshana’s coming over soon.” Tzippy’s busy tonight, again, and there’s no way she’s enduring another awkward three-way study session. Besides, this way she’ll probably get more studying done; Shoshana’s not inclined to schmooze much these days. Unless she gets in the mood of another whole intense DMC.

Mimi sighs noisily, Ma raises her brows.

“Gonna go get everything ready,” Mimi says quickly, and backs off.

It’s not Ella, or Shoshana, or even the homework. It’s all of it together. Mimi flops onto her bed, kicks her shoes across the room. The thudding sound against the closet door feels good.

Out of habit, she starts stretching, turning onto her side for leg lifts. One. Two. Hold it. Three. Four.

Shoshana. She’s just not the same. Ever since her sister broke off her engagement, Shoshana’s walking around like the world’s ended. Mimi hops off the bed, annoyance surging through her as she leans forward onto her right leg, presses her left heel into the carpet, feels the burn up her calf.

She can’t get over it already? Like, come on. These things happen. It’s not the end of the world.

And then there’s Ella, Ella who’s always been the touchy one of their group. She’s taking the whole Shoshana thing so personally, as if it’s about her. And Tzippy’s no use either recently, always busy, always flying, chesed projects and family events and her hectic, happy life.

And then there’s me. Stuck in the middle, dealing with everyone else’s stuff and then all my own stuff, too.

Mimi rolls her shoulders, tries to loosen the tense muscles. That’s what comes of sitting in a stuffy classroom all day, sitting and trying to follow each class, writing notes that don’t make any sense.