Mrs. Allison clapped her hands together at the side. This seemed to be a standard gesture for her now anytime she was uncomfortable. “Come on now, Maria. Play the game and leave the insults at home.”
“Dyke isn’t an insult!” Maria said. “We love who we love!”
“Let’s just play the game,” Mrs. Allison warned.
“It’s hard to play, teacher,” Maria said, turning toward Julian again, “when I’m the object of affection.”
“You’re not,” Julian argued. “I’m not a lesbian.”
“You could be bisexual, though. This isn’t TV—we can say the word out loud.”
Maria threw the ball and tripped up Julian again before he swung. Mrs. Allison clapped her hands together again.
“Okay, come on. Stay focused. We can’t play games in the principal’s office, now can we?”
Maria said something under her breath that even
