We made an appointment at a middle-of-the-road ice cream parlor. It was neither too poor nor too rich—just the right amount. We met in the parking lot and went inside. “Thanks for coming, Maya,” I said happily. I needed to make more friends.
“I'm surprised you called me,” she said, sitting down. “Have you realized what you want so quickly?” she wanted to know. At first, I laughed awkwardly, since, after all, I hadn't decided anything and was even more confused than before. “I want to know everything. I haven't seen Arvel since yesterday, which is giving me some relief. It can be quite boring talking all the time about how you met and so on, especially when it's a lie. I'm afraid of getting the story wrong at some point,” she said. Maya seemed to have a perfect balance between the emotiona
