Page 78 of The Beta Test

“Like the stuff with Braden?” she asks. Her tone is not exactly friendly, but it’s not hostile either.

“Yeah, that. And stuff with my parents.”

Her arms drop from their crossed position, and she sits down across from me.

“What about your parents?”

I shrug and let out a stilted laugh. Not because it’s funny, but because I can’t help it.

“They’re separated. I mean, it wasn’t official then, but I knew enough to see it coming. My dad had been living in Australia for months and things were strained. They only told us a couple weeks ago though.”

Analiese watches me, and although there’s no pity in her gaze, there’s understanding. She also doesn’t offer verbal platitudes to try to make things okay or comfort me.

The silence of our mutual understanding hangs in the air, but it’s not uncomfortable. Then she speaks.

“How about I get us a couple of forks and we attack this cake?”

Our eyes lock and a genuine smile overtakes me. “Deal.”

Jake Taylor’s advice worked. Again.

Analiese springs from her chair with renewed energy, and I hear the clang of a drawer opening and closing in the next room before she reemerges brandishing two forks. We dig in from opposite sides of the plate, not even bothering to cut pieces.

She groans and rolls her eyes. “Oh my gosh, Avery. I kinda hate you for how good you are at baking. I’m terrible at it.”

I swallow a deliciously chocolatey bite and stab the cake for another, angling for a large chunk of Oreo. “How can you be bad at baking? It’s literally just following directions.”

“I don’t know. Too impatient maybe? Plus my mom doesn’t eat anything unhealthy so there’s no point in baking for myself.”

Even though things in my life haven’t gone according to plan this year, I still have the love and support of my family and friends. I’m almost never alone, unless by choice. But just as Analiese didn’t offer me sympathy for what I told her, I know instinctively she would hate for me to give her pity too.

“So you and Braden are over, right?”

My eyes narrow suspiciously. “How do you know that?”

“I saw him with his mom at the grocery store. I overheard his mom telling him she wouldn’t buy her ‘delinquent, backpacking son expensive breakfast cereal’ until he agreed to go to college.”

A laugh bubbles. Braden loves his sugary cereals, and Mrs. Patel probably isn’t over his current life choices.

Analiese smirks. “Yeah, then they saw me and stopped to say hi. Braden asked me if I’d seen you, which kinda told me all I needed to know. If he was in town you two would normally be inseparable.”

My smile drops, and I take another bite of the cake. We’ve already demolished a huge chunk. Over half of it is gone.

“Yeah, we’re over.”

Analiese lets that reveal hang for a moment. “Well, his loss.”

I don’t respond, but I feel it. Analiese doesn’t waste words. She means what she says.

80085 [Me]: Does chocolate fix everything?

31415: Most things, I think.

80085 [Me]: I think you’re right. I know it does for me. Have a bad day: chocolate. Lose a game: chocolate. Need to celebrate a win: chocolate.

31415: So, basically… everything: chocolate.

80085 [Me]: Exactly. I can’t even think of a time when chocolate wouldn’t be perfect.