you okay?” a girl’s voice on the other side of the toilet stall asked.
I didn’t recognize the voice but if I spoke up she might be able to help. I took a few deep breaths, trying to find my voice. “Um. I just got my period...” I sighed, my shoulders slumping.
“Oh man, that sucks. You need something? I think I have a tampon. Hang on. Got it.”
I looked down as a tampon appeared under the door and I took it from the girl’s fingers. “Thanks. I...” I stared at the tampon in my hand then ripped off the paper wrapper and stared at it some more. Of all the things my mom had taught me, inserting a tampon wasn’t one of them. God, this was so embarrassing.
“I’ve never used one before.” I cringed.
“Okay. It’s cool. I’ll talk you through it. My older sister helped me. It’s kind of weird the first time but you’ll get used to it.”
She talked me through it and if she hadn’t been so cool about it, I would have been more humiliated than I already was. Not to mention that it felt weird and I wasn’t sure how I’d ever get used to it. “I’m Christy, by the way. Christy Rivera.”
I put a face to the name. Long, sleek dark hair, big dark eyes, funky clothes. She hung out with the artsy kids. “Lila Turner.”
“We have a couple classes together.”
“Lila?”
My eyes widened at the sound of Jude’s voice.
“Oh hey. She’s in here. You’re Jude, right?”
“Yeah. Christy, right?”
“That’s me.”
“You okay, Rebel?” he asked, his booming voice echoing off the tiles.
“You shouldn’t be in here,” I hissed.
“Come out,” he said, sounding unfazed by the fact that he was in the girls’ bathroom and that I was locked in a stall with blood on my white denim skirt.
“I...” I exhaled loudly. “I can’t.”
“Hang on.” His sports bag dropped to the floor with a thud and under the door I saw him rummaging around in it. A few seconds later, he tossed his faded blue hoodie over the door.
“Hey. I’ll see you guys later,” Christy called. “Have a good weekend.”
“Thanks. For everything.”
“No problem.” I heard the door close behind her and then it was just me and Jude. Alone. In the girls’ bathroom.
“Jude... you should go. You’re going to miss the bus.”
“Already did. I called my mom to pick us up. Just put my hoodie on. It’ll be long enough to cover...” He cleared his throat. “... you know.”
My cheeks flamed with mortification.
Every other girl I knew had already gotten their period. I’d gotten mine at the end of my freshman year in the middle of the school hallway. And who had seen it? Besides the guys who had laughed at me, of course. Jude. I wished the ground would swallow me up. No such luck. I was still standing on terra firma.
“Thanks,” I mumbled when I’d pulled on his oversized hoodie that reached mid-thigh and covered the evidence. The sweatshirt smelled like the fabric softener his mom used and his woodsy shower gel and peppermint gum. It smelled like him.
I stepped out of the stall, unable to look at him and washed my hands at the sink. “This is so gross.”
“Nah. It’s no biggie.”
Easy for him to say. I side-eyed him as we exited the bathroom. He didn’t look grossed out. He gave me a little smile and didn’t even tease me.
“I’ll um... wash the hoodie and get it back to you tomorrow.”
“Keep it,” he said, holding the front door open for me.
I stepped outside and took a deep breath of hot, muggy air. “But it’s your favorite.”
“That’s why I want you to keep it.” He came to stand next to me and dropped all three bags onto the sidewalk while we waited for his mom to arrive.
“But why?” I asked, not understanding his logic.
“Because, Lila... if a guy won’t give you his favorite hoodie, he’s not worth your time.”
I turned my head to look at his face. He smiled, his dimples on full display. My breath caught in my throat as he tugged on one of the strings of his hoodie. “I like you in my hoodie. Looks better on you.”
It didn’t. It looked good on him. Just like the basketball shorts and T-shirt he was wearing. Everything looked good on Jude because he was like a young god with tousled chestnut hair and full lips and piercing blue eyes that could read my face and see straight into my soul.
For a few long moments, we just