Surviving High School

he meant when a tall blond girl approached and stumbled into him. She wrapped an arm around his torso to steady herself, and Emily felt a sudden, unexpected wave of jealousy.
    “I thought you were going to tell me about that—uh—something. Over in your car?” the blond girl said, not so subtly.
    Cameron took another drink.
    “Good talking to you,” he said, looking over at Emily. “But as you see, I’ve got promises to keep.”
    He took the girl by the hand and led her out the front door and away from the party as Emily looked on.
    Secrets , he’d said. What did that mean?
    Emily looked around the party hoping to spot Kimi, and saw her close to the center of the room, standing awkwardly near the juniors and seniors, who were still playing their drinking game. Steeling up her nerve, Emily walked over and stood beside Kimi.
    “Never have I ever… sucked a toe,” said a Gothy girl named Dinah, and the circle said a collective “ewww” before falling silent as Spencer lowered a finger and sipped from his cup.
    “Gross,” said Hannah, whom Emily knew from the swim team.
    “How do you even bend your feet that far?” asked Amanda. “You must be so flexible!”
    “What?! No, I mean, it wasn’t my toe, it was—” Spencer stopped himself from saying more. “Never mind. I took my drink. Next question.”
    “Looks like we have a couple of new recruits,” said Samantha, patting the couch next to her and looking at Emily and Kimi. “I’m hoping you’re not as innocent as you seem, or this could be a bad night for the rest of us.”
    The girls took a seat, even as Emily continued to scan the room for Ben. The group looked expectantly at Kimi, waiting for her to take her turn.
    “Never have I ever… gone skinny dipping,” she said,looking out at the pool, and almost everyone else in the circle lowered their fingers and sipped their drinks.
    “Maybe we can fix that later,” said Zach Reynolds, one of the senior football players, before his girlfriend, Hannah, elbowed him in the ribs. The group turned its attention to Emily, who stared out across the room, not paying attention. Where was Ben? Had he gone to sleep early again, like at his last party? What if he—
    “Em,” said Kimi in a loud whisper, “your turn.”
    “Oh, uh, right,” said Emily. “Never have I ever—”
    What had she done? Been on a date? Made out with a guy? Gone to a dance? Held hands?
    None of the above.
    But probably best not to advertise any of that. She decided to avoid the topic of sex and romance altogether.
    “—eaten a gummi bear.”
    Everyone laughed.
    “What about gummi worms?” asked Spencer, and Emily shook her head. “Gummi rings? Gummi fish? Gummi dinosaurs?”
    “No, no, and no.”
    “You poor, deprived girl.”
    The rest of the group lowered their fingers and sipped their drinks.
    “Okay,” said Spencer. “I’ve got one. Never have I ever kissed a guy.”
    “Lame,” said Samantha. “That’s cheating. You can’t be gender specific like that.”
    “I didn’t make the rules,” said Spencer. “I just exploit the loopholes.”
    All the girls in the circle, Kimi included, lowered their fingers and drank. Everyone but Emily. Spencer stared at her, his mouth open.
    “Seriously?” he asked. “Never?”
    Emily’s face turned bright red.
    “You’re joking, right?” asked Hannah, and Emily shook her head, ashamed.
    She looked around the party. Everyone else stood in small circles, talking, drinking, and laughing—and for a moment it seemed as if the joke was at her expense. She was the only one in the circle who had never been kissed. Maybe even the only one at the party.
    “That’s just—sad,” said Spencer.
    “Leave her alone,” said Samantha. “She’s, like, eight years old.”
    “I wasn’t trying to be a jerk about it,” said Spencer. “I was just sur—”
    “I have to go—to the restroom,” Emily said, standing up.
    “Em, wait,” said Kimi, but Emily was already walking out of the room and up the nearby staircase, trying to get as far away from the party as possible.
    “See if you can find someone to make out with on your way back!” Zach shouted before Hannah elbowed him in the ribs again.
    Upstairs, Emily looked down a long hall of closed doors, trying to guess which one was a bathroom. She ran a fingerunder her eye and was relieved to find it dry. Good: She’d held it together pretty well so far. Still, she needed a few minutes of solitude to shake off the shame