It was a good two hours and one dinner of green bean casserole later when the girls finally breathed a sigh of relief at the completion of the assignment (it would have been dinner and an hour less if they'd stayed focused, but we all have our shortcomings). Will snapped the Math book shut and dropped it onto her backpack, which sat beside the desk. "I'm so glad that's over. It would've taken me forever alone." She turned to her friend. "You're a life saver."
"What flavor?"
Will decided not to dignify that with any form of response.
Irma smiled and leaned down to look Will straight-on. "Y'know another thing I realized I really like about you?"
"The fact that when someone makes a lame joke you can douse them, Taranee can light them on fire, Cornelia can drop rocks on them, and Hay Lin finds it funny, whereas I have to just sit there and suffer."
It would later strike Irma as slightly embarrassing that since their study session the previous week she'd been left with a blank look a bit more often than before. "You are so going to be a detective some day."
"Actually, it was Hay Lin who made that observation a day or two ago, so I can't take the credit." Will stood. "Now, though, I think some cookies are in order."
"Take your time." Irma lifted her backpack. "I want to change. I've got an outfit to show you."
"Something new?"
"Actually, I guess you could say it's kind of old." Irma winked. "But I have a feeling you'll like it."
Will took the next second trying to decide whether to look confused or curious, but then left the room when she remembered it was Irma she was talking to, and that either one would have gotten her nowhere.