"Grazi! Come on!" Velma was clearly exasperated. She took another drag of her cigarette, as though she were trying to keep her cool. She exhaled, blowing a cloud of smoke into Grazi's face."It'll be fun!"

Graziella leaned back on the porcelain sink behind her. She and Velma were hiding in the girl's room, sneaking a smoke before first period. It had become a ritual for them these past few months, ever since Grazi had transferred to PS 147. Nervous about her first day at a new, rough, school, Grazi had ducked in for a smoke and had run into Velma, doing the same thing. Upon finding out Grazi was a new student, Velma had taken pity on her and invited her to sit with her at lunch. And her boyfriend. And his friends. Now Grazi found herself in a whole new world, with very different rules. "I don't know, Vel." Grazi took a puff of her own cigarette. "I ain't skipped school before."

Velma looked at Graziella as if she had a second head. "Never?"

Grazi shook her head. "No." She'd never had a friend like Velma before. A girl that just did whatever she pleased, damn the consequences. The whole gang was like that. Grazi felt like she was struggling to keep her head above water.

"Well, you should come." Velma put out her cigarette with the heel of her shoe. "Don't you wanna?"

Velma had invited Graziella to come with her and the boys to Coney Island the next day. Apparently, they did it at least a few times a year. And Grazi did want to come. Very badly. Not that she cared much about the trip itself, exactly. Graziella, a former good girl from a good home, wanted to impress her new, cool friends. But Ma was under enough stress, without Grazi getting into trouble. "What if we get caught?" Graziella said, aware of how dumb she must have sounded to Velma.

"Then we get caught," Velma said with a grin. "So what?"

Grazi took a deep breath. Dad had started drinking after he lost his job and things had only gotten worse since they'd moved. Ma didn't need more to worry about. But Grazi was worried too. Didn't she deserve a little fun? "I don't know."

"Well," said Velma, leaning in like she was about to share a juicy secret. "I think Tony would be pretty happy if you came."

Grazi felt her stomach drop but tried to keep her face neutral. "He would?"

Velma gave Grazi's arm a playful push. "Don't play dumb, Grazi!"

Graziella felt her face get hot. Had she been that obvious? "I ain't playing dumb. I just-"

"You just like Tony!" Velma cried with a cackle. Suddenly, the bathroom door creaked open and a short redhead with a freckled face walked in. "Beat it!" Velma yelled, all the teasing gone from her voice. The girl didn't argue. She turned around immediately. Grazi laughed. The other girls were scared of Velma and, by extension, Graziella. It shouldn't have made Grazi happy but for some reason, it did.

"Harsh, Vel," she said, still giggling.

"Don't change the subject," Velma told her. "You like Tony?"

Grazi summoned all of her new found (false) toughness. "What if I do?" She put out her cigarette and fixed Velma with an intense stare. "Everyone likes Tony." It was true. Boys, girls. People were drawn to Tony like moths to a flame. He was gorgeous, obviously, but there was something else about him that she couldn't name. Some kind of dreamy, natural charisma that made him impossible to ignore. Graziella knew she'd been staring at him but she'd hoped no one had noticed.

"I knew it!" Velma cried. "Mouthpiece owes me a dinner out."

Grazi sighed, defeated. "Happy to help ya out."

"He likes you too! I can tell," Velma insisted. "Come tomorrow!"

Grazi had her doubts but she knew when she was beaten. "Fine. You win. I'll go." The girls gathered up their things and left the washroom.

"Tomorrow at nine," Velma reminded Graziella as they started down the hall towards their shared first period. "You won't regret it."

"Sure," Grazi said. She wasn't so sure that was true. "Who all is going again?"

Velma began listing all the usual suspects. Ice, Diesel, Big Deal, Action. Graziella suppressed a grin. She still wasn't sure what the boys' legal names even were, after all these months. Velma continued. "And Tony, obviously." She beamed innocently at Grazi. "And Riff."

Graziella stopped short. "Riff?" she asked, knowing how dumb she sounded. If Tony, and literally every other member of the gang was going, of course Riff would be there. Velma said as much.

"Um, yeah," Velma fixed Graziella with a stare. "Course he's going. What, we'd invite all the boys but him?"

"No, it's just..." Grazi wasn't sure how to finish her sentence. Velma was quickly becoming a good friend but Grazi didn't want to test her loyalties. She loved the boys, they'd all grown up together. To her relief, Velma just laughed.

"I get it. He can be a lot. Loves the sound of his own damn voice."

Grazi nodded. "Yeah. Just a lot to take in." But that wasn't really what she'd meant. Sure, Riff did like to talk. He rarely stopped. But that wasn't really what unsettled her. Whereas Tony exuded charm and warmth, Riff exuded...something else. He's constant chatter seemed like a wall, thrown up to keep people from getting too close. Tony drew people in, Riff kept them at a friendly distance. Tony was massive, tall and strongly build. Riff was so thin and wiry that it seemed like a strong wind might blow him away. His eyes were cool, where Tony's were warm. He was like Tony's dark shadow. Grazi didn't quite know what to make of him.

"It's weird, though," she said finally, choosing her words carefully. "He talks so much but he never says a word to me." It was true. Riff would hardly even look at her. He made excuses to leave when she sat down at lunch. She'd joined the group in the park the previous week and Riff had suddenly remembered that he had something incredibly important to do and ran off, refusing to give any details when asked.

"Really?" Velma asked. She frowned. "I hadn't noticed."

"Weird, right?" Grazi asked. "He must hate my guts or somthin."

Velma smiled again. "He hates everyone's guts. But maybe you'll get to know him better tomorrow." Grazi opened her mouth to protest but Velma shushed her. "You already said you'd be there. And if you wanna be with Tony, you'll have to make nice with his best buddy."

Grazi sighed. Making friends with Riff was the last thing she wanted to do. But if she wanted to keep Velma, if she wanted the gang, and, as Velma had said, if she wanted to get closer to Tony, she had no choice. "Yeah. Fine. How bad could it be?"