JENNIE
March 10
My phone buzzes after third period, and it's Manoban. She tells me she's waiting outside, near the river. She wants to drive down south to Evansville to see the Nest Houses, which are these huts woven out of saplings that were created by an Indiana artist. They're literally like birds' nests for humans, with windows and doors. Manoban wants to see if there's anything left of them. While we're down there, we can cross the Kentucky border and take pictures of ourselves, one foot in Kentucky, one in Indiana.
I say, "Doesn't the Ohio River run the entire border? So we'd have to stand on a bridge—"
But she keeps right on like she doesn't hear me. "As a matter of fact, we should do this with Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio."
"Why aren't you on your way to class?" I'm wearing one of her flowers in my hair.
"I got expelled. Just come out here."
"Expelled?"
"Let's go. I'm wasting gas and daylight."
"It's four hours to Evansville, Manoban. By the time we get there, it'll be dark."
"Not if we leave now. Come on, come on, get on out here. We can sleep there." She is talking too fast, as if everything depends on us looking at nest houses. When I ask her what happened, she just says she'll tell me later, but she needs to go now, as soon as possible.
"It's a Tuesday in winter. We're not sleeping in a nest house. We can go Saturday. If you wait for me after school, we can go somewhere a little closer than the Indiana-Kentucky border."
"You know what? Why don't we just forget it? Why don't I go by myself? I think I'd rather go alone anyway." Through the phone, her voice sounds hollow, and then she hangs up on me.
I'm still staring at the phone when Taehyung walks past with Niki, hand in hand. "Everything okay?" he says.
"Everything's fine," I answer, wondering what on earth just happened.