They're all like "TALKING TO PEOPLE HELP" and bwahh, social things are hard sometimes. DO NOT JUDGE OK :(

(Also Spencer the dudebro dork. You know this is true.)

Tennessee gave Z a look. "Flowers for Algernon," she said. "You know that."

"Guess I just forgot," Z said, as lightly as she could. Of course she knew it. Actually, she was doing the same text, she'd asked that for the sole purpose of making conversation. Tennessee just wasn't making this any easier.

Ryan lit up. "Hey!" he said. "I've read that! Did you like it?"

"I guess," Tennessee said doubtfully. "I liked reading it, but it's hard having to talk about it and write essays, you know what I mean? Sometimes I feel like I have thoughts but I don't know what they are."

Z knew what she meant. But maybe this wasn't the best thing to say around Ryan Ross, because she knew Ryan Ross was supposedly this big shot at English, had won a couple of prizes last school year, so if he said anything condescending god help him --

Ryan was nodding sympathetically. "Yeah," he said. "I know what you mean, sort of. I just take out the bits I liked and try to talk about why I liked them, you know?" He threw a glance over at Z, almost like he was asking her something, and Z felt oddly gratified.

Z cleared her throat. "Isn't it going to be harder," she said, her voice cracking because she was kind of nervous, "Because I heard the version we've got is the condensed version, without any sex and everything."

"I didn't know that," Ryan said. He sounded mildly impressed.