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instruments when they came on. Even the empty chairs set up

on stage thrilled Adley.

That thrilled me in return.

I dressed up too, but for me dressing up isn’t putting on

a dress. I just don’t like them. I never did feel comfortable in

them. I chose black leggings, but they’re fancy because they

&

nbsp; have this nice sheen to them, and a black sheer blouse with a

black cami underneath. I did wear my favorite knee-high black

boots to further dress it up. I’m pretty simple when it comes to

everything.

I hate jewelry. Everything feels cloying and gets caught

in things or snags on stuff. I just never could get used to it. My

mom isn’t very fancy either. She hardly wears any jewellery

besides her favorite earrings and her wedding rings. I’m glad

that they’ve never got me anything other than earrings as a

gift, because I’d feel terrible about never wearing them and I

hate being obligated to do something like that.

“This is so incredible,” Adley whispers in my ear

between songs.

She applauds and I clap along with the rest of the

auditorium. It’s one of those polite claps that sounds like

gentle rain. How do people get subtly trained into doing this?

How do they know what is just the right amount of clapping?

“I’m glad you like it,” I whisper back. When I lean in, I

inhale deeply beside Adley’s ear.

She doesn’t smell like fruit tonight. It’s some kind of

flower, but so delicate and understated that I can’t guess what

it is. Jasmine?

That’s another thing I never bother with. Perfume. I did