Entry #2

"Since when are you gay, Abraham?"

This is where things start to become interesting. At the beginning of the fourth chapter, the character of Irene keeps establishing herself as someone not to mess with. Whenever Scottie assumes something about her, she does not stay quiet but defends herself and even calls Scottie out for being prejudiced. However, the most important moments occur during the night of the Homecoming party.

Is in the conversation between Honey-Belle and Irene where her character’s struggles are defined. First of all, she is at a crossroads. She has to repay her parents the insurance’s money, and because she does not have any money she sees quitting cheerleading as her only choice. It is revealed she wants to go to a different, more expensive university too, one her parents will not pay for her. It is revealed she is competing for Athlete of the Year because she needs the title for the scholarship. It is also revealed she does not care for the Queen title her classmates give her. What is more, she sees it as a possible obstacle in her Athlete of the Year campaign.

What steals the cake is the reveal that she likes girls. Of course, I had a “Why am I gasping? I already knew that!” moment, as this is a sapphic love story. The way it is revealed was so out of the blue I still had that kind of reaction. But yes, Irene Abraham officially likes girls now and I could not be happier for her. I really like how her character is not a lesbian stereotype--she is “girly”, a cheerleader, and a woman of color, which is unusual in sapphic stories.

The fun does not end with the reveal though. When they agree to fake-date, and she finally comes out to her classmates, there is something about her relationship with a soccer player that is revealed. It was already stated that she and Charlotte Pascal did not get along, but now there are “homo-subtle” implications. There is this phenomenon known as a queerplatonic friendship, where young people--in this case, two girls--have an intimate friendship rooted in unknown attraction. This is manifested as a really close, really exclusive friendship--which is implied that Irene and Charlotte had before their “break up”. Of course, this is just my theory yet, but I suspect the ending of their friendship has to do with something like that.

This is not my only theory. I noticed something more too. As I read more and more, I find it interesting how Irene seems to know a lot about Scottie. She has noticed her even before they bumped into each other, and probably even before the Towing incident. My theory is that Irene had a slight crush on Scottie, and that is why she feels strongly against Tally.

“God, your hands are sweaty.”

“And yours are as cold as your heart,”

Anyways, I like the character of Irene Abraham more and more as I read the book. I hope to know more about her relationship with Charlotte, and about the Towing incident too--which she has admitted feels guilty about, and has called it an “accident”. I am also curious about the developing relationship with Scottie, and I hope to see how the narrator’s--Scottie’s--tone changes as they get to know each other more. It has already changed slightly, but I want to see more.

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