I’m still frozen, my hands in fists at my sides, my body tense. “When you do stuff like that,” I say instead of answering, “what exactly is going through your mind?” And I regret asking immediately, because the change that comes over her is unmistakable. She recoils as though she’s been slapped, her body curling in on itself. The smile she gives me is forced, and even her pink hair seems to wilt like a flower without water.
