The Upside of Unrequited

by Becky Albertalli

Certain nights have this kind of electricity. Certain nights carry you to a different place from where you started.

But there’s this thing I feel when I meet another Jewish person in the wild. It’s like a secret invisible high five.

You would matter. That’s the thing. I get into this weird place sometimes where I worry about that. I’ve never told anyone this—not my moms, not even Cassie—but that’s the thing I’m most afraid of. Not mattering. Existing in a world that doesn’t care who I am.

It’s funny, because you always think the hard part is meeting someone the first time. It’s not. It’s the second time, because you’ve already used up all the obvious topics of conversation. And even if you haven’t, it’s strange and heavy-handed to introduce random conversational topics at this stage in the game. Hi, Reid. Let’s converse about topics. HOW MANY SIBLINGS DO YOU HAVE? WHAT BOOKS DO YOU LIKE?

“And sometimes that’s just what happens. People grow apart.”