Imogen, Obviously

by Becky Albertalli

Not that she’d ever outright admit this, but I think we both know I’m her emotional support hetero.

girl what 😭😭😭😭

But I’m a Cheerleader, Clueless,

okay girl the closet is glass

this runway model of a boy. He’s white, with icy-blond hair and an angular face.

yasss twink rep

My voice always pitches higher when people talk about girls kissing—which makes literally no sense, seeing as I’m surrounded by queer people 24/7.

“Stop saying what you think I want to hear! You’re allowed to feel a certain way about this.”

my god I hate her already

I think about that sometimes—how the only way to let someone into your reality is to retell it. Even true things come out filtered, imperfect, and muddled. So what’s the harm in Lili taking it a step or two further?

And I probably wear dresses and skirts more than pants. I’m pretty sure there were a few years in elementary school where I only wore dresses. All my socks had to have either lace or ruffles.

it’s giving hyper fem

Like, we live in a queerphobic society, you know?

what’s wrong with the word homophobia

“They just show up with their thermoses of booze every month and completely annihilate us. It’s like their pregame. They’re probably at a frat party now.”

omg best pregame ever

The girl set her phone down on the ledge of a sink, leaning in to study her reflection while she washed her hands.

and she didn’t notice her skirt tucked into her tights😭

Would I be queerbaiting?

GIRL😭

“it’s pretty amazing that you and Jade still get along that well. Same with you two.” She looks from Lili to me. “Just the fact that an overnight trip with your ex was even on the table.”

just realized that’s very weird n the fact that Tessa is flirting w Imogen thinking that she’s her friends ex is also weird but hey

Am I two lemon squares and a haircut away from making out with girls at a Clairo show?

😭

And with that, she takes off down the empty dorm hallway.

girl don’t piss me off

She lifts the grocery bag higher, revealing a carabiner attached to one of her belt loops.

omg bye

It’s like I’m incapable of being normal around queer women.

TM: Listen, Scott, if you need an info session of that nature, let me know TM: Could probably be arranged

Tessa starts typing, and the world shrinks to fit into three tiny dots.

But my sister’s queer. My best friends are queer.

girl we know u say it every chapter damn

I stare at my phone, at a total loss. Every possible response feels too flirtatious, too thirsty, too wistful. Too unbearably earnest.

I think I miss it. Being straight. I mean, I miss people thinking I’m straight. And by that, I mean I miss people knowing I’m straight. Because I am. Straight. One girl can’t topple your entire sexuality, right?

I oil my gun with liberal tears.

that’s insane 😭

“Kidding! I’m kidding. Oh, you’re so cute. Okay, don’t panic. You’re not gay.”

girl why tf would u say that😭 dismissive asf

All these moments, scattered and separate. All these disconnected dots.

The bathroom door swings open, and someone in a full-on raven costume lurches toward us, wings raised. “NEVERMORE.”

wait stop because they ate deown 😭😭

It’s funny how I lived without kissing for eighteen years, and now I think I might die if it doesn’t happen tonight.

“Oh, we were in the neighborhood.” Gretchen says, with this little hand wave she does when she’s trying to show off her thumb ring. She turns to Tessa. “It is . . . very cool to meet you in real life.”

GIRL ZONT PISS ME AWF

“Really? Isn’t that kind of unusual? I think it’s amazing, don’t get me wrong.”

IM SO ANNOYED AT THIS BITCH

Straight girls who do this are why everyone thinks bi girls are undateable.”

im sorry that’s just untrue and lesbophobic asf I can’t 😭

“A hetero queen,” declares Gretchen.

plz shut the fuck up

“Did you? Because what it sounds like is a pick-me straight girl appropriating queerness because she thinks it will make everyone happy.”

had to stop for a second and vent after reading this because what

“Oh my God, please don’t be.

if I had a dollar for every time someone didn’t allow someone else to apologize in this book

“It’s like there’s this idea that you have to earn your label through suffering. And then you have to prove it with who you date, how you dress, how other people perceive you.”

IS: Then call it questioning GP: But you weren’t!

bruh