Audre & Bash are Just Friends

The party’s hostess is Audre’s best friend, Reshma Wells. She was born in India, adopted by British pop stars, and moved to New York when she was in fourth grade. Reshma interrupts Audre’s session with Sparrow to reveal that Bash is suspected of being involved in the pregnancy scare their classmate had earlier that year. This saddens Sparrow, who decides to go home. Reshma invites Audre to an after-party at Bash’s house. As Audre navigates the uninhibited crowd of classmates in her best friend’s home, she feels disconcertingly out of place.

Audre receives a text message from someone named Ellison: “pls answer. we deleted the video. pls don’t tell anyone what happened. no one saw the vid. ok?” (13). She tells Reshma that she’ll talk to her later and hurries outside, where she experiences a panic attack.

The chapter ends with the working title of Audre’s self-help book, 1, 2, 3, 4…THRIVE! A Teen’s Rules for Flourishing on This Dying Planet. The first rule is, “Always know when to leave a party” (14).

Audre deletes Ellison’s text even though she knows that this will not resolve her problems. She walks back to her apartment. She no longer feels at home there because her mother, Eva, and her stepfather, Shane, converted half of her bedroom into a nursery for her one-year-old sister, Alice. The teenager now sleeps on the couch in the living room. 

Audre secretly thinks of the baby as The Goblin and feels that her life began to fall apart when Alice was born. Eva has severe migraines, and Shane is recovering from alcohol addiction. Eva and Shane were high school sweethearts who reunited after Audre’s parents divorced. The teenager is fond of Shane, but she finds his and Eva’s infatuation with one another nauseating. Eva and Shane are planning a wedding and renovating the apartment on top of caring for a baby and managing busy careers as acclaimed authors.

Eva asks Audre to help her record a video announcing her latest book, Back to Belle Fleur, which tells the stories of Eva’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. In the video, Audre recites their family motto, “Mercy girls do what can’t be done” (21). Eva apologizes for missing the awards ceremony earlier that day, and Audre tries to conceal how much it hurt that her mother wasn’t there. Right before the ceremony, Audre received a text from Ellison, who was her prom date two months ago. The message triggered a panic attack, but she still went onstage and delivered her speech.

When Audre tells Eva and Shane about her plans to write a self-help book, her mother cautions her against growing up too quickly, like she did. Audre retorts, “Glad you have a chance for a do-over with Baby Alice. You know, the three of you sit there like the stars in your own movie while I’m off on the sidelines” (26). She storms off to the fire escape for some privacy. Audre’s father calls her and tells her that she won’t be able to stay with him that summer because he and his wife, Athena, are expecting a baby, and Athena’s mother is staying in Audre’s room.

The narrative shifts to Bash. He used to live with his father in California and was on track to become an Olympic sprinter. However, he had to move in with his mother in Brooklyn because his father disowned him. He doesn’t feel like he belongs in New York or with his mother, who hasn’t been a part of his life since he was an infant. Bash’s mother, Jennifer, is an independently wealthy white woman who travels the country volunteering with underprivileged Black youth. She speaks of the importance of working with abandoned children without acknowledging that she has been mostly absent from her son’s life.

While a crowd of affluent students parties in his mother’s luxury apartment, Bash sits outside and wishes that they would leave. He’s aware that his peers spread exaggerated rumors about him, but he prefers to hide his true self. The only person in New York who knew him before he moved to the East Coast is Clio Rhodes, a freshman at Cornell. She encourages Bash to call his father, Milton, so he can find closure and regain his former drive. Bash is high on marijuana and doesn’t want to talk about his past. He suggests that they go for a jog in Prospect Park instead.

The narrative returns to Audre. She is devastated because she feels that both her mother and father have replaced her by having babies. She wanders to Prospect Park and sits beneath a tree. Audre is distracted from ruminating on her ruined summer plans when she sees a handsome young man jogging gracefully in pink Crocs. She watches as a young woman shouts Bash’s name and pushes a cell phone in his face. Audre assumes that they’re dating and that he cheated on her. Bash notices Audre and approaches her to ask, “Not to be rude, but are you staring at me?” (42).

The chapter ends with the second rule in Audre’s self-help book, which advises the reader not to make direct eye contact with “tall, curly-haired boys” because they have “special powers that turn smart girls stupid” (43).

Bash has heard of Audre because of her work as Cheshire Prep’s unofficial therapist. He is baffled when Audre says that a girl cried over him earlier that day because he isn’t dating anyone and strives not to hurt people: “Meanness is too easy. People think being mean makes them seem edgy or unique. Kindness is more radical” (47). Audre notices the tattoo sleeve on his arm, and he explains that he designed and inked it himself. When Bash offers to design a tattoo for her, she rejects the idea because she can’t imagine making such a permanent commitment.

Audre is usually able to understand people’s behavior quickly, but she finds herself unable to decipher if Bash’s nonchalant, agreeable demeanor is sincere or a calculated lure. Audre’s compounded negative feelings from the day lead her to lash out at Bash, and she accuses him of being careless with girls’ hearts. Bash retorts that she should be enjoying the start of her summer vacation instead of making judgments about him. As she walks away, Bash calls out to her and tells her that he’s able to commit to his tattoos because he accepts that everything changes: “They’re like reminders of things I loved once. Even just for a day” (53). His words strike a chord with her because she wishes that her life wouldn’t change. She runs away on the verge of tears. The chapter ends with the third rule in Audre’s self-help book, which cautions readers to be wary of attractive joggers who drop inopportune pearls of wisdom.

On Saturday, Audre watches Baby Alice while her parents attend book signings. She reflects on her conversation with Bash and regrets her harsh words. When Alice cries, Audre protests that the baby has no problems: “No homework. No acting a fool in front of a popular guy who’s done nothing to you. No divorced parents who are sick of raising you” (56). Reshma comes over to Audre’s apartment and tries to console her about missing out on her annual visit to Malibu.

When Audre mentions that she’s struggling to write her self-help book, her best friend suggests that this is because all her advice comes from books rather than personal experience. Reshma missed prom, and she asks Audre how it went. Audre explains that Ellison became intoxicated and wanted to have sex with her during the after-party. She pushed him off her and had a panic attack. When she asked him to get help, he laughed at her and came back with three other teenage boys. One of them filmed her. Although Ellison promises the video was deleted, Audre still experiences panic attacks and worries that others will see the video.

Audre wishes aloud that she felt less fear and anxiety, and Reshma spontaneously writes a list of five daring activities for Audre to complete that summer. These Experience Challenges include buying a sex toy, staying at a party after her usual bedtime, and kissing someone she has “*ACTUAL* chemistry with” (64). Reshma’s advice about experiencing life reminds Audre of Bash, and she tells her friend about her encounter with the boy. Because Reshma plans to spend her summer in Argentina, she proposes that Audre find someone who will keep her accountable so she completes the challenges. The girls realize that Bash Henry would make the perfect partner for this endeavor.