Audre & Bash are Just Friends

The narrative shifts to Bash’s perspective. Audre and Bash go to Target to complete the next Experience Challenge, which is to buy a dildo. They both feel awkward, and Bash’s nerves are compounded by the fact that he secretly wants to be more than friends with Audre. The teenagers feel like kindred spirits as they open up about the enormous pressure that they feel to excel and their fear of failure. Audre is shocked when Bash says that he doesn’t plan to go to college. He argues that he can find fulfillment in life by becoming a tattoo artist and shares his good news about Fifth Angel Ink in South Carolina. Audre congratulates him, but she sounds “more like a guidance counselor than a peer” (175), which makes Bash wonder if she’ll miss him.

As they consider the products in the sexual wellness aisle, Audre mentions that she’s heard that sex toys might give women unrealistic expectations for sex with men. Bash suggests that discovering what she likes with a toy could be helpful if she later has an inexperienced sexual partner. Unbeknownst to Audre and Bash, Sparrow sees them together and is outraged. The chapter ends with the seventh rule of Audre’s self-help book, which advises the reader to write their own definition of success and pursue what brings them joy.

The narrative moves back to Audre’s perspective. The news that Bash intends to move to South Carolina by the end of the summer increases her resolve to stifle her crush on him. Eva picks out her wedding dress with feedback from Audre and her mother, Lizette, who video calls from Texas to share her scathing opinions of the gowns. 

Lizette is intoxicated and accidentally calls her daughter Genevieve Mercier, a name that Audre has never heard before. Eva always praises her mother’s work ethic but is vague about the reasons for the emotional distance between them. When Audre asks to read her memoir, Eva is startled but promises that she’ll let Audre see the book before she publishes it in the fall.

Their conversation is interrupted by a text from Ellison, who is worried by Audre’s silence and doesn’t want word of what he did to spread and “f up college admissions” (188). Audre feels closer to Eva since their argument after she went to the beach, but she still doesn’t tell her mother what happened at the prom. The chapter ends with the eighth rule in Audre’s self-help book, which advises readers to learn their family history so they won’t feel alone.

The narrative shifts to Reshma’s point of view. Sparrow tells her that she saw Audre and Bash at Target together. Reshma knows that they were only looking at sex toys to complete the challenge she assigned, but she promises Sparrow that she’ll investigate. Even though Audre asked her not to intervene, Reshma remains determined to clear her best friend’s path to Bash by seducing Clio. She spends time with Clio at Prospect Park and feels more and more attracted to the older teen. 

When Reshma asks if she’s dating anyone, Clio answers that she’s with a boy but isn’t sure if the relationship will last because he’s “all over the place” and “doesn’t want to commit” (198). Reshma flirtatiously asks whether she’s serious about this boy, and Clio mystifies Reshma by flirting back.

This chapter presents the conversations Audre and Bash have via text message over the course of a week. At the end of each day, they wish each other good night and call each other by the nicknames “A” and “B.” Bash shares that he doesn’t miss California as much since he became Audre’s fun consultant and that he’s “counting the minutes” until he sees her again (202). He researches panic attacks and finds a self-soothing technique called the 333 method that he thinks could help Audre. She shares that she used to make paintings and collages but stopped because she feels “impatient when [she’s] not the best at something” (212). On the Fourth of July, Bash texts Audre late at night and asks to see her. She declines his invitation to go out to eat but says that he can come to her window.

The narrative moves to Bash’s perspective. He arrives outside Audre’s window at 11:30 pm. He knows that he’s falling in love with her, and he’s disoriented because he promised himself that he wouldn’t develop romantic feelings for anyone in New York; he still feels “too scarred from what happened” in California to pursue a serious relationship (217). Audre tells him that they should stop flirting with each other or seeing each other outside of challenges because she thinks they’re better off as friends: “I think that if we hang out too much, I could start feeling things. And I’d end up hurt. Because you talk to a lot of girls” (219). She still doesn’t know the specifics of his relationship with Clio, which adds to her suspicions. He asks her to come downstairs or let him come upstairs so he can explain the situation to her, but she asks him to go. Feeling lost and hurt, Bash heads for home.

The narrative moves to Audre’s point of view. She feels humiliated because she admitted that she likes Bash, and he didn’t reciprocate her feelings. She stops replying to his texts for a few days, but they soon go back to texting and calling one another. Audre and Reshma reconcile when Reshma apologizes and promises to stop meddling. She suggests that Audre complete two Experience Challenges in one night by staying out past 10 pm and kissing a boy at an upcoming party. Audre embraces this double challenge in the hope that it will help her get over Bash.

On the Friday night of the party, Audre shares her plan with Bash. The thought of her kissing someone else makes him visibly uncomfortable, and she hopes that he’ll voice his feelings for her. Instead, he says that he’s concerned about the ethical implications of using someone to complete a challenge. When Audre reminds him that he saw Reshma’s list before he agreed to help her, he resolves to uphold his promise.

Bash takes Audre to Chevalier, a cafe that turns into a club for high school students at night. She feels a little overwhelmed, and he tells her that she’s “the prettiest girl in here” (229). Audre decides to try to kiss Manny Sanchez, a boy she met through debate. Bash advises her to use an alcoholic beverage as a prop, even though she doesn’t drink, and to resist the urge to correct or therapize the other partygoers. She experiences a “warm, potent feeling” because Bash understands her so well (231).

Bash dilutes some punch for Audre and advises her to take small sips. However, she drinks most of the punch within minutes because she’s nervous. Bash tries to play the role of Audre’s wingman and denies speculation that they are a couple, leading a girl named Fiona to flirt with him. 

When Clio calls Bash, Audre grows furious, downs another drink, and flirts with Manny. Manny suggests that they go to a club where a rapper is performing, and Audre drunkenly attempts to rap: “I came with Bash / Hot like fire yo he gives me, um… what else rhymes with Bash… oh, I got it, HEAT RASH” (238). People record her on their phones, and she tells Bash that she wants to leave.

As he guides her towards the exit, she sees Ellison and tearfully explains that he recorded her having a panic attack. Bash punches Ellison in the face, and the boys’ fight draws a crowd of onlookers. Audre kicks Ellison in the shin, pulls Bash out of the cafe, and runs down the street with him.

Blocks away from the party, Audre and Bash stop running and talk about the fight. Audre is shocked at Bash’s behavior because he’s a pacifist. When she accuses him of using her as an excuse to engage in toxic masculinity, he voices the powerful emotions that led him to fight for her: “I wish I could correct all your bad memories, Audre. Erase them and give you better ones” (243). Audre and Bash embrace and share a passionate kiss. The chapter ends with the ninth rule in Audre’s self-help book: “Unless your last name is Thee Stallion, there’s never a reason to rap in public” (246).