A woman peered intently at her. This turned out to be Laci. To meet people in real life after meeting them on social media was always going to be slightly disappointing. Earl the Girl, a witty and fierce commenter online, was entirely ordinary in person. What did Sam expect? Sam hated her own shallowness, but she always wanted beauty on some level, or maybe a significance to the ugly, a deliberateness that indicated a sense of control. Laci’s hair was undyed (good), but a coarse gray and blond that just looked dull, weirdly matted and nesty. She was in variously pocketed knee-length khaki shorts, despite it being January. Her oversize T-shirt said Resist. Good god. The overall feel was sloppy and beige. Sam — lately kind of a slob herself — felt ashamed for being so harsh. She wanted to admire Laci’s person, wanted her look to match her wit. Maybe her frumpiness was a form of resistance, rebellion? Sam tried to see it that way. She knew that she shouldn’t always need to be seduced.