Finally, once the giggles had passed and it got quiet again, Ximena, started singing really softly in the dark. At first, I didn't even realize what she was singing, she was singing so quietly.
No-no, no, no-no, no-no no-no
Then Summer took up the song.
No-no, no, no-no, no-no no-no
Finally, I realized what we were singing and sang:
No-no, no, no-no, no-no no-no!
Then we all started whisper-singing together.
Nobody can do the shingaling
Like I do...
Nobody can do the shake
Like I do...
Nobody can do boogaloo
Like I do...
We were lying on our backs side by side as we sang, and made our arms and hands dance in sync above our heads. And we sang the whole song, from beginning to end, as quietly as if we were praying in church.
Stop it! Why am I crying? Why did that last section bring tears to my eyes? Why??
I think it was just an accumulation of all of the wonderful parts of this story. The depth of the characters. The shifts in friendships as we grow older, for better and for worse.
Charlotte is also a very interesting character. She says it herself near the end: she's "nice," but not always "kind." She stays neutral in many situations, doesn't get involved even when she knows bad things will happen, and she tends to act a bit differently around teachers than her peers. She makes for a fascinating character.
Honestly, I can almost entirely forget that this is part of the Wonder series. Auggie is in this story, but he's sort of sidelined to make room for Charlotte. And the story is still beautiful. Every one of these little side stories focuses so well on other characters. I adore them.
And my goodness, this one was my favorite. 5/5 stars.