Who's Next in the Rolodex? with Zakiya Gibbons

We brought Zakiya Gibbons back for a summer of smooching and subterfuge with a lesbian group chat. We are now on YouTube. Be sure to follow us on there at @DefectorMedia https://www.youtube.com/@DefectorMedia where you can watch today’s episode. Subscribe to our newsletter for writing from Rachelle, Se'era, Jae, Alex, and Kelsey, plus blog recommendations and secrets! https://defector.com/normal-gossip-podcast You can support Normal Gossip directly by buying merch https://defectorstore.com/collections/normal-gossip or becoming a Friend or a Friend-of-Friend at supportnormalgossip.com https://defector.com/products/normalgossip. You can also find all kinds of info about us and how to submit gossip on our Komi page:https://normalgossip.komi.io/ Episode transcript here https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gQ7KH55kIDiOhN81WpmXvllkrlQYtNKi0yxLWO350nY/edit?usp=sharing. Follow the show on Instagram @normalgossip https://www.instagram.com/normalgossip/, and if you have gossip, email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 26-79-GOSSIP. Normal Gossip is hosted by Rachelle Hampton (@heyydnae https://www.instagram.com/heyydnae/?hl=en) and produced by Se'era Spragley Ricks (@seera_sharae https://www.instagram.com/seera_sharae/?hl=en) and Jae Towle Vieira (@jaetowlevieira https://instagram.com/jaetowlevieira?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==). Our audio engineer is Samantha Gattsek. Justin Ellis is Defector's projects editor. Show art by Tara Jacoby. Theme music composed by Hrishikesh Hirway. Normal Gossip is a proud member ofRadiotopia https://www.radiotopia.fm/. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

• 0:01Speaker 00

  Hey there. It's Robyn from PRX. If you're a longtime listener of Radiotopia, you may know that we had a podcast that ran from 2016 to 2020 discussing every episode of the show The West Wing. Well, I'm excited to tell you The West Wing Weekly is back. Joshua Molina, who starred on The West Wing as Will Bailey, and Rishikesh Hirway, creator and host of Song Exploder, have reunited to discuss the hit Netflix political thriller, The Diplomat. Just as they did in their original run, they're discussing each episode of the series in sequence, joined by special guests from the show and from the real world of diplomacy. Rishi and Josh will be wrapping up the first season with a special live taping at Union Chapel in London on November 14th. Subscribe now to The West Wing Weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

• 0:50Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 0:51Speaker 00

  Oh, my God.

• 0:51Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. What? Oh, my God.

• 0:53Speaker 00

  Oh, my God.

• 0:54Speaker 01

  Oh, wow. Oh, my God.

• 0:55Speaker 00

  Oh, my God.

• 0:56Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. What?

• 0:57Speaker 02

  Oh, my gosh.

• 0:59Speaker 01

  What?

• 1:00Speaker 02

  Hello and welcome back to season 10 of Normal Gossip. I'm your host, Rachel Hampton, and in each episode of this podcast, we are going to bring you an anonymous morsel of gossip from the real world. Today, I would love to welcome Zakiya Givens back to the show. Zakiya is a host, story editor, podcast producer, writer, and voice actor. You may remember her from our Weeds Giving episode all the way back in season five, or from her commentary on Netflix's reality check, Inside America's Next Top Model. Zakiya, thank you so much for joining me.

• 1:34Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. Thanks for having me. I'm so happy to be here.

• 1:37Speaker 02

  I'm so happy that you're here. But before we get into today's gossip, I did want to tell our audience about a little bit of gossip that we share.

• 1:45Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 1:46Speaker 02

  Which is that we live very close to each other. I'm not going to say where because...

• 1:50Speaker 01

  We're not doxing ourselves.

• 1:51Speaker 02

  Exactly. So, we were getting coffee at some point, and I was seeing this reality television star at my coffee shop on a consistent basis. And I kept trying to tell my friends about this, but no one had watched the reality TV show because it was so small.

• 2:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:09Speaker 02

  Which, it was a good show.

• 2:10Speaker 01

  It was. It wasn't bad at all.

• 2:12Speaker 02

  Exactly. And so, I remember we got coffee, and we were sitting outside, and I was just like, Zakiya, I'm going to tell you something, and like, it's probably not important, but like, we're here. I want to tell you. And I'm like, have you ever seen the show 20 Something's Austin?

• 2:27Speaker 01

  And of course, as someone who's seen literally any and all like, reality shows ever made, I was like, yes. I watched it in a day.

• 2:37Speaker 02

  So, this was a show on Netflix, and it followed six-ish

• 2:41Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 2:42Speaker 02

  20 somethings in Austin.

• 2:44Speaker 01

  Yeah, very to the point, very clear, great logline, yeah.

• 2:46Speaker 02

  Yeah, and it had the classic setup of just putting six people in a house together and being like, let's see what happens.

• 2:52Speaker 01

  Very real world vibes.

• 2:53Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 2:54Speaker 01

  But Netflixified.

• 2:55Speaker 02

  And there was this one really hot guy.

• 2:58Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 2:59Speaker 02

  On the show.

• 3:00Speaker 01

  Mommy moaning in the mic. Mommy moaning. Yes, he was really hot.

• 3:06Speaker 02

  His name was Kamari, and he was regularly at my coffee shop two summers ago, in a way where I would walk in and be like, that can't be him. And then I'd pull out my phone and Google Kamari 20 Something's Austin, and I'm like, that is him. And he was there when we were there, and I was like, Zakiya, now that I know you've seen this show, can you walk in and tell me if I'm crazy?

• 3:28Speaker 01

  And I was like, abso-fucking-lutely. I remember I did this whole stupid thing. It was like, a small coffee shop, so it was like, very obvious that I was going in there to scope him out. So, I just like, walked in, I'm like, pretending like I'm looking at the menu, even though I already ordered. And I grabbed a stack of napkins, because why not? And I'm like, huh. And I look at him, and not only is it him, I can't remember the book he was reading, but I was like, oh. It was like, some kind of like, fucking quantum physics.

• 3:59Speaker 02

  Yes, yes.

• 4:00Speaker 01

  Like, da-da-da, one, two. It was like, some metaphysical blah, blah, blah, philosophy. It was giving like, intellectuals giving like, wow, oh, he's beautiful and smart. And I almost collapsed. And I remember I came back to you shaking like, it's him. And he's smart. And tall. Ah.

• 4:23Speaker 02

  And his skin is beautiful.

• 4:24Speaker 01

  So beautiful. And he was so chill. I mean, I didn't talk to him. But like, his vibe was so chill. Like, he was really, like, it didn't, it wasn't giving performative male reading in a coffee shop. He was just like, in the corner, head down, like, really just like, doing his thing, while I was just trying to like, peer over his shoulder.

• 4:40Speaker 02

  I think maybe he was just in the area for the summer, because I have not seen him since then. He does not frequent that coffee shop anymore. And I know because I've become even more of a regular at that coffee shop since then.

• 4:51Speaker 01

  Are you full of regret for not shooting your shot?

• 4:53Speaker 02

  Honestly, no, because he's on reality TV. I'm a little bit like, you have so many beautiful women in your DMs, and I...

• 5:02Speaker 01

  And you could be another one. IRL.

• 5:05Speaker 02

  You're right. You're right. I, I'm a little, I'm not great at shooting my shot in person. It's one of the things I'm working on more.

• 5:12Speaker 01

  And the reason why I ask if you're full of regret, because I'm projecting. Because a few weeks ago, I, you know, summer New York, I'm out dancing all the time, and I'm at the Knockdown Center in Queens, dancing outside. And I'm saying all these details in case he is listening. And I was watching him all day. It was a day party. And my friends were so nice. I was being so annoying. And I was like, please wing a woman, me. I ended up like, kind of dancing near him. And I swear, I'm not a pick me. This is, usually is not my behavior, especially with men. But he just had such a good vibe. And he was like, around all his like, you know, queer-coded friends. He probably was queer. Everyone there was queer. And at one point, his friends had left, and he was just vibing on his

• 5:55Speaker 01

  own in the corner, which I like, you know, dancing on my own vibes, but not crying in the club vibes, you know, like, Robyn. But, you know, it was like, fun dancing on my own. And so, I'm like, dancing in front of him, and I concoct a plan. I'm like, I'm gonna act like I can't find my lighter. So, my friend hands me a J, and I'm like, patting my pockets like, ah. And I turn around, I'm like, do you have a lighter? And he said, oh, I saw you looking for one. I was like, oh, you sense the desperation and panic. And then he hands me his light, and he's like, laughing. I think I flustered him a little bit. He hands me his lighter, you know, our fingers grazed. I look him in the eyes, you know, I light the J, and then I offer him a hit. And he's like, no. And I was like, come on. And he takes a hit, and we're dancing. But I'm so overwhelmed that I like, literally had to step away so I didn't have a panic attack. Anyways, he ended up leaving. But

• 6:40Speaker 01

  my friend said that he saw him lingering behind me. And I don't know, I didn't shoot my shot to the point where I went home and I even posted a missed connection. I've never done that before, but I was so distraught. So anyways, that's why I was like, are you full of regret as well? Because I am.

• 6:56Speaker 02

  Um, if you were at the Knockdown Center a couple of weeks ago...

• 7:00Speaker 01

  And you were wearing a blue hat, and I think a blue shirt, and you were talking to me. I was wearing all white. And we're standing in the corner near the stairs. If that was you, please slide in my DMs.

• 7:09Speaker 02

  Wow. Um, Normal Gossip, missed connections. This is exactly what I want this show to be used for. So, please, I'm crossing my fingers so hard that someone who's listening to this show

• 7:21Speaker 01

  Please.

• 7:21Speaker 02

  knows this person.

• 7:23Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. Please and thank you.

• 7:25Speaker 02

  We haven't heard of any couples happening because of this show so far, but I would love nothing more as a Pisces.

• 7:32Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. Okay. Well, yeah, like I said, as a Cancer and Venus in Cancer, maybe it'll happen.

• 7:38Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 7:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:39Speaker 02

  You've got a lot going on.

• 7:39Speaker 01

  I do have a lot going on. I do. Yeah, I'm very unwell all the time. But that shouldn't stop you from sliding my DMs.

• 7:48Speaker 02

  Well, you know, speaking of being unwell at any given moment, I've got some gossip for you

• 7:54Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 7:54Speaker 02

  that you're never gonna forget.

• 7:56Speaker 01

  Oh, my God. I'm, I'm like, sweating. I'm excited. Keep that energy.

• 8:01Speaker 02

  Ooh. There is nothing I love more than roasting a whole chicken. It is so easy to do, much easier than you think it's gonna be. And then you have a whole chicken to make chicken salad with, or just to eat off of, like a caveman, or to offer little bits up to your cat. And the whole chicken that I love to roast comes from ButcherBox. ButcherBox's chicken is so high-quality. ButcherBox delivers 100% grass-fed beef, organic chicken, wild-caught seafood, and more, all sorts of standards they can actually tell you about. They've already done their research and made the tough sourcing decision, so all you have to do is decide what's for dinner. It's kind of like having the neighborhood butcher

• 8:45Speaker 02

  everyone wishes they still had, except it's delivered to your door. So, I'll just have a whole chicken in the freezer and think, wow, that's dinner, lunch, for at least three to four days. I don't have to worry where it's coming from. Love it. If you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give ButcherBox a try. Go to butcherbox.com/gossip to get $20 off your first box, plus chicken breasts in every box for life, or filet, or New York strips for a year, with free shipping always. That is butcherbox.com/gossip. Again, that is butcherbox.com/gossip. Be sure to use our links so they know we sent

• 9:28Speaker 02

  you. I'm gonna admit something embarrassing. I know, shocker. I have not had a bedside lamp for an undisclosed amount of months, long enough that I basically haven't read before bed for a really long time. And I only realized this because I'm hosting a friend, and I was like, wow, they deserve to have a light by their bed at night. I don't. But this finally inspired me to find the perfect bedside lamp, and I had a vision in mind, Wayfair. They had exactly what I need, which is one of those library-style lights with like, the green lampshade and little pull cord. I have been having this image in my mind of having one, and now I have one because, of course, Wayfair had

• 10:12Speaker 02

  it. For all things hosting, Wayfair delivers high-quality, customer-trusted products for your home, so you can host and celebrate without distress. When refreshing your home this holiday season, Wayfair delivers exactly what you need. Head to wayfair.com to shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com.

• 10:32Speaker 01

  Every style, every home.

• 10:33Speaker 02

  Y'all, for months, I have been in search of just a simple, black crew neck cardigan. And I finally found exactly what I was looking for. I should have just gone to Quince as soon as I started thinking of this, but for some reason I didn't. Well, Quince had exactly what I wanted. Their Mongolian cashmere cropped crew cardigan is in fact so cute and their reviews are so good that despite the fact that I went in saying I need a black cardigan to wear with everything, I took 15 minutes to decide what color I was getting. Do I need a red cardigan? Maybe. I can't promise I'm not gonna buy it later, but I did get

• 11:16Speaker 02

  the black one. Give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app exclusive offers or go to quince.com. Get free shipping on your order and 365 day returns, now available in Canada and the UK too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know it was Normal Gossip. It's the best way to support the show.

• 11:41Speaker 02

  Well, before we get into this story, I have a little present for you.

• 11:44Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 11:45Speaker 02

  This is a Normal Gossip first.

• 11:47Speaker 01

  What?

• 11:48Speaker 02

  Today's gossip is so chaotic that we think you're gonna need a whiteboard.

• 11:52Speaker 01

  Oh, my god.

• 11:53Speaker 02

  So, we have for you three different whiteboards.

• 11:57Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 11:57Speaker 02

  Just in case. We have a marker and we also have an eraser.

• 12:02Speaker 01

  Okay, I'm excited. Do I take one of them now?

• 12:05Speaker 02

  Yes, feel free to hold it. Hold it in your hands now. For those of y'all who are listening and not watching, first, thank you. I love you. What you just missed is me handing Zakiya a whiteboard and a dry erase marker because understanding today's gossip is gonna require taking some notes.

• 12:19Speaker 01

  Oh, my god. I also love that you're audio first. You describing it to the listeners, only people listening. I appreciate that.

• 12:25Speaker 02

  I wanna make sure that they are also having a good time.

• 12:28Speaker 01

  Yes, okay.

• 12:28Speaker 02

  And if you are also listening, or if you're also watching, if you wanna follow along and take your own notes and diagrams, please feel free and send them to us. We might do a little Instagram carousel. So, get some pen and paper, babes.

• 12:42Speaker 01

  Oh, my god, we're taking notes. Okay.

• 12:45Speaker 02

  Now.

• 12:46Speaker 01

  I'm excited.

• 12:47Speaker 02

  Are you scared?

• 12:48Speaker 01

  I'm a little nervous. I'm like, is this a pop quiz? Is this safe space? Like?

• 12:53Speaker 02

  Always a safe space.

• 12:54Speaker 01

  Okay, okay.

• 12:55Speaker 02

  But that is the spirit. Don't worry. Just like, let the mess wash over you. You're not getting tested on this, though. Zakiya might.

• 13:05Speaker 01

  Wait, so I'm taking notes as you're telling the story from like, like, things I think I should remember?

• 13:10Speaker 02

  Yeah, I would say mostly pay attention to the names and the connections between people.

• 13:14Speaker 01

  Got you. So, it's like words and I can draw diagrams?

• 13:17Speaker 02

  Exactly. So, our friend of a friend today is named Rose. And the most important thing to know about Rose, for today's story at least, is that Rose is a lesbian in her early twenties.

• 13:27Speaker 01

  Love it. Rose equals lesbian.

• 13:30Speaker 02

  Rose is also a bit of a bookworm. She loves classic literature and living vicariously through her favorite characters. Like, most of Rose's social life so far has consisted of her forcing herself to do it for the plot.

• 13:43Speaker 01

  Ooh, Rose resonates with me. I like that.

• 13:48Speaker 02

  But in Rose's case, the stuff she does for the plot is like, shop at a slightly fancier grocery store, or get brunch on her birthday instead of just going to Barnes and Noble.

• 13:58Speaker 01

  Oh, my god, oh, Rose. I'll show you a good time, Rose. Not in that way, but like, if you want some chaos in your life, come to Brooklyn.

• 14:05Speaker 02

  Rose wants to make a change.

• 14:07Speaker 01

  Yes, okay.

• 14:08Speaker 02

  Which is how she finds herself moving to Richmond, Virginia with her best friend, Charlie. Charlie is also a lesbian of the non-binary variety, to be specific. Rose and Charlie met in college, and they had actually met on Tinder. They'd matched, but they quickly figured out that they had, like, zero sexual chemistry.

• 14:28Speaker 01

  Yes, this is so real. We've all been there. We try to date, and we're like, we're better off as friends. Like, I feel like a quarter of my friend group is that.

• 14:35Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:36Speaker 01

  So, yeah.

• 14:36Speaker 02

  Yeah, but they also figured out they made great roommates.

• 14:39Speaker 01

  Oh, wow. Okay, roommates.

• 14:41Speaker 02

  Charlie is a super chill stoner with an incredible smile. Like, Charlie's got the kind of smile where people just tell them things. They love to arm wrestle girls at bars.

• 14:51Speaker 01

  Okay, Charlie's one of those. I know this type. I know this type.

• 14:56Speaker 02

  When Rose floated moving to Richmond to Charlie, they were just like, sure, why not?

• 15:00Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 15:01Speaker 02

  Okay, can you give me a rundown on our characters so far?

• 15:04Speaker 01

  Oh, my god, the pop quiz section. Okay, Rose, lesbian, early twenties, very sweet, bookworm, a little nerdy, but like, wanting to have a spicier life. So, it was like, hey, bestie Charlie, also, you know, non-binary lesbian, what if we move to Richmond, Virginia? Charlie's like, hell, yeah, let's go.

• 15:24Speaker 02

  Perfect. A plus so far. So, Rose and Charlie had actually spent a week in Richmond the summer before they moved down, which is when they met Marissa. That's right. A new bombshell has entered the villa.

• 15:35Speaker 01

  Okay, Marissa.

• 15:37Speaker 02

  And Marissa is a bombshell. Like, when Rose and Charlie met Marissa, Marissa was hosting trivia night at a bar in a rainbow bell-bottom suit.

• 15:47Speaker 01

  Wow, okay, okay. Rainbow Marissa, okay.

• 15:51Speaker 02

  And she immediately asked Rose and Charlie if they were gay. When they confirmed that they were indeed gay, Marissa got them free drinks for the night. Marissa is a little older than our girl. She is 30, and she's a party promoter.

• 16:03Speaker 01

  Okay, you gotta be aware of party promoters. Like, they are never, like, they are always duplicitous. I'm sorry to the party promoters out there. It's always some shenanigans. It's always like, where the fuck am I? Like, where did I end up? This is not what I signed up for. It's always mess, always.

• 16:20Speaker 02

  Right. It does not take long for Rose and Charlie to figure out that everyone loves Marissa, but also, it seems like everyone's a little scared of Marissa. Marissa has been inviting Rose and Charlie to parties in Richmond since their vacation last summer, even though they could never go. But now that they moved, they can go. So, a few weeks after Rose and Charlie make their move to Richmond, Marissa invites them to a Jennifer's Body watch party.

• 16:43Speaker 01

  Oh, my god. Obviously, of course. Yes, we love that movie.

• 16:48Speaker 02

  Rose and Charlie throw on some vintage 2009 clothing, and it is painful for me to say that.

• 16:53Speaker 01

  I was gonna say, this is hurting my feelings. Not vintage 2009 clothing.

• 16:57Speaker 02

  Unfortunately, 2009 clothing qualifies as vintage now.

• 17:00Speaker 01

  Oh, my god. I, I'm trying to stop my spiral. I literally started to dissociate. I literally was, I'm like, okay.

• 17:09Speaker 02

  Well, Rose and Charlie get dressed in their 2009 finest, some wet seals, some wedges.

• 17:14Speaker 01

  Okay, yes, wet seal and wedges.

• 17:16Speaker 02

  And Rose was honestly a little bit worried that Marissa maybe wouldn't remember them. Like, yeah, Marissa's been inviting them to parties, but that's kind of her whole job.

• 17:24Speaker 01

  Right.

• 17:25Speaker 02

  And it's been over eight months since Marissa had last seen them. But not only does Marissa immediately recognize Rose and Charlie, she makes room for them at her table, introduces them

• 17:34Speaker 01

  Ooh.

• 17:35Speaker 02

  to Paige. Paige is one of those girls who grew up crushing on the pink Power Ranger.

• 17:40Speaker 01

  Okay, okay.

• 17:41Speaker 02

  And that is her whole aesthetic. She's got long glossy hair that she always wears in a high ponytail with a pink scrunchie, and she can hip thrust 185 pounds.

• 17:51Speaker 01

  I like Paige. I like this.

• 17:52Speaker 02

  Well, Paige welcomes Rose and Charlie to the tables if they're already best friends. And by the end of the night, Rose and Charlie feel like maybe they are all best friends. Like, Marissa and Paige invite Rose and Charlie to go dancing at a second location. And before they split up to go to their different cars, Marissa's like, let's share our locations just in case we get separated.

• 18:12Speaker 01

  I don't know. For me, I only share locations with, like, my inner circle. So, I understand, like, a temporary, like, share till the end of the day. We can do that.

• 18:21Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 18:21Speaker 01

  But if you're, if we're already, like?

• 18:24Speaker 02

  Sharing indefinitely and we just met?

• 18:26Speaker 01

  Yeah, I don't know. I don't like that. That's just me, though.

• 18:30Speaker 02

  I only let maybe five people see my location. My mom doesn't even have my location. My older brother does, so someone in my family knows if I get taken, but my mom doesn't have my location.

• 18:40Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 18:40Speaker 02

  Yeah. So, they share their locations indefinitely on Find My Friends together. A couple days after this, Marissa, the party promoter, makes a post on her close friend story. And Rose, our friend of a friend, is like, oh, my god, close friends already?

• 18:56Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:57Speaker 02

  We just met for real.

• 18:58Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 19:00Speaker 02

  On her story, Marissa says she wants to start a lesbian group chat to share upcoming queer events in Richmond.

• 19:06Speaker 01

  Oh, this is about to get really messy.

• 19:11Speaker 02

  Marissa's like, DM me if you wanna be added. And Rose, who wants to do it for the plot, very much wants in.

• 19:17Speaker 01

  Bless her heart. You know, she's just trying to be yes and. She's trying to be open, meet the moment.

• 19:21Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 19:22Speaker 01

  I love that for her, but I'm also nervous for her.

• 19:24Speaker 02

  Well, Rose tells Charlie to join too. So, both Rose and Charlie are added to a chat that Marissa has named Party For You parentheses lesbians.

• 19:34Speaker 01

  Now, I'm just singing the Charlie XCX song. Party for you. I'll let you this party for you, for you. I'm so sorry to everyone listening to that, but.

• 19:42Speaker 02

  I feel like Charlie was in the room just now.

• 19:45Speaker 01

  Yes. Oh, my god. And I can see this for Rose. Like, she just went to this new city and she's making all these trends. Like, I bet this was so, like, intoxicating for her. Like, oh, my god, this was so easy. Like, this is so fun. I'm with the cool kids, like, going to parties. I'm not at Barnes and Noble. Like, I, I could see her being like, yes, I made the right choice.

• 20:04Speaker 02

  Yeah. And this group chat quickly becomes enormous. Within 36 hours, there are more than 60 people in there. Like, 60 as in six zero.

• 20:14Speaker 01

  Oh, my god.

• 20:15Speaker 02

  Initially, Party For You parentheses lesbians was literally just that. It was a place for Marissa to promote parties, but the group quickly takes on a life of its own.

• 20:25Speaker 01

  As group chats do.

• 20:26Speaker 02

  The conversation moves so fast that, like, if you wanna get a joke in, you have to speed type or else the subject will have already changed, which leads to a lot of typos, which leads to inside jokes forming almost immediately. Well, every day, there are memes, stickers, updates on how everyone is doing, and every day, there is seemingly a new name for the chat.

• 20:45Speaker 01

  Now, I'm getting exhausted. I first was cute, and then literally 10 seconds later, I'm like, wait, y'all are doing too much.

• 20:50Speaker 02

  Well, to give you a sense of the vibe, here are the group chat's names over the course of just a few weeks. You don't need to write these down. So first, it's Party For You (lesbians), then it's Brat Summer, then it's Brats, then it's Charlie's Angels, then it's Angels in America. A theater girl was responsible for that one. It was July 4th.

• 21:10Speaker 02

  Which then changes to Fuck America, which then changes to Charlie's Angels again, which then changes to Lucy Liu's Sapphic Paintings, which then changes to Louzers, spelled L-I-U-Z-E-R-S.

• 21:22Speaker 01

  Oh, okay.

• 21:23Speaker 02

  That's a good hide my name kind of. Okay, I like that. Okay. Followed by Island of Lesbos.

• 21:27Speaker 01

  Wow. Okay, okay. Wow, wow. I feel like changing a group chat name is, depends on the intention. A lot of times it's like, fun, hee hee hah, but when it keeps changing, it's power grabs. It's trying to assert dominance. Lines in the sand, taking the reins. You know what I mean?

• 21:43Speaker 02

  Yeah. Well, every time our friend of a friend, Rose, has to step away from her phone for a few hours to like, work or sleep.

• 21:49Speaker 01

  Yeah, be a person.

• 21:51Speaker 02

  She'd come back to 200-plus messages and two missed FaceTime calls.

• 21:56Speaker 01

  FaceTime.

• 21:57Speaker 02

  Good luck getting anyone to explain what happened on the call if you missed them.

• 22:01Speaker 01

  No, at that point, I am exiting the chat. At that point, I am exiting the chat.

• 22:05Speaker 02

  That summer, the group goes out twice every weekend.

• 22:08Speaker 01

  What? How?

• 22:10Speaker 02

  They're 20. They're 21.

• 22:11Speaker 01

  You know what? That part.

• 22:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 22:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 22:13Speaker 02

  And like, obviously not all 60 of them show up every night, but it is not uncommon for Rose to pull up with 10 other lesbians to a drag show or something. And this group quickly develops a culture of smooching for fun.

• 22:26Speaker 01

  Oh, of course. That been happening. I'm sure. Yes.

• 22:29Speaker 02

  Like, it becomes so normal that making out is not considered a sign that you're romantically interested in someone. Things do, however, start to get messy when people in the chat start ranking the best kissers.

• 22:43Speaker 01

  Ah, messy, messy, messy. Also stressful as hell.

• 22:49Speaker 02

  We're not gonna get into the details of the rankings today, because we have a lot to get into.

• 22:52Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 22:53Speaker 02

  But I do want to ask, how do you think ranking the best kissers would change the dynamic of this group?

• 23:02Speaker 01

  So I studied anthropology.

• 23:03Speaker 02

  Ooh.

• 23:04Speaker 01

  And gender and sexuality.

• 23:05Speaker 02

  Oh.

• 23:06Speaker 01

  And psychology.

• 23:07Speaker 02

  An expert.

• 23:08Speaker 01

  So, and also, I'm a messy queer myself. I feel it's gonna create, which I'm sure there are already schisms, hierarchies, no matter how like, relationship anarchist, non-hierarchical, you know, these queer people, like, especially in like, in this kind of scene, and just how these people are moving. I'm sure there's an in-group and out-group and subgroups. I am sure that it created like, a sect of cool girls. Whoever is like, the hottest, best kisser, and whoever's like, not a great kisser, you know, it might be more on the outskirts, and then they feel like they might have more to prove, or there's resentments. And you know, all of like, these things like, broiling under the surface.

• 23:49Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 23:50Speaker 01

  And then, I'm sure, like, people are catching feelings, and then there's jealousies. They made out with me last week, and now you're making out over there. I'm sure there's like, one, you know, head lesbian that's like, the hottest, best kisser, that has a little harem. You know what I mean? And then they'll, and then polio's are forming. Like, I'm sure all of this is happening.

• 24:08Speaker 02

  You could write a dissertation.

• 24:09Speaker 01

  Hmm, yes. In this essay, I will.

• 24:14Speaker 02

  Well, as time passes, Rose starts to notice that Marissa, the party promoter, and Paige, our pink Power Ranger, are getting together a little more often than the rest of the group.

• 24:25Speaker 01

  They're seeing the shared locations. They're seeing the two dots always together.

• 24:29Speaker 02

  Like, they'll show up in each other's stories every day for weeks at a time.

• 24:32Speaker 01

  Hmm, I'm writing this down.

• 24:34Speaker 02

  But then, suddenly, in the middle of the summer, Paige and Marissa stop posting with each other.

• 24:40Speaker 01

  Uh-oh. There's gonna be some kind of fucking breakup post, or like, sub-tweets, like, passive-aggressive. Oh my god, okay.

• 24:50Speaker 02

  Like, even in group situations, they'll be on like, opposite sides of the photo. Our girl, Rose, does not figure out the story behind this until someone we will be calling Paige's Pottery Situationship, or PPS for short.

• 25:04Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 25:05Speaker 02

  Becomes a main character for a minute. Have you written that down?

• 25:08Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 25:08Speaker 02

  Paige's Pottery Situationship.

• 25:11Speaker 01

  Now I see why you gave me three whiteboards. Okay, that whole, I just took up like, a quarter of this one.

• 25:18Speaker 02

  PPS is another lesbian in the group chat. She is, as you may have guessed, into pottery.

• 25:23Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 25:24Speaker 02

  Okay. Paige and PPS make out at a party.

• 25:26Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 25:27Speaker 02

  As one does.

• 25:27Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 25:28Speaker 02

  But this makeout turns out to some increasingly heavy flirting. Like, they rank each other as the best kissers in the chat, and they send the messages literally in the same minute, and they're doing that whole like, jinx you owe me a soda thing in front of everybody in the chat.

• 25:43Speaker 01

  Okay, yeah, I would have been, I would have been like, y'all are annoying as hell. I'm, oh my god.

• 25:49Speaker 02

  Well, everyone's teasing them. It's all like, cute and in good fun, until two other girls from the chat take it upon themselves to take PPS aside, and tell her that crushing on Paige is actually like, a really bad idea, because the one person who brought them all together, Marissa, our 30-year-old party promoter, apparently has feelings for Paige.

• 26:12Speaker 01

  It's just like in Mean Girls, when they took Katie's, and they're like, hey, you shouldn't be flirting with Aaron Samuels. That's Regina's guy.

• 26:18Speaker 02

  Have you ever given a receipt this kind of advice?

• 26:21Speaker 01

  No. I don't know. I believe in autonomy. Like, I believe people should do whatever the fuck they want to do, and everyone's an adult, and can make their own choices. And so I try to not waste my, especially unsolicited advice on other people, especially, when it's something as personal as one's love life, I'm like, I trust you to know what's best for you.

• 26:38Speaker 02

  Wow.

• 26:39Speaker 01

  That's how I am usually. But also, I don't like to be involved in mess, like, directly. I like indirect mess. So I would be like, you know what, you do you, and I'm gonna watch from the sidelines. You know what I mean?

• 26:49Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 26:50Speaker 01

  So yeah, I don't think I would have done that, but I appreciate their intentions.

• 26:54Speaker 02

  Same, I think. Well, Paige's Pottery Situationship, aka PPS, immediately confronts Marissa. And Marissa explains that it's true. She and Paige did spend a lot of time together at the beginning of the summer, but nothing really came out of it. They actually decided they were better as friends, and actually, Marissa has totally moved on.

• 27:13Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 27:14Speaker 02

  Marissa informs PPS that she's actually recently started hooking up again with her ex.

• 27:18Speaker 01

  Okay, that happens all the time. Yep.

• 27:20Speaker 02

  Who will henceforth be referred to as Marissa's poetry ex.

• 27:23Speaker 01

  Oh god, not a poet. I'm so sorry to the poets out there. I love, I love poetry. But dating a poet is a lot.

• 27:31Speaker 02

  Marissa's like, it's all good in the hood, PPS. You've got absolutely nothing to worry about. I have zero feelings for Paige. There will be no drama from my side.

• 27:40Speaker 01

  Oh, cut to drama, but okay, yes.

• 27:42Speaker 02

  Well, do you believe Marissa, who I must remind you is a 30-year-old party promoter?

• 27:46Speaker 01

  Exactly. I do not believe Marissa, who is a 30-year-old party promoter who's choosing to spend time with these chaotic 20-somethings.

• 27:56Speaker 02

  Well, our friend of a friend, Rose, finds all of this out from none other than Paige, herself, she of the Pottery Situationship. Paige is venting to Rose at a party. She's like, it is so irritating that everyone in the group chat is acting like Marissa has some claim on me. Paige is like, it's just because everyone is scared of her. But actually, Paige says, I got the ick from Marissa a long time ago. I'm so over her.

• 28:17Speaker 01

  Ooh, the ick. Oh my god, why?

• 28:21Speaker 02

  And the thing is, it does seem like Paige is entirely over Marissa. She and her Pottery Situationship date for three whole weeks. They recreate that scene from Ghost for an IG reel.

• 28:30Speaker 01

  Oh my god. Ugh. Y'all are annoying. I'm sorry, y'all are annoying. That's a lot, but okay.

• 28:40Speaker 02

  Everything's going great until one night at a party, when Paige is making out with one of the girls from the group chat in a club bathroom, and PPS starts banging on the door, telling them to get out.

• 28:52Speaker 01

  Ooh, PP. I'm right, it's bangs on door.

• 28:56Speaker 02

  And this is not how things are done in the group chat. Kissing is famously entirely platonic.

• 29:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:02Speaker 02

  And Paige cannot date someone who doesn't understand the rules.

• 29:05Speaker 01

  Yeah, no.

• 29:06Speaker 02

  So she dumps PPS, who is not thrilled about any part of the situation. So PPS has that little AOL chat sound and leaves the group chat.

• 29:15Speaker 01

  Wow, okay.

• 29:17Speaker 02

  Well, in the aftermath of all this, Paige starts texting our girl, Rose, a whole bunch to like, vent and process.

• 29:23Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 29:24Speaker 02

  But then Paige's texts start getting more playful. And then they get explicitly.

• 29:29Speaker 01

  I'm grabbing another paddle.

• 29:30Speaker 02

  Undeniably flirty.

• 29:32Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 29:34Speaker 02

  So you're Rose. What do you do?

• 29:36Speaker 01

  I'm taking the bait. I'm flirting back.

• 29:37Speaker 02

  Ooh.

• 29:38Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's what I'm doing.

• 29:40Speaker 02

  Well, Rose runs down the hallway to bang on her roommate Charlie's door. And sweet stoner Charlie is like, I don't know, dude, seems like you should give it a shot.

• 29:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:49Speaker 02

  Charlie's like, you wouldn't do it for the plot, right?

• 29:51Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 29:52Speaker 02

  And Charlie's like, it seems like y'all have developed a great bond. And then they're like, just, you know, be careful because Paige might be homie hopping.

• 30:00Speaker 01

  Oh, she loving the crew. She loving the crew. Okay, but also, isn't everyone homie hopping? Like, that's just like, kind of the, low-key, the premise of this group chat. So I'm not judging Paige for that because everyone is doing that. How can you not homie hop? Especially in a small town, like Richmond is like, kind of low-key small.

• 30:18Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 30:18Speaker 01

  Especially a queer scene in a smaller town, like, it's inevitable.

• 30:22Speaker 02

  So our girl Rose texts Paige back.

• 30:24Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 30:25Speaker 02

  She's like, I would love to explore this.

• 30:27Speaker 01

  Oh, that's such a cute, I would love to explore this. Oh, she's so cute. I love that.

• 30:31Speaker 02

  But Rose is also like, since everyone freaked out when you started dating, PPS, let's just keep us dating secret for a little while and see how it goes.

• 30:39Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 30:42Speaker 02

  Paige is like, you know what? I think that's a great idea.

• 30:44Speaker 01

  Again, I'm thinking of Kennedy on Love Island. When she was making out with Corbin, she's like, let's not tell anybody. Let's keep it a secret. We don't need anyone in our business. Secrets in a space where everyone has their shared location, everyone's in a group chat, that is not going to be a secret for long. And then people are going to take it personally, and then it's going to become public fodder.

• 31:04Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 31:05Speaker 01

  But she's in her early twenties. She doesn't know this.

• 31:07Speaker 02

  But also, this is summertime. So like, immediately after this conversation, like, literally the next day, Paige has to go on vacation with her family. They're going camping for a week. So Rose and Paige don't even get a chance to smooch before Paige is whisked away.

• 31:20Speaker 01

  Oh, my god.

• 31:21Speaker 02

  But that's okay, because it's summertime. So that weekend, everyone in the chat decides to have a river day. There's like thirty to forty lesbians just hanging out in the St. James River.

• 31:31Speaker 01

  Okay, I would love to go there. That sounds fun.

• 31:34Speaker 02

  There are shots.

• 31:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:35Speaker 02

  People are skinny dipping.

• 31:36Speaker 01

  Hell, yeah.

• 31:37Speaker 02

  Other people are doing body shots of tequila.

• 31:39Speaker 01

  Ooh.

• 31:39Speaker 02

  Every other song on the playlist is Kesha.

• 31:41Speaker 01

  Of course, yes.

• 31:43Speaker 02

  This party is definitely the high point of the summer so far, until our girl Rose notices that Marissa, who is normally like smack dab in the center of attention.

• 31:54Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 31:55Speaker 02

  Is just standing way out in the water by herself, a white claw in hand, and tears running down her cheek, like she keeps wiping her cheeks under her sunglasses.

• 32:05Speaker 01

  God, the drama. I kind of live for her. I love it.

• 32:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, you're a cancer.

• 32:10Speaker 01

  Yes, I love it. That's the thing. I, I don't like those kind of vibes in my media. I'm like, okay, this is too much for me. But I love it. Like, as the lover of reality TV, I love a dramatic person.

• 32:20Speaker 02

  So you're Rose. What do you do?

• 32:22Speaker 01

  You know what? Okay, if I were me, I'd be like, damn, hope she's okay. And I would, if it was one of my best friends or good friends, I would go and check on her. But Marissa, I'm like, I feel like I would turn one of those things where it's like, hey, girl, are you okay? And it would turn into like a four-hour-long saga. And I'm like, damn, I'm trying to get back to the body shots. I'm trying to get back in the water. I'm not trying to, you know what I mean? So I wouldn't, but if I'm Rose, Rose seems like a sweetie. Rose seems very like, ah, community. Marissa brought me in.

• 32:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 32:48Speaker 01

  Let me go check on her. I feel like Rose would go check on her.

• 32:50Speaker 02

  And you're right.

• 32:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:52Speaker 02

  Rose does go out to check on her. Marissa has her own little, like, waterproof speaker out there with her, and she's playing Dido's White Flag on repeat.

• 33:00Speaker 01

  Oh, my god. I know what kind of lesbian she is.

• 33:03Speaker 02

  Rose is like, hey, buddy, you okay?

• 33:06Speaker 01

  Aw.

• 33:07Speaker 02

  Emrys is quiet for a long time, and then she says, Paige told me you two are secretly dating.

• 33:18Speaker 02

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• 33:58Speaker 02

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• 34:42Speaker 02

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• 35:26Speaker 02

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• 37:16Speaker 02

  Apparently, Marissa was hanging out with Charlie a few days ago when Paige called. Charlie put Paige on speakerphone, but they did not tell Paige that Marissa was in the room.

• 37:28Speaker 01

  This is, again, straight up Mean Girls.

• 37:30Speaker 02

  So Paige is entirely unaware that Marissa is in the room when she confesses to Charlie that she has feelings for both Rose and Marissa.

• 37:38Speaker 01

  Oh, my god. Why was Charlie being so messy? I thought Charlie was a chill stoner. That's like, hey, let's all get along. Let's just vibe. Do, do, do. Charlie, why?

• 37:53Speaker 02

  Well, Paige then starts going through the pros and cons of each option right there on the phone. Like, Paige is like, Rose is more responsible. She has a job. She's on Lexapro. I feel like she's the safe option, you know? But then Paige is like, I just feel like I knew Marissa in another life.

• 38:12Speaker 01

  Wow, okay.

• 38:14Speaker 02

  We have an insane connection. But she's thirty and she has a DUI. And she's living in her parents' basement.

• 38:24Speaker 01

  Damn, and Marissa's hearing all of this, just kachoo, boom, boom, boom.

• 38:28Speaker 02

  Body shot.

• 38:32Speaker 01

  And she can't be like, bitch, stop talking shit to her, because she's like, oh damn, she doesn't know I'm here. So she's just like, but then she's also probably completely like, okay, well, she likes me, but also this is how she feels about me. Fuck. Oh my God. Messy.

• 38:46Speaker 02

  Now, there are a lot of things Rose does not like about this. The first is that Paige swore up and down that she did not have feelings for Marissa.

• 38:52Speaker 01

  Which lies, lies of Minelli, lies, we knew.

• 38:54Speaker 02

  The second is that Paige had agreed not to tell anyone that they were dating.

• 38:58Speaker 01

  Right. I forgot about that part. Yeah.

• 39:00Speaker 02

  So Rose is like, how much can I actually trust Paige?

• 39:03Speaker 01

  Right.

• 39:04Speaker 02

  And then there's the Charlie of it all.

• 39:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:07Speaker 02

  Charlie.

• 39:08Speaker 01

  Charlie, come on.

• 39:09Speaker 02

  Own roommate.

• 39:10Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, that's wild.

• 39:11Speaker 02

  How could they not have told Rose about this conversation?

• 39:14Speaker 01

  Is so, is that why Charlie was like, you know what, go for it, Rose, wink, wink? Because if that's like my homie, that's my best friend, I'm telling my best friend everything, even if someone tells me, like swears me in secrecy. If that's to do with my best friend, I'm gonna tell my best friend.

• 39:27Speaker 02

  But Rose has to put a pin in all of that because Marissa is still crying right in front of her. So you're Rose, you just learned a lot of information that you cannot process right now.

• 39:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 39:38Speaker 02

  You also probably maybe have been drinking for a few hours by now.

• 39:42Speaker 01

  Right. And in the sun and, oh my God, yeah, okay.

• 39:46Speaker 02

  So what do you do?

• 39:47Speaker 01

  I'd be so overwhelmed that I would regress into a fawn mode.

• 39:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 39:52Speaker 01

  And I'd be like, no, that's a lot. Like, I, I would try to like remain calm, deescalate, validate her feelings, name my own feelings, like, you know, that's a lot, but I wouldn't make it about me. Because I feel like that'd be like salt in the wound for Marissa and Marissa's very fragile and seems volatile. And so I would just be thinking about like my immediate like emotional safety. So it's like, uh huh, uh huh. Smile and nod, say what, you know, Marissa wants to hear and then slowly back away.

• 40:23Speaker 02

  Yeah. The Homer gift disappears.

• 40:25Speaker 01

  Yeah, to the bush. That would be me. And then later I'd pull Charlie up and be like, what the fuck? Was that? And why didn't you tell me all of this just happened? You put me in like the line of fire and I didn't even know it. You're supposed to be my homie.

• 40:38Speaker 02

  Yeah. You and Rose are in similar places. Rose is like, wow, that's intense.

• 40:43Speaker 01

  Wow, that's crazy.

• 40:46Speaker 02

  And Marissa like nods and like wipes her tears again.

• 40:49Speaker 01

  Oh my God.

• 40:50Speaker 02

  Before she's like, I'm not mad though, even though I've literally only gotten one DUI. And it was when I was your age. It's whatever.

• 40:59Speaker 01

  Oh my God.

• 41:00Speaker 02

  And then Marissa says, I'm actually just glad Paige has moved on because I just started dating someone and it's going really well.

• 41:06Speaker 01

  Sure, Jan. Sure.

• 41:10Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 41:11Speaker 02

  And then Marissa tells Rose all about the new bombshell in her life, who we are going to be calling Kickball.

• 41:17Speaker 01

  Kickball. They met on gay kickballing.

• 41:20Speaker 02

  Because she is really into rec league, kickball.

• 41:22Speaker 01

  Oh my God, of course.

• 41:23Speaker 02

  Is that in your notes?

• 41:24Speaker 01

  Kickball, into rec, yes.

• 41:27Speaker 02

  Exactly. Apparently Kickball is an influencer with an even bigger following than Marissa's.

• 41:33Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 41:34Speaker 02

  And Marissa just had the cutest date with Kickball at a petting zoo.

• 41:37Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 41:38Speaker 02

  Rose is like, wow, I'm so happy for you. And Marissa's just like, thanks babe, happy for you too.

• 41:45Speaker 01

  As she's crying.

• 41:46Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:48Speaker 02

  And Rose successfully extracts herself from this situation. She waits until later that night when they're in the privacy of their apartment to be like, Charlie, dude, what the fuck?

• 41:58Speaker 01

  Rose is so mature, like way more mature than all these people. I think I would have, I would have had a house, Real Housewives moment. I would have pulled Charlie to the side, but still I couldn't wait until I got home. I would have been like, so.

• 42:10Speaker 02

  What the fuck?

• 42:11Speaker 01

  What the fuck?

• 42:11Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 42:12Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 42:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 42:12Speaker 01

  Wow, okay.

• 42:13Speaker 02

  Well, Charlie just shrugs and they're like, people just tell me things. What am I supposed to do?

• 42:18Speaker 01

  But also you're supposed to be loyal to your best friend and tell your best friend the tea.

• 42:23Speaker 02

  That you moved to Richmond with.

• 42:24Speaker 01

  Like, come on.

• 42:25Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 42:26Speaker 01

  Where's the loyalty?

• 42:26Speaker 02

  Loyalty. Exactly. Exactly. Well, when Paige comes back from vacation, our girl Rose decides not to share the conversation she had with Marissa. But she does tell Paige that she thinks they might be better office friends.

• 42:38Speaker 01

  Wow. Rose is so mature. See, this is where I'm messy. Like even if I know it's gonna be a messy situation ship, but I'm like, but they're really hot. I'll be like, I'll get a couple, you know, bedroom sessions in and then.

• 42:56Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 42:56Speaker 01

  We can, you know, put this on ice.

• 42:58Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 42:59Speaker 01

  Even though I know that'll make it messier because I'm just like, well, and Paige sounds hot. He said she could, what, thrust 185 pounds?

• 43:06Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 43:06Speaker 01

  She could thrust me.

• 43:09Speaker 02

  Strong glutes.

• 43:10Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 43:10Speaker 02

  Yeah. And to her credit, which just makes her hotter, Paige takes it pretty well. Like, she seems surprised and a little hurt, but she and Rose continue to be friends. And Paige moves on quickly because she's a hot girl.

• 43:23Speaker 01

  Right, exactly. She was like, who's next in the rolodex? Okay.

• 43:27Speaker 02

  Within a couple of weeks, Paige adds her new boo to the group chat, who will be calling Texas.

• 43:33Speaker 01

  Okay, Texas.

• 43:37Speaker 02

  Because they are from Texas.

• 43:38Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 43:39Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 43:39Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 43:39Speaker 02

  And Paige is immediately all over Texas. Like right away, they're going on elaborate dates and indulging and lots of PDA's during group parties.

• 43:48Speaker 01

  Oh my God.

• 43:51Speaker 02

  So, Zakiya.

• 43:52Speaker 01

  Oh my God.

• 43:53Speaker 02

  It's now time for a pop quiz.

• 43:57Speaker 01

  Not my heart's giving a beat. Oh my God, my perfectionism, my like, uh, gold star student pass. I'm like, oh my God, I better pass.

• 44:06Speaker 02

  Well, luckily there is no prize here, so there's also no consequence for not doing well.

• 44:10Speaker 01

  Oh my God. I mean.

• 44:11Speaker 02

  Okay, so the first question is, at this point, who is currently smooching who?

• 44:16Speaker 01

  Okay, Paige is with Texas, um, Marissa is with Kickball. Rose is single. We don't know where Charlie's at.

• 44:26Speaker 02

  We don't.

• 44:27Speaker 01

  Um, I think that's the main players.

• 44:29Speaker 02

  Correct. Ding ding ding ding.

• 44:30Speaker 01

  Yay.

• 44:31Speaker 02

  Okay, and the second question is, who does Paige have history with?

• 44:36Speaker 01

  Everybody. Paige has been with Marissa. Paige tried to get with Rose, but that didn't happen. Paige.

• 44:45Speaker 02

  You can check your other board.

• 44:46Speaker 01

  Has PPS.

• 44:50Speaker 02

  Exactly. And Texas, which you already got at the beginning.

• 44:53Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 44:54Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 44:54Speaker 01

  Yes, yes, yes.

• 44:55Speaker 02

  Ding ding ding.

• 44:56Speaker 01

  Okay, yes.

• 44:57Speaker 02

  A plus.

• 44:58Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 44:58Speaker 02

  Well, for a brief time, there is peace in the group chat.

• 45:01Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 45:02Speaker 02

  As you correctly noted, Paige is dating Texas, Marissa's dating Kickball. And at least from what Rose can tell, Paige and Marissa have figured out how to be friends.

• 45:10Speaker 01

  Great.

• 45:11Speaker 02

  And then two very important nights happen in rapid succession. So, night one, the plan is to go line dancing.

• 45:20Speaker 01

  I knew these were some line dancing ass queers. I fucking knew it. These are the messiest lesbians out there. The line dancing lesbians are the messiest people you'll know. I fucking knew it. And this isn't a diss, this is a compliment. I love mess. I knew these are some line dancing queers.

• 45:39Speaker 02

  Again, so perceptive, passing with flying colors.

• 45:42Speaker 01

  I'm not perceptive, I'm just queer. Which queer equals receptive.

• 45:46Speaker 02

  Low key, y'all be seeing shit.

• 45:48Speaker 01

  We be seeing shit because we've lived it. Yes.

• 45:50Speaker 02

  Open.

• 45:50Speaker 01

  The third eye is always open. Yeah. Okay, I fucking knew it.

• 45:55Speaker 02

  You did, you did. The plan is to go line dancing. Our girl Rose decides to stay home to catch up on chores and also to avoid the drama. And as the night goes on, Rose is like, thank God I stayed home. Because based on the text that Marissa's sending to the group chat, she is very, very drunk.

• 46:14Speaker 01

  Oh no. Oh no.

• 46:17Speaker 02

  The next day Paige calls Rose to vent because apparently Marissa was so drunk that Paige reached out to her privately to be like, homie, are you okay?

• 46:26Speaker 01

  Oh no. And you know it's bad if Paige is checking on Marissa for crashing out because her baseline is already crash out. So it must've been bad.

• 46:34Speaker 02

  Well, apparently when Paige reached out to check on Marissa, Marissa responded back like, worry about your little girlfriends, not me.

• 46:42Speaker 01

  Of course, Marissa is the type that will do this like huge bid for attention. And when she gets this like, no, leave me alone. I don't even want the attention. Yeah. Oh my God. Okay.

• 46:52Speaker 02

  Paige then calls Marissa like, what the fuck dude? And then she's like, you didn't drive, right?

• 46:58Speaker 01

  Oh no.

• 47:00Speaker 02

  Because Marissa sounds absolutely trash. And this sets Marissa off. Marissa is like, wow, you get one little DUI when you're 21 and everyone wants to hold it over your head forever.

• 47:11Speaker 01

  No.

• 47:13Speaker 02

  And this is when shit goes sideways because then Marissa is like, you can get off your high horse. Like there's not a girl in the group chat you haven't felt up.

• 47:22Speaker 01

  Wait, why is that a diss? I'd be like, and I did, and I did. Wow, okay.

• 47:28Speaker 02

  But Marissa doesn't stop there. She's like, I know you fingered Rose and Charlie. They've said it themselves.

• 47:35Speaker 01

  Wait, and Charlie, Charlie's like, no, why am I in this? Wait, what?

• 47:40Speaker 02

  Rose was bragging about how you fingered her when you came over to her apartment and Charlie told us that you guys finger banged each other on their birthday.

• 47:47Speaker 01

  Wait, wait, I actually need to pause to process this. Marissa, it's coming at Paige, who's like, Paige, I know you fingered Rose and Charlie. And Rose and Charlie are bessies and roomies. And I was thinking, Charlie is so viciously quiet in this story.

• 48:05Speaker 01

  What is this true? No way. I'm sorry, Char- I'm so disappointed in Charlie.

• 48:11Speaker 02

  Well, Marissa then name drops two other girls from the chat who can apparently corroborate this.

• 48:16Speaker 01

  What the fu- okay, not me writing down, okay.

• 48:21Speaker 01

  P fingered Rose and Charlie. What the fuck? And Charlie was the one who was like, Rose, you should get with Paige.

• 48:35Speaker 02

  Well, our girl Rose's jaw drops as she listens to Paige recap this whole incident. Because the thing is, she and Paige had never even kissed, besides like the club bathroom makeouts. And famously, those don't count in this group.

• 48:48Speaker 01

  Right.

• 48:48Speaker 02

  And like, yeah, Charlie's kinda messy, but Rose is pretty sure they would have told her.

• 48:53Speaker 01

  Right, I would have assumed.

• 48:54Speaker 02

  If they'd made out with Paige. I'm gonna be honest, this is the moment where I would begin to slow fade from this group. Actually, I probably would have already been gone.

• 49:01Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah.

• 49:01Speaker 02

  I'm exhausted telling this story.

• 49:03Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, this is wild.

• 49:04Speaker 02

  Would you try to salvage any of this?

• 49:06Speaker 01

  I love mess, but that's why I love reality TV. I don't like mess in my own life. Like, I kind of get turned off by people romantically, sexually, platonically. If they're the type of people who are like, I don't know, drama just follows me. That is, I don't have time for that. So I would have been gone. So if I'm Rose, she seems so irresponsible. You know, she's taking her Lexapro. She's staying home to do her chores. If she wanted to miss line dancing because she knew it would be mess, I feel like she'd be like, okay, this is my sign to exit the group chat, literally and metaphorically, figuratively.

• 49:44Speaker 02

  Yeah. Well, the first thing Rose does is check in with Charlie, because that's her roommate.

• 49:48Speaker 01

  Right. Rose is going down the hall, knock, knock, knock. Guess what I heard?

• 49:53Speaker 02

  And Charlie confirms that they never made out with Paige. Well, Charlie then reaches out to the two girls from the chat that Marissa had name dropped, who are both like, Marissa is lying. Why am I in it? I don't know anything about this.

• 50:06Speaker 01

  Marissa is unhinged.

• 50:09Speaker 02

  And this is enough for both Charlie and Rose to reach out to Marissa. And Marissa apologizes to Charlie. But when Rose reaches out, like, hey, can we talk? Marissa responds with, hey dude, respectfully, I'm so overwhelmed by everything that I don't really have the capacity for this.

• 50:26Speaker 01

  Oh my god.

• 50:27Speaker 02

  This is all being blown way out of proportion. And honestly, talking about me without me there is not approved.

• 50:35Speaker 01

  I cannot. You know what? I feel like we all know a Marissa. I don't know a Marissa that well, because I can clock a Marissa from a mile away. And I keep that energy far, far away from me. But we all know a Marissa that a messy lesbian with some therapy speak would say.

• 50:55Speaker 02

  100%, 100%. Hasn't actually been to therapy, but has been on TikTok.

• 50:59Speaker 01

  Exactly. Exactly.

• 51:01Speaker 02

  Yeah. So this is the first important night, and it's aftermath.

• 51:05Speaker 01

  I forgot there's night two. There's night two. Okay, night two. I'm writing that down. Night two, colon.

• 51:15Speaker 02

  The second important night comes a couple of days later. Everyone from the chat goes out clubbing, just normal clubbing. So it's Marissa, Paige, Charlie, Kickball, Texas. Everyone's there, except for Rose, who is not in a clubbing mood.

• 51:29Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 51:30Speaker 02

  And once again, Rose is like, thank god I stayed home. Because at midnight, she receives a call from Charlie, who is sitting on a curb outside the club, taking care of Texas, who's gotten too drunk.

• 51:43Speaker 01

  Wait, I'm like, look at my notes. Texas is Paige's lover.

• 51:48Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 51:49Speaker 01

  That Charlie is now taking- where's Paige comforting Texas? Oh, well, that's probably why Texas is crying. Okay, anyways, I'm getting ahead of myself. Okay.

• 51:58Speaker 02

  Well, apparently, earlier in the night, Paige and Marissa got into a huge fight. And then they ran off together. And now they aren't answering their phones. And this is why Charlie is sitting outside the club, holding back Texas's hair. And poor Texas just keeps asking when Paige is coming back.

• 52:13Speaker 01

  Oh, no. Wow.

• 52:22Speaker 02

  So this is why, when a question pops into Rose's mind, she decides to text it to Charlie instead of asking it out loud. While they're still on FaceTime, Rose texts Charlie to ask, does Texas know the history between Marissa and Paige? And Charlie texts back like, no, Paige doesn't want Texas to know that she and Marissa are still having sex.

• 52:43Speaker 01

  What? Okay, this is so fucked up. Wait, I'm actually speechless.

• 52:54Speaker 01

  Okay, so Paige and Marissa are fighting and fucking, fighting and fucking. Paige does not want to tell Texas. Texas doesn't know. But I'm sure other people are gonna soon find out. Oh my god, okay.

• 53:10Speaker 02

  Rose almost choked. She's like, what? Charlie's face drops. They fucked up, and they know it. They get up and they run down the block away from Texas, still on FaceTime, saying, please don't get me in trouble, Rose. Please don't get me in trouble. Don't tell anybody.

• 53:24Speaker 01

  Because Charlie is the secret holder, and no one else is supposed to know that Paige and Marissa are fucking. But then Charlie accidentally spilled the beans to Rose. And so now, okay, okay.

• 53:35Speaker 02

  And Rose will not let Charlie get off the call until they explain. Charlie reveals that Paige and Marissa have been secretly hooking up ever since Paige got home from her vacation.

• 53:43Speaker 01

  What?

• 53:44Speaker 02

  All while Paige is still seeing Texas and Marissa is still seeing Kickball. No one is technically exclusive, so none of this is cheating.

• 53:52Speaker 01

  So then why not say it? That's what I never understand. Like, if you're not exclusive, then say it. Because it's not a problem. You're not exclusive.

• 53:59Speaker 02

  But Paige swore Charlie to secrecy anyway.

• 54:01Speaker 01

  Oh my god, all these secrets and why? But they get off on the secret. They get off on the running around and not telling people and breaking hearts and like, we shouldn't, we shouldn't do this. They get off on it.

• 54:17Speaker 02

  So we are somewhat close to the ending of this saga. How are you feeling?

• 54:22Speaker 01

  I'm tired. Oh my, and I'm grateful that I am in my 30s.

• 54:29Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 54:30Speaker 01

  I'm grateful that I still have fun chaos in my life, but not this. Not when people are getting hurt and it's sloppy and it's messy. What's the point of going out to the club if it's gonna end in tears all the time?

• 54:40Speaker 02

  No, exactly.

• 54:41Speaker 01

  I'm just trying to vibe, shake my ass. Yes, bathroom makeout. I do love a bathroom makeout. Well, like, and maybe a little light drama, not with me, but like, tangentially, this is exhausting.

• 54:54Speaker 02

  No, it's like, if I'm crying in the club, it's because I love my friends so much.

• 54:58Speaker 01

  Yes, literally, says the Pisces to the Cancer. Yes, literally.

• 55:03Speaker 02

  Yeah. Okay, so three things happen in rapid succession after this. The first is that a couple of days after this, Marissa and Kickball make it Instagram official.

• 55:15Speaker 01

  Wait, what? Wait, let me write that down.

• 55:18Speaker 02

  This sends Paige into a spiral, even though she is still dating Texas. So Paige decides to go no contact with Marissa, which Marissa does not take well. The second thing is Charlie has a death in the family.

• 55:30Speaker 01

  Oh, no.

• 55:31Speaker 02

  So Rose and Paige are keeping them company when Charlie gets a huge wall of texts from Marissa. Who still has Rose, Paige, and Charlie on her Find My Friends. Marissa accuses Charlie of betraying her by hanging out with Paige.

• 55:46Speaker 01

  Of course, Marissa does this.

• 55:48Speaker 02

  Charlie's like, Paige met up with us because my uncle died recently.

• 55:52Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 55:53Speaker 02

  Don't know if you forgot about that part.

• 55:55Speaker 01

  Yeah. Oh my god.

• 55:58Speaker 02

  Marissa says, it's wild for you to use your grief as an excuse to be a bad friend.

• 56:04Speaker 01

  No. Okay, now Marissa's in the pits of hell. Before, she was messy, she was self-absorbed, selfish. Now you're a fucked up person. Wow, she literally thought to say that, wrote it out, and then hit send. Wow.

• 56:19Speaker 02

  Charlie and Marissa argue back and forth for almost an hour, and then Marissa blocks Charlie.

• 56:24Speaker 01

  Not Marissa doing the blocking. What?

• 56:27Speaker 02

  And the last important thing that happens is that Rose goes on a week-long cruise that does not include free wifi. Which means Rose is not able to be contacted when everything goes down.

• 56:40Speaker 01

  Okay, I'm sure as soon as she got back on the wifi, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. 3,000 unread messages. Oh my god.

• 56:49Speaker 02

  Quite literally, as soon as Rose's phone reconnects to 5G, she is greeted by a text from Paige, which reads, hi, welcome back. Call me as soon as possible.

• 56:59Speaker 01

  Oh my god. See, this is why with friends like this, you don't need enemies. Like, your friends are supposed to be like a space of like chill vibes and fun and support. Like, this is my definition of torture. I could not, okay.

• 57:14Speaker 02

  Well, at this point, you know these girls, you know their drama, you know their tea. How long are you waiting before you call Paige back?

• 57:22Speaker 01

  Like, I'm like, I gotta take care of me, Lucius. Like, I would be like, you know what? I'm gonna be very bound- honestly, I think I might just be like, I'm not gonna be anyone. I think that's- If I hadn't unfriended all these people before, I would be like, I don't need to be caught up on all this. But for me, I would at least be like, let me go home, put my bags down, shower, smoke a J, catch up on all my shows that I haven't been able to watch because I've been, I've had no wifi for a week. And then, once I finish all my shows, which I could finish all that shit in like a couple of days. And then, you know, I would kiki with Charlie and be like, yo, what's the TLDR? And then, maybe I would like get a nice chai latte, go on a stroll. Call Paige and be like, what's up?

• 58:06Speaker 02

  What's going on?

• 58:07Speaker 01

  What happened?

• 58:07Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah. You said, I'm giving it two to three business days.

• 58:10Speaker 01

  Yes, absolutely.

• 58:12Speaker 02

  Yeah. Rose calls Paige from her Lyft back home.

• 58:15Speaker 01

  I want better for Rose. Hopefully, she's learning.

• 58:19Speaker 02

  Well, Paige is frantic. She keeps just saying like, dude, oh, my God, oh, my fucking God, you're not gonna believe what happened. Oh, my God.

• 58:26Speaker 01

  God, do not greet me from a wifi list vacation with, oh, my God. Like, like, what the, like, also, that's selfish. What about me coming back from like my post-vacation glow? Oh, my God.

• 58:41Speaker 02

  No, it's not. I just decompressed and now I'm stressed again.

• 58:44Speaker 01

  Exactly. I can't with this kind of energy. So I cannot be friends with like dramatic people. I can't.

• 58:48Speaker 02

  Rose is like, oh, my God, can you just tell me what's going on?

• 58:51Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 58:52Speaker 02

  And then Paige is like, have you ever seen Gossip Girl? While Rose was away on the high seas, someone had created a burner Instagram account.

• 59:00Speaker 01

  Oh, my fucking God.

• 59:02Speaker 02

  And sent a long message to Kickball, Marissa's new girlfriend, with the rundown of everything that had happened with Marissa over the summer, with Marissa and Paige, Marissa and Rose, Marissa and Charlie.

• 59:15Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 59:16Speaker 02

  The message also says that Marissa was just using Kickball for clout and followers.

• 59:21Speaker 01

  Oh, right, because Kickball is an influencer. And so, and that's why Marissa would go public with Kickball and not any, anybody else, because it's like clout, because she's a party promoter and she's all about herself at the end of the day. Wow, okay.

• 59:36Speaker 02

  The message also says that Marissa has not only been sleeping with Paige the entire time she'd been with Kickball. Marissa had also been sleeping with her old poetry ex.

• 59:47Speaker 01

  I forgot about poetry ex.

• 59:49Speaker 02

  Which even Paige didn't know.

• 59:51Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 59:52Speaker 02

  That's right. It's Chekhov's poetry ex coming back in the third act.

• 59:57Speaker 01

  That was on whiteboard number one.

• 1:00:03Speaker 01

  Oh, my God.

• 1:00:04Speaker 02

  Marissa has been on a rampage ever since this happened. She has accused almost all 67 people in the lesbian group chat before finally settling on Charlie being the culprit, because Marissa had done that thing you can do when you're trying to find who owns an Instagram account, where you can like pretend that you forgot the password and it'll show you like the first and last letter of their email address.

• 1:00:25Speaker 01

  I didn't know you could do, see, this just shows I'm not messy enough. I didn't know. Wait, you can do that even when the account isn't linked to your number, your email?

• 1:00:32Speaker 02

  Yeah, it'll blur out the entire email, but it'll give you the first letter so you can know which email to check if it's yours. And apparently, the email associated with the account began with a C.

• 1:00:42Speaker 01

  Honestly, I was thinking Charlie because Charlie's the bone collector. You know what I mean? Like Charlie holds all the secrets.

• 1:00:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:00:49Speaker 01

  Charlie is hiding behind the facade of chill stoner, like, whoa, what's up, guys? And is creating burner accounts.

• 1:00:59Speaker 02

  Well, this, along with what Marissa is calling Charlie's secret meeting with Rose and Paige, is enough for Marissa to accuse Charlie.

• 1:01:06Speaker 01

  Wait, the secret meeting, i.e. when they were comforting Charlie when their uncle had passed? What?

• 1:01:12Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:01:13Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:01:13Speaker 02

  So I'm gonna ask you who our culprit is, but would you like me to go through the suspect list before deciding?

• 1:01:18Speaker 01

  Yes, give me, yeah, give me the list.

• 1:01:20Speaker 02

  Okay, suspect number one, Paige. Her motive? She's been hooking up with Marissa this whole time and everyone knows that she's jealous of Marissa and Kickball. But Paige and Texas are still together and Paige has been freaking out to Rose since the literal moment Rose got back to dry land, which is a lot of acting to subject yourself to if you're the guilty one. Suspect number two, Charlie. Their motive? Marissa was a giant bitch to them right after their uncle died.

• 1:01:48Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:01:48Speaker 02

  And the email for the burner account does begin with a C. But Charlie has always said that they never start drama. The drama just always simplifies them.

• 1:01:58Speaker 01

  Mm-hmm, famous last words.

• 1:02:00Speaker 02

  Suspect number three, Paige's pottery situation ship, AKA PPS.

• 1:02:05Speaker 01

  I forgot about PPS.

• 1:02:08Speaker 02

  Her motive? Marissa almost certainly played a part in how things ended with PPS and Paige. That whole thing, Marissa was all over it. Suspect number four, Texas. Her motive? Texas has been feeling defensive on Paige's behalf with everything happening with Marissa and also apparently knows Kickball through a mutual friend. So there's a chance that Texas might have been trying to protect Kickball and get revenge on Marissa without publicly being tied to the fallout.

• 1:02:39Speaker 01

  I'm giving that, that white lady doing the math, like, I'm like,

• 1:02:44Speaker 01

  I will say, I got a little lost on that last one. But, okay, there are motives.

• 1:02:49Speaker 02

  And finally, suspect number five, Chekhov slash Marissa's poetry ex.

• 1:02:55Speaker 01

  Yes, yes.

• 1:02:56Speaker 02

  Her motive? Poetry ex was apparently not aware that Marissa was hooking up with her, Paige, and Kickball all at the same time. While this was technically not cheating, based on the terms of their agreement, Poetry ex had blocked Marissa once Marissa and Kickball went Instagram official. So those are all of our suspects. So now, Zakiya, what is your verdict?

• 1:03:19Speaker 01

  You know what? I'm gonna stick to my gut feeling because Charlie has all the tea and has motive. Because like, yeah, Marissa's being horrible to Charlie and so Charlie's like, oh, you wanna play? You thought I was chill? Oh, I got you.

• 1:03:37Speaker 02

  No, it's like, you wanna play games?

• 1:03:39Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 1:03:40Speaker 02

  I'll play harder.

• 1:03:41Speaker 01

  Exactly.

• 1:03:42Speaker 02

  Yeah, well, unfortunately, y'all are all gonna shoot me. And I am so, so sorry to say that real life is not like Gossip Girl, so we do not know

• 1:03:55Speaker 02

  who created the burner Instagram account. Literally, the last sentence in the email from our friend of a friend is, as for the anonymous Instagram account that sent the message, its identity remains unknown.

• 1:04:08Speaker 01

  Reveal yourself! What?

• 1:04:12Speaker 02

  So that is the end of our story. I do have some updates for you that do not include the identity of the burner Instagram account. But first, who do you think the villain in this story is?

• 1:04:22Speaker 01

  Marissa?

• 1:04:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:04:24Speaker 01

  I mean, I think there's multiple villains. I feel number one, Marissa, number two, Paige. Yeah, them two.

• 1:04:31Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:04:32Speaker 01

  They deserve each other.

• 1:04:32Speaker 02

  They do.

• 1:04:33Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:04:33Speaker 02

  They do. Well, the updates are Kickball decides to stay with Marissa despite the message from the burner account. And Marissa and Kickball end up basically creating a whole new social circle with their own group chat, which is probably for the best, because Marissa and Charlie's relationship literally never recovers. Like, to this day, they are still not friends.

• 1:04:51Speaker 01

  Yeah, that makes sense. I would not be friends with anyone who was bullying me while I was grieving.

• 1:04:56Speaker 02

  Yeah. Meanwhile, our friend of a friend, Rose, continues to hang out with Paige and Charlie and they will occasionally run into Marissa and Kickball at queer events, but they never acknowledge each other or exchange words. They just pretend that the rival lesbian gang at the Boy Genius concert doesn't exist.

• 1:05:14Speaker 01

  Wow, that's good. Wow.

• 1:05:17Speaker 02

  Our second update is that one day, Rose mentioned to Paige that it was weird that Marissa never accused her of being the burner Instagram account. And Paige is like, oh, that's because she was keeping tabs on you and she knows you were on a cruise when this all happened.

• 1:05:32Speaker 01

  What?

• 1:05:33Speaker 02

  This is when Rose finds out that although she and Marissa no longer follow each other, Marissa has been having mutual friends watch Rose's stories and send Marissa screenshots. Like, recently, Marissa was drunk at a party and she was showing people a screenshot of Rose's Instagram story from a day when Rose and Paige had gone like pumpkin picking or whatever. And Marissa was like, does it look like they're dating?

• 1:05:55Speaker 01

  What the actual fuck? Like, all these enabling friends, like, what the hell? And also, to keep tabs on Rose, Barnes and Noble Rose? I'm gonna stay home and do chores, Rose? What?

• 1:06:12Speaker 02

  You're just screenshotting photos of her book pile.

• 1:06:14Speaker 01

  Yeah, exactly.

• 1:06:16Speaker 02

  And the final update is that Paige and Marissa have recently reconnected and are now friends again. No one knows the details of the reconciliation, but Rose and Charlie like to joke that everyone suffered that summer for literally no reason.

• 1:06:30Speaker 01

  Yeah, literally no reason.

• 1:06:37Speaker 02

  Thank you for listening to Normal Gossip. If you have a gossip story to share with us, email us at [email protected]. Or you can leave us a voicemail at 2679 gossip. If you love this podcast and want to support us, become a friend or a friend of a friend at supportnormalgossip.com. You can follow the show on Instagram and TikTok at Normal Gossip. You can follow me on all social media at HeyDene. Subscribe to our YouTube channel at Defector Media to watch today's episode. Normal Gossip is written by me, Rachel Hampton, and Jay Tolviera. This podcast was produced by Sierra Spragley-Ricks and Jay Tolviera. Our audio engineer is Samantha Gatzic. Emily Cherish is our video editor. Theme music composed by Rishi Kesh Hirway.

• 1:07:21Speaker 02

  The co-creators and dowager queens of Normal Gossip are Kelsey McKinney and Defector's supervising producer, Alex SuJong Loughlin. Justin Ellis is Defector's projects editor. Jasper Wang is Defector's business guy. Tom Lay is our editor in chief. This season was made in memory of Dan McLeod, who ran our merch store, which you can find at normalgossip.store. Tara Jacoby designed our show art. Thank you to Brandy Jensen, David Roth, Catherine Shu, Sabrina Embler, Chris Thompson, Dave McKenna, Patrick Redford, and Ray Rado for your help with this season. Thank you to the rest of the Defector staff. Defector Media is a collectively owned subscriber-based media company. Normal Gossip is a proud member of Radiotopia. I am your host, Rachel Hampton, and remember, you didn't hear this from me.