OLIVIA
Olivia huddled with her best friend, Cass, near the front of the amphitheater, searching the growing crowd for any sign of Malik. He probably wouldn’t come. He never showed up to stuff like this. She’d never seen him at a football or basketball game, pep assemblies, or any extracurricular activities—they were below him. Although, rumor had it, he agreed to help with the senior holiday prank.
Maybe, just maybe, she could work up the courage to talk to him then.
Malik was new this year. He’d moved to Bend over the summer and shown up to the first day of classes like he’d stepped straight out of a movie set with his brooding eyes, sketchbook, and an effortless coolness that none of the other boys in her class could master. He was artsy, mysterious, a loner, impossible to read, and constantly in Olivia’s head.
“Seriously, Liv, your makeup is fire. I’m loving all the sparkle, but you should have told me you were going to go full holiday for the kickoff. I would have glittered up, too,” Cass said, nudging Liv in the waist.
“It was a last-minute decision.” Liv shrugged, wishing she’d worn regular gloves instead of fingerless ones. She wanted toshow off her nails, which she had painted herself, but she was deeply regretting going for fashion over function. If Malik showed up, which was a bigif, there was no chance he would notice her, let alone her glossy nails adorned with tiny fake rhinestones.
“Nothing you do, Olivia Henry, is last-minute.” Cass twisted her face. “You’re the most organized senior in the entire school. You’ve single-handedly got us all on the same page for prank night. I’m obsessed with candy canes. I have boxes stashed all over my room. My mom keeps asking me why I’m hoarding them, and I keep saying it’s a ‘school project.’ Yeah, um Project Candy Cane, sure. Nothing to see here. Leave me and my candy alone.” She winked. “And then there’s tonight. Who else would have thought ahead and put together a team? Not me.”
“It’s going to be fun,” Olivia said, spotting more of their squad. “Hey, there’s Hugo, and, uh, uh—” Her cheeks flushed with heat as she shivered in the cold, spotting her crush strolling casually through the crowd.
Malik!
Oh. My. God.
He’d come.
Olivia panicked momentarily. Her palms started to sweat, and her heart thudded against her chest, beating erratically as she tried to play it cool.
“What?” Cass swiveled her head in the direction Olivia was staring, realization immediately dawning on her. “Shut up. No way. Malik’s here? He came, girl. He came.” Cass bumped Olivia’s hip playfully.
“Shhhh, not so loud.” Olivia gnawed the inside of her cheek and tried sucking two long sips of the frosty air in through her nose. A calming technique that her favorite English teacher, Mrs. Reynolds, had taught her. It didn’t work.
Her legs felt wobbly as Malik approached, looking like he belonged somewhere much more sophisticated than Bend, Oregon. He was tall and thin with naturally dark hair dyed blond, texturized, and plumped with so much product that it spiked across his forehead in a wave-like swoosh. Unlike most of the other guys in her class, who lived in hoodies and ski gear, Malik’s style was straight from a “what’s hot” fashion guide—intentionally baggy, embroidered jeans, a latched, corduroy-and-leather coat that was definitely not made for the elements, and a cashmere beanie.
Hugo reached them first. He was on the shorter side with a wide jawline, bright brown eyes, and an infectious smile. He ripped open his coat to show off his ugly Rudolph sweater. “Hey, I’m here, so the party can officially start now.” He scrunched his warm chestnut eyes and gave Olivia a goofy grin. “Dude, love the sweaters—it’s like a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet threw up on you. So much sparkle.”
Olivia laughed. She and Hugo had been friends since second grade when he had shared an entire box of Fruit Roll-Ups with her, and they had proceeded to spend the rest of lunch temporarily tattooing unicorns on their tongues.
Hugo had texted their group chat to tell everyone to wear ugly sweaters. Cass and Olivia had purchased cheap kits at a craft store and spent the afternoon gluing fuzzy balls and sparkling sequins on their cheap sweaters, but apparently, Malik hadn’t gotten the text.
Hugo caught Olivia’s eye, giving her a knowing look. “Liv, you know Malik, yeah?”
Olivia sucked in her cheeks and managed to mutter a hello, unable to look Malik in the eyes.
Hugo was well aware of her crush. He’d been the one who suggested inviting Malik to join their Passport to the Holidays team for reasons she couldn’t understand. Hugo and Malikdidn’t usually hang out, and a wholesome community scavenger hunt wasn’t Malik’s vibe. Olivia had semi-stalked his social media for the last few months. Malik exclusively posted pics of indie bands at obscure venues she’d never heard of and at college parties she would never dream of trying to sneak into. One of her favorite pictures on his very intentionally curated feed was of him posing at a bookstore with dark-rimmed reading glasses perched on the tip of his nose and his head buried in an old book of Byron poems.
Guaranteed none of the other guys in her class could name Byron, let alone read him.
“Let me warn you right now,” Cass said to Malik, waving a pink-and-white candy-cane-striped glove in the air as she spoke. “We came to play. We have big plans for this prize money, so you better be all in.”
Malik pushed a stray strand of shockingly blond hair back into place and responded indifferently with a noncommittal shrug. “You shouldn’t count on me. I told Hugo I’d come to check it out, but no promises. I’ve got a lot going on.”
A lot going on?
Like what?
Probably hanging with people much cooler than us.
Olivia wished she had toned down her glittery makeup and dialed back her nails. Why did he seem so much older?
And why had he come?
“Come on, man, it will be chill,” Hugo said, holding Olivia’s gaze momentarily before winking. “Remember, there’s fifty thou on the line. We could win that. Do it for the cash.” He ran his fingers over his thumb like he already had the money.
