“And she couldn’t do that here instead of the rival campus?”
I don’t remind Bailey about how my twin sister didn’t get accepted into USC because it still stings. Not just for Carly. UCLA was her second-best option. It was also my first choice but I had been rejected.
“I gotta support my sister,” I tell Bailey. Especially when my parents can’t, or just choose not to. Like now.
“If this wasn’t for Carly, I’d call you a people pleaser.” She then taps her chin. “Wait, you still are.”
I narrow my eyes. “No way.”
“Cars, how are you at this school again?”
“Touché.” I hate how she’s right about that. My whole life has been built around not having a single person hate me. My family, friends, roommates—I would do just about anything. Obviously, I’m failing.
“You don’t even want to stop by after?” She raises a brow. “I could introduce you to one of my sisters.”
She’s talking about her sorority sisters. Because Greek Row istotallythe place to find a good hookup. “Maybe I’ll stop by, but please don’t set me up.”
“Why not?” She tosses her blonde hair to her shoulder. “A lot of them want to meet you. Besides, if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have found Jake.”
“All I did was introduce you two,” I point out. “You did the rest on your own.” A lot of it. To this day, I haven’t found a way to bleach the sound out of my ears without going deaf.
“I would beg to differ,” my cousin huffs. “But I better see you there, even if it’s for a minute.”
“Don’t count on it,” I call after her as she saunters off towards one of her friends. I’m about to leave when a familiar voice causes my ears to perk up.
“I’m not doing it, Lucia.”
“Diana,” Lucia sighs in frustration. “You know what your counselor said!”
“I know but I can solve this myself.”
Slowly, I turn my head to the source of the conversation. Sure enough, Lucia is standing over Diana, who is still seated in her chair. Her figure is almost bent over like a question mark,
Both girls have frustrated looks on their faces. Though Diana’s is mixed with…defeat? That’s odd.
“I don’t want you to get kicked,” Lucia says. “Just ask him or something.”
“No,” Diana responds harshly. “You know how I feel about—”
“Yes, I know but I don’t care. And, frankly, you shouldn’t either.” Lucia moves her braids over to one shoulder. “Passing this class is far more important than holding a grudge.”
I quickly look away, thinking she would have seen me watching them as she adjusted her hair.
Are they talking about me? About what?
“Sit on it, D,” Lucia says with sincerity in her voice. “I would really hate for one stupid grade to fuck up your future.”
And suddenly, a lightbulb turns on in my head.
As Lucia heads towards the door, I quickly grab her wrist, halting her. She looks up to meet my eyes and lifts a dark brow. “Why did you do that? A tap on the shoulder would have sufficed.”
Whoops. “I need to ask you something.”
She then lifts her other brow, intrigued. “Go on.”
5
I’ll Take The Pie
