Emery
March
“Happy birthday, dear Emery…” Delilah and Harper sang veryloudly—and badly—at our bench under the willow tree in the quad at midmorning break. “Happy birthday to yoooooou.”
Harper handed me a brownie with a candle in it, while Delilah gave me a quick hug. “Make a wish, Em!”
A hundred wishes filled my heart, all of them with Xander’s name on them. But his father was slipping away, and my heart broke for them both.
I wish for Dr. Ford to defy the odds and stay with us for a long time.
I blew out the candle, and Delilah gave me a sly look. “I think I can guess what you wished for. You and Xander? At long last…?”
Heat flushed my cheeks, and my fingers went to the locket over my heart. “I don’t have to wish for that.”
“Eeep!” She clapped her hands while Harper—on my left—rolled her eyes with a laugh. Letting Delilah Winslow in on the fact that Xander and I were together had been the ultimate test of her trustworthiness, and she’d passed with flying colors.
“Xander’s taking me to somewhere secret tomorrow for what hecalls ‘a big date.’”
“Are you excited? Nervous?”
“Both, maybe. It feels kind of perfect. We waited long enough but also just the right amount of time.” I waved a hand. “Anyway, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. He says he just wants to be with me in whatever way feels right for both of us.”
“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” Delilah gushed. “Isn’t she lucky?”
“Yes,” Harper said with a tilted smile. “The luckiest.”
My new-and-improved best friend seemed a little down lately but wouldn’t divulge why. She said she’d share when she felt ready, and since I wanted to be a good friend to her, I had to respect her privacy…even if I wanted to hug any hurt right out of her.
I broke off pieces of my birthday brownie for my friends and then took a bite. “So, Delilah, what’s the news from the Other Side? No gossip, just good stuff.”
Since Christmas, I’d spent all my time with Xander, my new friends, and working on the prom. My old life was starting to feel like it had belonged to someone else, and now I had a new one that was inching closer to the one I wanted.
Delilah hesitated. “Elowen and Tucker are official. You may have noticed.”
“Oh, I have,” I said with a laugh. “Their PDA is pretty hard to miss. I guess it was like that when we were together, too. My sincere apologies to the class.”
“Too little too late, my friend,” Harper said, brushing crumbs off her hands.
“You’re not mad?” Delilah asked me. “It’s kind of low of her to get with your ex without talking to you first.”
“Nope,” I said. “Tucker and I were not a great fit, to put it mildly. If they’re happy, I’m happy.”
“Orion’s the one who should be happy that Elowen finally found a new hobby.” Delilah giggled. “She stuck to him like a barnacle forages.”
Harper stood up, muttering something about throwing her napkin away.
“And speaking of Orion,” Delilah continued. “He’s throwing a party in Atlas Hall after the Head of the Bay Regatta next weekend. Sounds like it’ll be pretty epic.”
“Only if they win,” I said. “If they lose, it’ll be a—”
“A pity party?”
“Nice.” I offered my hand for a high-five.
“What are we high-fiving about?” Harper asked, resuming her seat on the bench.
“Delilah’s terrible joke,” I said. “Also, Orion is throwing a post-regatta rager.”
