Luke shook his head. “Nah, I thought you could do that. I have to call Keiko Morrissey, Esquire, about a very important matter.”
I sighed. “He’s going to be so disappointed.”
“He shouldn’t be…after all, you’re his date to the Christmas thing.”
“I thought you said you didn’t care.”
“I don’t.”
My eyes narrowed. I couldn’t tell if he was bullshitting me or not. “Where is he?”
“Knowles Basement.”
I nodded. “You want me to give him a message?”
“Yeah.” Luke smirked. “Tell him he has to settle up with me tonight.”
Daggett’s date party was the same day a bunch of early college decisions came out, including Yale, UVA, andmyfirst choice. Jennie had gotten into Stanford yesterday (I’d abandoned my math homework and raced down the hall to congratulate her after hearing her happy scream), and at 5:00 p.m. tonight, I could finally find out my own fate. Although it would really be later than that, since I’d decided I wouldn’t check until after the party.Charlie was still staying pretty quiet on the college front. All he’d said was that he’d applied to several schools EA, and one ED.
He wouldn’t reveal anything else, but after the party, where everyone had been decked out in ugly Christmas sweaters, Charlie suggested we take a campus stroll. We walked in silence for a few minutes, passing by the girls’ houses and the library, and then Charlie spoke. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for us not getting to hang out lately.”
“Oh,” I said, somewhat surprised. Yes, he and I hadn’t hung out one-on-one for a few weeks, but I wasn’t hung up on it or anything. We saw each other all the time at meals, and I’d lost track of how many “dates” to the movies or Pandora’s I’d gone on with him and Luke.
“It’s totally my fault,” he continued. “I spend all my time with him…”
I squeezed his arm. “Hey, relax. It’s okay. You really dig him, I get it. I don’t feel neglected or anything. I feel like we hang out tons.”
“We don’t make you feel like a third wheel all the time?”
I shook my head. “No, not usually. In my mind, I’m hanging out with my two best friends.”
Charlie nodded. “Okay, good.”
“Yeah, good,” I echoed, and forced my best smile. I really did love hanging out with Luke and Charlie, but at the same time, it could be sopainful.Their inside jokes, their laughter, and the way theylookedat each other…
It was a constant reminder of what I no longer had with Nick.
“So…” I ventured after another beat of silence. “Any news from Nick?” It was almost 8:00 p.m., so odds were he’d found out about Yale by now. I wondered if he’d been nervous…
Probably not, I decided, since Charlie had mentioned his brother getting a “likely letter” several weeks ago. It basically told him that he was guaranteed to get accepted as long as he didn’t screw anything up before official decisions were released. He had nothing to worry about.
Charlie laughed. “He’s probably ordering Yale-themed Christmas presents as we speak.”
He swiped into his phone to show me a text:RIDE OR DIE, BULLDOGS!
“Oh, I knew he would.” I let out a sigh of relief, breath visible in the cold air. “I bet the hockey coach would’ve burned down the admissions building if they didn’t accept him. Please tell him I say congratulations.”
Even though all I wanted to do was tell him myself.
“I will,” Charlie said, and then we randomly slowed to a stop in front of the chapel. “Should we check?” he asked. “You said your school was tonight…” He bit the inside of his cheek. “I have one too. Well, a couple, actually.”
I felt a jump of excitement. “Yeah, yeah, let’s do it.”
We pulled up our emails, Charlie glancing at me. “On three?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Okay.”
We moved closer together, and Charlie took a deep breath. “One…two…”
