“But your crush Brandon Maxwell will say, ‘Girl, where have you been all my life?’ ”
We giggled and moved into her bathroom for makeup. I swatted her hand away from the eyeliner; it was impossible for my best friend to do makeup without it involving a cat-eye. Understated but classic was my specialty.
Grace stuck her tongue out at me in the mirror, and once we’d narrated a goofy “Get Ready with Me” routine, she said: “Follow me!”
Tension squeezed my shoulders when we walked into James’s bedroom. It was chaotic but cozy. Grace didn’t hesitate before pulling down the trapdoor that led up to the small attic her brother had claimed as his own. She spewed out her abduction strategy as she scrambled up the metal ladder.
I swallowed hard. I might’ve had grit, but Grace had guts.
And I endlessly admired her for it.
While she grabbed what she needed from James’s garret, I studied his vinyl shelf even though I knew it by heart. I was in the middle of alphabetizing his collection when Grace landedback on the bedroom floor with her arms more than full. She wasn’t even wearing the furry green costume yet, but it had already swallowed her up.
“Isa…,” she said slowly—tentatively. “We have a complication.”
The back of my neck prickled.A complication.
“The car,” Grace said carefully. “We need a different car.”
I resumed reorganizing James’s records. “What do you mean?”
“We can’t pull up to school in your Mini,” Grace said. “Anyone and everyone who looks out a window will recognize it.”
Okay,I thought,she is officially overthinking this.
And I say that as achronicoverthinker.
“G, I’m not the only one in town with a cream Mini Cooper,” I told her. “I’m not even the only person atschoolwithone.”
“Totally true,” Grace said, “but youarethe only one with your vanity plate.”
Damn you, James,I thought. He’d given me a custom license plate for my birthday last year. It saidIM CRUZIN.
Grace was right; we couldn’t take my car. I opened my mouth, about to suggest her Subaru before remembering that James had taken it to school. “Uber,” I said a minute later. “We’ll Uber to school, then Uber back here.”
Grace raised an eyebrow. “Ubering? Seriously?”
I didn’t respond; it was a rhetorical question.
“It’s supposed to look professional, Isa,” Grace said. “We—”
“No!” I didn’t let her finish, already reading her mind. “I know what you’re thinking, Grace, and the answer isno.”
“But the vibes are immaculate,” she said. “Flashy but classy.”
My heart started to hammer. “Exactly,” I said. “My parents will one hundred percent notice when it vanishes from the garage.”
“Hasn’t your dad been in DC this week?” Grace asked.
“Yes,” I admitted, “but he’s coming home tonight.” While Mamá worked in finance in New York, Papá was a partner at a Philadelphia law firm and also taught a couple courses at Georgetown Law School, his alma mater. This semester he’d picked up an extra class, so instead of commuting via Amtrak all the time, he occasionally spent the whole week there. I’d found him the perfect apartment on Zillow.
Grace continued to goad me. “And your mom’s in the office, right?”
I grumbled.
“See, it’s perfect! We’ll have it back before dinner.”
Mmm,I mused.Dinner.
