“Mom?”
“Honey!” Mom’s voice is loud and bright. “Oh, I’m so glad you called. I was just thinking about you.”
“I miss you.” My voice is thick and I close my eyes.
“Is something going on? It seems early for you to be calling me.”
I look around in confusion. “It’s two p.m.”
Mom laughs and the sound smooths the pointy edges in mymind. “I completely forgot about the time difference. It’s nine a.m. over here.”
I sit down on a bench and lay my head back. “Are you drinking tea and reading?”
“What else would I be doing on a Saturday morning?”
I smile. Brits may know their way around a teapot, but I can’t wait to have a cup of Mom’s English breakfast when I get back home. “Things are... okay, I guess. The classes are still really hard so I haven’t been able to travel as much as I was hoping.”
“And...”
I wince at her knowing tone. “And the boy I met over here—Will—he’s leaving on a trip with his family so I won’t see him for a while. Things are a little... weird between us right now.”
“Did he hurt you?”
I groan. “Mom, no, of course not. We... I don’t know, I don’t want to get into it. Today just didn’t go the way I was planning.”
“Yeah, life has a way of doing that. What about your new friends? How are things going with them?”
“Good. Actually we’re planning a trip to London next weekend. I forgot to tell you.”
Mom squeals and I have to pull my phone from my ear. “Do you still have a list of all my recommendations? There’s so much to see there. How much time will you have?”
“We haven’t figured it out yet.” I laugh at her excitement. “But I’ll be sure to share your list for consideration.”
“Consideration.” She sniffs. “My list isthelist. There’s nothing to consider.” Then her voice grows more serious. “Listen, I’m reallyhappy you’ve found some new friends over there. I was getting a little worried at the end of the summer, but I feel so much better knowing you’re with kids you like.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She’s right, and I know I shouldn’t avoid them just because I’m upset about Will and me. I stand and walk back toward the cricket field, filling her in about my classwork and our London plans so far. When I get closer, I see people trailing back toward Emberton. I must have lost track of time. Sage is in the distance, walking toward me with Huan, Frank, and Dev. I say goodbye to Mom and walk over.
“Hey! What are you doing out here?” I ask her.
“I could only read for so long before I needed a break. And I’ve never seen a real cricket match before—only the clips you watched in our room.”
“Unfortunately, you still haven’t seen a real match,” Dev says with a smirk.
“It was a good speed, mate,” Frank says. “Any quicker and I wouldn’t have been able to keep up.”
“How was the rest of the game?” I ask.
“Dev scored the winning run.” Huan slaps him on the back. “I screamed so loud my voice is hoarse now. I might not be able to beatbox for a few days.”
“Multiple days of quiet in our room?” Dev shakes his head. “This day keeps getting better and better.”
“That’s amazing, Dev. I’m sorry I missed it.”
“Me too.” He doesn’t look at me as he speaks.
Huan and Frank eye me expectantly, clearly thinking aboutthe way Will and I left the game, but I shake my head. I don’t want to bring up what happened with Will right now. It’s not cool to take over the conversation when Dev’s still on a high from the game. Plus, I don’t want to explain that I lied about being in college. I can only imagine the look Sage would give me.
