“But still!” I say. “That’s awesome!”
“He earned enough to get that.” Dev points to the stuffed animal.
“But...,” I falter. “You didn’t have to spend your money on something for me. I didn’t know we were doing this. I didn’t think to get you all something.”
“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t going to get you something withmymoney. But since it was other people’s money, I didn’t mind so much. Plus, you were the one pushing me to perform in public so... I figured it made sense.”
I hold out the unicorn. She’s perfect. I didn’t realize they all knew me well enough to pick this out. I throw my arms around Huan. “Thank you. You’re amazing.”
Huan hugs me back quickly and fidgets away. “Since you didn’t bring us presents, you better have some good stories. What happened with Will? You’ve clearly made up.”
I begin with his insane house and soon we’re all sharing details from the day. We talk the entire train ride back to Northampton. It’s only when we get on the Emberton van to go home thatwe lapse into silence. Sage curls into a ball in her seat and Huan stares out the window. Out of boredom I open Instagram, but it’s not nearly as interesting as it once was. I don’t care about any of the people I’m following. Mostly my feed is just Andy’s and Crystal’s incessant posts and a bunch of photos from clubs and football games. I close it and pull up my own photos instead. I pause at one from the London Eye. Will’s back is to the camera and he’s looking out at the river with Big Ben framed in the distance. It’s a gorgeous photo, both of him and the city. Like something out of a movie.
Someone touches me and I jump. Dev leans across the aisle and hands me a small plastic bag. “Here.” His eyes don’t quite meet mine as he says it.
I frown and open the bag. Something is wrapped in tissue paper at the bottom. I unwrap it and inhale. It’s a tiny figurine of a fairy. I recognize it immediately because it’s one of my favorites—the Rose Fairy by Cecily Mary Barker. I turn it over in my hands, admiring the details. I can’t believe Dev knew to buy this for me.
“I saw it in a shop at Covent Garden. I thought you might like it for your fairy garden.”
“You know about that?”
He gives me a look. “It’s kinda hard to miss since it’s sitting on your window seat. And it reminded me of that booth at the flea market. So... you like it, then?”
I open and shut my mouth, looking down at the fairy. “Of course. You shouldn’t have.”
“Ellie, I’m sorry I snapped at you this morning.”
I meet his gaze. “I’m sorry I blew off your game.”
We stare at each other for a moment before both looking down at the ground. I want to say more. To thank him or ask him what else he knows about me. But he shifts toward the window and it’s clear he’s done talking. I hold my fairy—she’s going to besopretty nestled in the leaves back home—when he twists around again.
“We missed you. It wasn’t the same without you today.”
I squeeze the fairy in my fist. “I missed you guys too.”
Chapter
25
I was living in a dream during our London trip, but Mondaybrings me back to reality like a slap to the face.
“Can’t we take a break?” I ask, and slump onto the Formica table in the cafeteria.
Next to me, Dev, Sage, Huan, Sam, and Kelly hunch over an open chemistry textbook. Laptops cover the table, along with cold cups of coffee, forgotten sandwiches, scribbled notes, and artfully rendered flash cards (my contribution to the study fest). Everyone is freaking out so much over our upcoming chemistry test and group presentations that they won’t stop studying to eat. I don’t know why, though. As far as I can tell they already know everything.
“Ellie, you’re the one who needs to be listening here,” Sage says without looking up from the textbook. “I know you didn’t understand chapter eight.”
“My brain can’t take any more. Didn’t your parents ever tell you it’s rude to read at the table?”
Sam snorts. “And didn’t your parents ever tell you to get your grades up?”
I glare at his back. My grades have actually improved a bit since the first weeks here. Bs in psychology and art history, a C in British lit, and a C- in chemistry. I know a lot of the honors kids freak out if their grade drops to even an A-, but I’m damn proud of these scores. I’ve worked harder here than I ever have before. Grades were never something I cared much about in the past, and I did decently in my non-honors classes with minimal effort, but that’s not going to fly here. And I can’t face my mom if I come back with Ds and Fs.
Kelly asks something about ionic chemical bonds and everyone starts talking at once, trying to explain. I check my phone again, but there’s nothing new from Will today. His father decided last-minute to bring him on a two-week work trip to Manchester, so now he won’t be back in Northampton until early November. Will thinks it’s payback for going on holiday to Belgium rather than staying to work. All I know is that it sucks. I’d really been hoping to spendmoretime with him after London, not less. I sigh and shove my phone into my pocket.
“Hey, Ellie?” Huan points to the textbook. “Are you feeling okay about this chapter? We’re nearly done with this but we could spend some extra time going over terms if you’d like.”
I shrink back into my chair. I know he’s trying to be nice, but his offer only makes it worse. Ihatethat I’m the only one still struggling with the material.
