“Yes, absolutely. But I want to hear your news!”
“I chose this place for a reason.” He looks around, as if for a waiter, and then throws his hands in the air. “They haven’t taken our drink order yet and I’m probably going to get interrupted in two seconds, but I can’t wait.” He reaches out to take my hand across the table. “You know how unhappy I’ve been with Father. I’ve been casting about for a way to separate myself and then over the weekend the greatest idea occurred to me. I’ll move to America for school.” He puts out his hands as if to sayta-da. “The more I think about it, the more I realize it’s perfect. I’ll be in uni like Father is lusting after, but I won’t have my every move choreographed anymore.” He squeezes my hand. “What do you think, Elle?”
I suck in a breath. Of all the things I expected Will to say, this one wasn’t even on the list. I open and close my mouth. Then do it again.
“I... wow... you really think you’d be able to do that?”
“Yes. I don’t think my parents will be terribly happy, but I mentioned it to Mum and she didn’t shoot me down. If I’m at a reputable university overseas, then I don’t think they can be too cross.” He speaks quickly, like there’s so much bursting to come out of him. “I already looked and I haven’t missed all the due dates for next autumn, although it may be too hard to get everything together in time. But even if I can’t start in the autumn, I’m thinking I can move early to find a flat and a job to make some money. I’m determined to wean myself off Father’s money. Frank was right—it’s the only way.”
I nod, only half comprehending. “Yes, true. That makes a lot of sense.” My brain is chugging as hard as it can, trying to process all this and what it means for him. And for us. The boat, plane, and train rides must have wiped me out because I can’t wrap my mind around it. Will? InAmerica?
“You think so? Are you excited? I want to live where you’ll be, Elle. I know we never talked about it—and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure we could stay together after you left England—but now we don’t have to worry about that. We’ll be together again soon.”
I keep nodding. Will and me in America. Together... indefinitely? As soon as I think that, Dev pops into my head. What will he think when I tell him? And why does it matter what he thinks?
But Will is watching me expectantly, so I push Dev from my mind and smile brightly. “Yes, I’m totally excited! I think thiscould be amazing for you. I bet you’ll love living in America.”
Maybe thiswillbe amazing. We could apply to the same schools, live in the same city. He could meet my mom and we’d have the time for him to get to know me—the real me this time. A tiny voice in the back of my mind reminds me of my concerns from before. What if Will doesn’t like the real me? But the joy on his face sucks me in. Will is the dream and it looks like now I get to keep him.
“I knew you’d think so! I’m so glad.” He gestures around the restaurant. “Do you get it now? Why I brought you here?”
I squint in confusion.
“It’s an American steakhouse! The beginning of many more American dinners together.”
It’s close to curfew when I finally make it back to my room. Will and I ended up staying at the restaurant forever talking about America. He had a thousand questions about American colleges—most of which I couldn’t answer—so we got on our phones, looking up admission deadlines and procedures. It was easy to get caught up in Will’s excitement, but now that I’m alone, I realize we talked about nothing else tonight. He didn’t ask to hear more about the trip or my last few weeks of classes. But then, he was ecstatic over his new plan for his future. It’s not fair to judge.
When I get to my room, the first thing I see is the flower arrangement, which someone has set on the ground next to my desk. It’s so large that I have to turn sideways to get around it.
Sage smirks at me. “Welcome to our floral shop.”
I can’t help but laugh. Itispretty ridiculous. The door opens and I’m surprised to see Dev walk in with two mugs.
“Oh, hey. I was wondering if you were going to miss curfew.”
He hands one mug to Sage and then sits down at my desk. I hadn’t realized until now that it’s covered with his laptop and notebooks.
“Why are you studying here?” I ask.
“Huan’s a little down about being away from Frank. I came over here to give him some space.” He raises an eyebrow. “You know, sincesomeonebailed on me.”
I cringe and sink onto Sage’s bed. “I’m sorry about that.”
“How’s Willoughby?”
I bite my lip. “He’s good. Actually, he’s great. He’s, um...”
Sage turns to give me her full attention. Nerves tighten my throat and dry my mouth. “He’s... decided to move to America. For college.”
They both lean back, eyes wide, like they choreographed it. I try to read their emotions, but their expressions are blank except for shock.
“Where’s he applying?” Sage asks. Her voice is quiet.
“He’s not sure yet. That’s why we were out so late. I was helping him look into options. He says he wants to go wherever I’m going.”
“But you don’t know where you’re going, right?” Dev asks. “Or has that changed in the last three hours too?”
I shake my head. I’m still not sure where I want to go, but I know I want to try for college. This semester has shown me that I can survive it if I put the work in.
