I laugh. “You keep telling yourself that. Oh and congrats again on graduating. I’m sorry I missed the ceremony.”
She shrugs, sips her drink. “You were busy saving the pack.”
“We’ll see about that. How was it?”
“My mom made this big scene of course, it was super embarrassing. But Todd and Simon came, and they bought me this as a graduation present.”
She holds her arm up in front of my face. A new silver bracelet with two charms, a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover, dangle from it, catching the light.
“Scrumptious,” I tease.
“How was your reunion with Jasper? From the way you’re covered in his scent I’m assuming it went well?”
I dart my eyes every which way. As usual I’d lost track of time and didn’t have a chance to shower before leaving Jasper’s. My cheeks are red-hot.
“It was fine,” I mumble into my straw.
“No judgment here,” Katie says. “You get it while you can. Moments like that will be in short supply come fall.”
Cold matcha gets caught in my throat and I nearly choke.
“Why do you say that?” I splutter between coughs.
She rolls her eyes, like the answer is obvious. “You’ll be in California, duh.”
I stare at the window. “Oh yeah.”
Katie studies me for a moment. “You still haven’t told him?”
My paper straw is already starting to get mushy, which is not helped by the way I’m awkwardly bending it as I try to avoid the question.
Luckily, Katie gives me a reprieve. “I suppose you were too busyreuniting.” She waggles her eyebrows in a way that makes my stomach flip. “There’s still time.”
“Morven is coming to meet with Jasper,” I say, changing tack, hoping our very real and imminent danger will divert Katie from talking about how I’ve yet to tell my boyfriend that I might be moving across the country in a matter of months. “He’s our last hope at standing a chance against Walter.”
“When’s he coming?” she asks.
“Not sure. Any day now though.”
“So you’re saying the situation is still too tense to bother telling Jasper about your surprise college plans?”
“Yes, that, and . . .”
My shoulders slump forward. Having lost my appetite, even for scrumptious matcha, I push my plastic cup away from me.
Katie, noticing the shift in my demeanor, leans forward, places a hand on my wrist.
“What is it?”
“I guess I’m starting to wonder if art school is where I’m supposed to be at all.”
“What do you mean?”
Outside, a group of college-aged kids move by, laughing and pointing their phone cameras at each other. They’re all dressed up like they’re heading to a party, or maybe the party before the party. It is still early, and this is New York. Their clothes are trendy and colorful. Stylish. One girl sucking on a pink vape turns and catches me looking. She smiles as she exhales a plume of vapor, winks, then moves on.
“I don’t know, it’s just this weird feeling I’ve been having,” I say. “Going out and visiting the rogues has made me wonder if there’s more I can do with my blood-wolf powers.”
“You don’t have to give up everything you want though,” she says, which is fair. Lots of people pursue the thing that interests them the most, some even find time to help people along the way. But not everyone has the abilities I do.
