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My mouth drops open. This Saturday is the final presentation. I can’t risk getting disqualified again.

“Do we need to visit campuses this weekend?” I ask. “I wanted to study for the next practice exam.”

My dad lifts an eyebrow. “That’s not for another few weeks.”

“Besides, you can always study after this weekend, anak,” my mom adds. “Let’s just have fun with your Atè!”

Of course my parents pick these next three days to vacation in another city. I fumble for another excuse but come up with nothing.

“Siggi, po.” When I say this, though, I brainstorm a plan.

It’s absurd, and it may even fail, but like everything else, I need to try.

Before sleeping, I text Nora: Help me pull the ultimate sneak out?

****

On the way to San Francisco, we stop by Coffee and Tell for a coffee break. I tell my mom I’m going to buy a s’mores latte. She heads out, and to my surprise, Marcos steps inside, waving when he catches sight of me. After he orders an espresso, he waits with me and tells me about Yumi’s wedding. Coffee and Tell is crowded with families and college students clacking away on laptops, the air filled with the aroma of coffee, whipped cream, and breakfast sandwiches.

“Getting ahead in your microbiology classes?” I ask, eyeing his receipt, which lists espresso as his order.

“You know it,” he confirms. “Gavin and I are also visiting L.A. to check out UCLA and other schools. He wants to expand his options. What’s important to him is that he lives in the city of his dreams. There’s also an anime event, so of course I had to tag along.”

“Of course.”

A barista calls my name and slides my s’mores latte to the edge of the counter.

When I return, sipping the s’mores and coffee combo, Marcos asks, “What about you? I saw your parents earlier.”

“We’re visiting Aprilette in San Francisco,” I reply.

“Sounds fun, NorCal is the best. Tell your sister I said hi.”

“Message will be delivered.”

Another barista calls Marcos’s name, and as I watch him get his espresso, a few questions run through my mind. He raises his hand to wave goodbye, but before he walks away, I tell him I have something to ask.

“Do you ever give Nora advice?”

I’ve always been intrigued, even jealous, by Nora and Marcos’s relationship. They’re both independent, one never really influencing the other.

“When she asks, yeah,” Marcos replies. “Sometimes she’ll listen, sometimes she won’t. It’s her decision.”

I think about Aprilette, all those times she’s helped me schedule everything or told me her strategies for studying and finishing homework. “Do you ever feel responsible? Like you need to make sure you’re guiding her in the right direction?”

“Of course. I think every older sibling who cares about their younger sibling feels that way. Nora and I are connected by blood, yes, but at the end of the day, we’re different people. We can give each other advice, but ultimately, we decide for ourselves.”

Marcos takes a sip of his espresso before his eyes flit back to me. “Is this about Aprilette?”

“Well...” I glance at the glass doors as if Aprilette, all the way in San Francisco, will suddenly walk through them. “Maybe.”

He takes another sip, a longer one, as if to caffeinate himself with a reply. “Your sister loves you, that’s always been clear. I don’t think that’ll ever change no matter what you do.”

I dwell on this last line like it’s a detail in a photograph, something I only noticed after analyzing it a hundred times. “Thanks, Marcos.”

We wave goodbye, then split off to our respective cars, him heading to SoCal and me heading to NorCal.

Chapter Thirty-Eight