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“I am hanging up.”
“Nevaeh, this has nothing to do with sex.” I slipped out my wallet from my back pocket and thumbed through the dollar bills. “Do you two want to make five hundred bucks? Each?”
There was an audible pause over the phone. “Adam, this is a weird call.”
“I know it’s a weird call,” I confirmed. “I just need you two to show up for something tonight.”
“Show up for what?”
21
Piper
Nacho Cheese Fireworks
Getting ready for the formal with Zariah and June was the kind of college experience I missed out on.
Zariah pumped up her playlist of scores from her favorite movies and danced around the room, grinning every time a horror score slipped in. June curled my hair while her own hair was in curlers, and we ate out of a big bowl of popcorn, nacho cheese chips, and Takis, using takeout napkins to wipe in between getting ready.
And my phone was not only turned off, I left it behind at my dorm.
Thomas can’t ruin tonight.
"I’m facetiming Kass," Zariah announced, holding her phone and posing with her tongue sticking out. I shrank down as much as I could while June finished styling my hair but Zariah gestured me closer. "Girl, move in."
I perked up. "Really?"
"Uh, yeah. Move your ass."
Hiding my smile, I pressed close to her, waving at the camera.
"Oh my god." Kassie whistled. "Hot damn! Gorgeous! Showstopping!"
June laughed. "My hair smells burned but, you know."
"Sacrifices must be made!" Kassie completed with a shout.
"Sacrifices must be made!" Zariah agreed. She elbowed me off the bed. "Kass, you’ve got to see Piper’s dress, it’s insane. Look at this."
The aquamarine dress was something that’d been in storage forever. I only wore it once to a KYU fundraiser, where Thomas said it didn’t fit right. I agonized over giving it away for weeks until I finally hid it in a box. Bringing it to the RA conference felt like a sign of good luck, a sign of things changing. Even if Zariah had to steam it for an hour to get the wrinkles out.
It took Zariah a couple of tries to flip over the camera, but when she did, she beamed. “Ta-da!”
A full blush covered my cheeks.
“Wow,” Kassie whispered. “Ryan, come look.”
“Huh? What?”
I hurried back and there was Ryan Cross, peering over the top of her phone. He glanced up at Kassie and back at the phone, narrowing his eyes.
“Is this a video?” Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“No, we’re video-chatting.” Zariah laughed. “Hey, Ryan!”
Kassie blew him a kiss. “Nothing, you’re fine. Go back to studying.” As soon as he stepped away, she dropped her voice. “I got him to sign up for this computer class, full of retirees and grandmothers. He’s doing so good. He’s learning how to spot phishing emails.”
“It’s more difficult than it sounds!”
