"They put everything in Rosie's room in storage."
"That sucks."
"And her trophies. The family pictures. It's all gone. Everything. It's like being in some stranger's house with some stranger's parents." I pop open the can and take a greedy sip. I've learned plenty about caffeine—it takes twenty minutes to absorb into the bloodstream—but I feel like it's going straight to my brain. "Thanks. How was your weekend?"
"Saw my mom. Ate some food. Nothing worth discussing." A frown creeps onto her face.
There's something worth discussing. "We could talk about it anyway."
Kara turns to me. She's about to say something when Professor Rivers walks into the room. All chatter ceases.
She whispers, "I'd rather talk about you and Miles."
I nod to the professor.
Kara shakes her head. She opens her notebook and scribbles a message: Something happened, something bad. I can tell from the look on your face. You don't have to pretend you're fine. Whatever it was, you don't have to deal with it yourself. I want to help, even if that means watching Star Wars fifty times.
I nod and mouth thank you. Kara raises her eyebrows, a real talk to me now dammit kind of look.
I motion to the professor.
"This is an elective for you," she says.
"And I need to maintain a good GPA."
"Your senior-year GPA won't factor into your med school apps."
"If I apply this year," I say.
"Since when are you even considering a gap year?"
The guy sitting next to me slaps my desk. He leans in towards Kara and me. "Could you two please shut up?"
Kara flips him off. I suppress a smile. She really is a great friend.
She picks up her pen and scribbles something else.
You can't keep dodging a conversation with me. What are you hiding from?
"Nothing," I say.
"Hey! Quiet," the guy says.
Kara turns the page, writes FUCK YOU, and holds it up to the guy.
"Want me to call Professor Rivers?" he asks.
She rolls her eyes.
"We can talk after class," I say.
"Then, after class, you say you need to study, and you disappear, and you cancel our brunch date to avoid this damn conversation."
"I
won't do that."
The guy leans in. "Would you please shut your big mouths?"