“Horrible,” I said returning her grin. “Absolutely disgusting.”
I reached out for another one and devoured it. “Seriously, the worse cookies I’ve ever had.”
Stacey chuckled. “I’m glad you think so too. Now listen, I know you don’t want to talk about whatever is bothering you, and that’s fine. But you’ve been locked in here for days and that’s not healthy. Let’s do something. Outdoors.”
“Nah, I’m not feeling it,” I said automatically. “You go ahead though. Leave me the plate of horrible cookies, of course.”
“Aria. Come on. This isn’t good. You haven’t gone to work and you need the money! And you missed your Stats mid-term, didn’t you?”
No one was supposed to know about that. This was unusual for me: letting personal matters affect my academic performance. But I was in no mood to run into Zayden or Rick or deal with any of that bullshit.
“I told my professor I had diarrhea. He was all too glad to let me make it up.”
She raised her eyebrows suspiciously. “Does not sound like the Stats dude, at all.”
“You want to see the email?”
I wasn’t lying. Apparently the professor had recently suffered from food poisoning himself, and preferred staying away from anybody with stomach related issues. My make-up test was next week.
“Fine. What about your other classes?”
“I have As in everything. They aren’t going to bust me for missing a class or two. I’m the best they have.”
“How do you manage to stay so modest?”
“I don’t have to be. It’s true, you know it’s true. And when have I done this before? Don’t I deserve one tiny break?”
That made Stacey hug me for some reason. “Never. You have never done anything like this before, Aria. Which is what makes me worry so much. You didn’t even miss a single class when Dick cheated on you. That doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a break! Of course you do. You work harder than anyone I know.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry for being such a recluse. I just have a lot of things to sort through my head. I’ll tell you all about it eventually. Right now I’m just confused and frustrated and just need a little time to think things over. And the cookies helped. A lot. You’re the bestest friend ever.”
“You know what else will help? A night out. Just you, me and Nick, goofing around. No boy-talk, no moping, no worrying, just an obscene amount of shots.”
“I lost my fake I.D. remember? Can’t get in.”
“Don’t worry. What do you think Nick’s off doing right now? We’re on it.”
“What do you mean you’re on it?” I laughed. “How did you know I would agree to this? I still haven’t!”
“Please, I knew I’d convince you the second you opened the door. There is a reason I spent all day baking, I know how to get to you.” She winked.
“You manipulative genius,” I said with a mock-shocked expression. “I’m not coming.”
She sniggered. “Then why are you walking towards your closet?”
“Because, closet police, I’d like to change into some nice clothes. It’s good for the morale. And these pajamas are just about ready to disintegrate from overuse.”
“Do you want to borrow my red strappy sandals? They’ll go well with the dress you’re holding.”
“Why would I do that?” I asked defensively. “I don’t need to wear nice shoes to hang around the apartment in a pretty dress.”
---
Two hours later we were in The Dive, a small bar a few miles outside the university that Nick had discovered his freshmen year. “It’s a good place to get away from college kids,” he’d said, as
though he was a very old man constantly aggravated by the youth.
My fake I.D. had worked brilliantly, even though it had expired last month. Nick had somehow managed to convince a redheaded senior from his Biometrics class to make me another one for free. I suspected he’d be doing her homework for the rest of the semester, and felt extremely grateful for friends like Nick and Stacey in my life.