“If only it were rare.”
Julia held her hands to her heart. “Ouch, Dad.” Another piece of the night came to her: an image of her yelling at Dave. Something to do with that soccer-playing blonde he’d been chummy with all night. She nestled into her dad for comfort, not wanting to believe that she could have ever been so dramatic. “Look, I’m sorry. Can I blame this one on my genes?”
Tom raised his hands in surrender, palms out. “I can’t handle this right now. I’m going for a drive.” He pointed at Ethan. “You, stop facilitating.” Then he pointed at Julia. “And you, go clean my house. The couch smells like an orgy.”
“Eww.” Julia laughed. “I love you, too, Dad!”
Tom grumbled a response as he made his way downstairs.
“Next time you have a party, I’d like to be invited,” Ethan said. “Just, you know, not for a few years.”
“No promises.” She nuzzled her nose into his side, the hangover getting worse. “Have you talked to my mom at all? Did she get tickets yet?”
“Do me a favor, don’t bring her up while Dad’s around. We told her she can stay with us, but if he starts thinking you’re acting out because of her visit, he could change his mind.”
“I’m not acting out ’cause she’s coming,” Julia mumbled. “I’m acting out ’cause I’m a teenage cliché.”
Ethan chuckled and put an arm around her, rubbing at her back the way he’d done so many times when she was little. “Wanting to party does not make you a cliché.” Julia smiled and sank further into his side, comforted by his warmth and the relief that came with closing her eyes. It was tempting to keep them closed the rest of the day, let the details remain fuzzy. Whatever she’d said to Dave, he would forgive her. Whatever had taken them apart at the end of the party would be forgotten.
APOLOGIES
JULIA AND DAVE hadn’t talked all weekend. She’d of course been grounded, though the dads had let her keep her phone. It wasn’t completely without precedent for them to go all weekend without even texting each other, just a little weird. But if they didn’t talk, it was usually Julia’s fault, and radio silence from Dave made Julia realize that maybe their fight had been worse than she remembered.
Monday morning, Julia went to school, happy to get out of the house and to not have to clean up anymore. Her phone was full of pictures of the mayhem so she could show Dave. On another weekend she probably would have messaged them to him, but the thought of Dave with the soccer girl made her pull away. She remembered his confession now, the fact that he liked Gretchen, though she still didn’t know quite what to make of the two of them being together. Whatever she thought of Gretchen, though, she had to go apologize. For the fight, and whatever it was she may have said. Her friendship with Dave hadn’t changed in four years, and it wasn’t about to now. The first thing she was going to do was find Dave and tell him that she was happy for him, no matter who his little love interest was. She definitely wasn’t going to phrase it like that, though. But on her way to homeroom, Dr. Hill intercepted her in the hallway. “Julia,” he said. “Come with me.”
Julia followed absently, her mind still on the fight with Dave, trying to phrase an apology, brush it all away. Then she saw Marroney sitting in the chair behind the desk and her head cleared.
“Please, have a seat.” Dr. Hill pointed at one of the twin chairs that faced his desk.