Milo nodded. “You did great,” he said. “Your speech, I mean. It was incredible.”
“You think so?”
“The Auden quote was perfect.”
“That was for you,” I wanted to say. “I researched all the scary truth tellers until I found a quote that you might notice.”
“Yeah, my dad found that,” I said. “He loves Auden.”
“It was brilliant,” Milo said. “Especially right at the end like that. It really made it stand out. Gave everyone something to chew on, you know?” There were little specks of gold in the green of his eyes, and his hair had just been cut. A tiny dot of dried blood sat just under his nose, where he had cut himself shaving.
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll make sure to tell my dad.”
People were pushing past us on all sides, trying to get outside. Off to the right, Melissa Binsko, who had just gotten a boob job and was voted Most Likely to End Up on a Reality Show, was screaming and clutching a gaggle of girls. But at that moment I was all alone, standing in front of Milo. “Please,” I thought to myself. “Please, Milo.”
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else, but then his eyes shifted as the girls in the corner squealed again. “Okay, well, I’ll see you around,” he said. And then, “Hey, Melissa! Melissa! Wait up!”
I stood there for half a second, just blinking.
“Julia!” Milo’s vacancy was filled suddenly by Zoe and Sophie and my parents, all of whom draped themselves over me. “Oh, Julia, congratulations! Your speech was perfect. We’re so proud of you. Look who’s here, Julia! Look who it is! It’s Sophie! She came all the way down from Vermont just to see you. We need pictures! Come outside where the light is good. Where’s the camera? Who has the camera?”
I could hear their voices, see their bright faces bobbing up and down like so many buoyed lights. But the only thing I felt as they dragged me outside onto the front steps and arranged me like a paper doll in their arms was that I was moving farther and farther away from the only person I wanted to be with at that moment; and who, once again, had disappeared right in front of my eyes.
We split up after pictures, Mom and Dad going to their car, Zoe and I scrambling into Sophie’s old green VW Bug. I got in the passenger seat next to Sophie and rolled down the window. A few of the roses Mom had given me were already wilting, and my armpits were starting to sweat. A pop sounded in the backseat as Zoe cracked open a Dr Pepper. “Woo-hoo!” she yelled, as a little foam spilled out of the top of the can. “Here’s to Julia! The smartest chick in Silver Springs!”
I turned around and glared at Zoe. “Chill!” I mouthed the word soundlessly, tilting my head in Sophie’s direction.
Zoe nodded, unfazed, and took a swig of soda. She sat forward a little in between Sophie and me, and yanked at her T-shirt, the front of which said IT’S LONELY AT THE TOP, BUT YOU EAT BETTER. Zoe had a thing for weird T-shirts. “Thanks for giving me a lift, Sophie. My parents are parked all the way in the back. It’s gonna take them over an hour to get out of here. The parking here sucks.”
“No prob,” Sophie said. She had twisted her usually free-flowing blond hair into a knot and was wearing a pale pink slip dress that displayed both of her upper arm tattoos prominently—something Mom was sure to comment on. Her toenails were painted an electric blue, and she had a thin silver toe ring on her left foot. She waved a package of Camels in the air. “Anyone mind if I smoke?”
“Yes,” I said emphatically.
“Actually,” Zoe giggled, “could I have one?”
I gave her another look, but Zoe just shrugged.
Sophie laughed and pulled two cigarettes out of the pack. “That was a kick-ass speech you gave.”
I opened my window as Sophie lit both cigarettes with the button lighter in the car. She handed one to Zoe, who took it, inhaled, and immediately began to cough. Her eyes, already as large as zinnias, grew to planet proportions.
“Open your window,” I said, glaring at her. “It’s bad enough up here.”
The car moved forward another foot. Sophie clenched the wheel. The muscles under her arm tattoo were tight. “Seriously, Jules, that speech was fantastic. You were so clear, so concise. And you spoke with such conviction. Everyone in the whole place was just holding their breath.”
I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. It was hard to know sometimes when Sophie was being sincere. “Thanks,” I said cautiously.
“And can you even believe Melissa Binsko invited everyone to her party tonight? Including me?” Zoe leaned forward conspiratorially. “I’m just a lowly junior. Un-friggin’-believable.”
“Who’s Melissa Binsko?” Sophie asked, looking at me.