“Exactly,” he says. “Since you ditched me last night, are we going to hang out at the mixer tonight?”
“Sure,” I say. “And sorry, but I fell asleep. I guess I was exhausted. I was excited to hang out.”
“It's okay. We've got all school year to go to the docks,” Eataine says. “We're probably going again tomorrow night.”
“I'll be there tomorrow night,” I promise him.
7pm.
Epic love story.
When we get to the mixer, Teagan spends an hour introducing me to people at the school. It’s then I realize just how much I don’t fit in here.
I step outside to get some air.
Meeting all these people, people who have known each other for years, it’s hard. I’m the one person who doesn’t fit in here, but I want to.
The thought surprises me. I didn’t think I would want to fit in, when I came here, but I do. I could easily see myself being friends with all of these people. And I don’t mean just friends at school. I mean friends for life.
“You okay?”
I turn around to see Estaine walk up. He sits beside me on the bench.
“I’m fine,” I answer. “Just a little…”
“Overwhelmed?” he finishes for me.
I nod.
“I get it. It’s hard to go to a new school,” he says. “My dad sent me to a boarding school in Europe for my sixth, seventh, and eighth grade years. Most boarding schools don’t have classes for anybody but ninth grade and up. But my dad couldn’t wait that long to get rid of me.”
“I’m sorry,” I say.
My parents would’ve never sent me to boarding school, under normal circumstances. Both parents love me, and being away from them now is hard. I just want to get on a plane and go home so I can hug them.
Well, first I’d have to fly to D.C. to hug my dad, then California for my mom. But I’d spend all day on an airplane for one hug.
“Don’t be. It was fun. I made a ton of friends,” he says. “I went and hung out with some of them this summer. It was a great experience. But I am glad to be at East Raven Academy now. My mom and dad went here. It’s where they met.”
“That’s so romantic,” I say.
“My mom used to tell me the story when I was little. She said it was love at first sight. But she was a freshman and he was a junior,” Estaine tells me. “She says it took him a whole year to finally get over their age differences and ask her out. And then he waited for her at college.”
“Aw,” I say.
I want to tell him how my parents met.
They were both going to Berkeley. My dad was living at home with his parents at the time and starting a company that he ran from the garage at his parent’s house. I want to tell him how they met in a study group and how my mom hated my dad for the first three months, because, she said, he was arrogant. Then, slowly, she started falling in love with him. I want to tell Estaine that my mom’s parents did not approve—not until my dad sold his company for five million dollars at the age of nineteen—and about all the struggles they went through to be together.
But I can’t.
Of course, if I did tell him all that, I’d also have to tell him about how my parents got divorced when I was four.
I had an older sister. She died when I was six months old. She got hit by a car. I’m sad that I don’t remember her. But her death put a strain on my parents’ marriage. That’s ultimately why they split up. I can tell they still care about each other, but they’re both happy now, in their current marriages.
“I can’t wait to have my own love story,” I tell him. “I want something epic to tell my kids, someday.”
“Me, too,” he says.
I wonder what my love story will be. Maybe I’ll meet the love of my life in high school. Or maybe it’ll be college, or maybe I won’t meet the guy I’m meant to be with until I’m thirty, who knows. All I know is that no matter how long I have to wait, it’ll be totally worth it. And I know that, because I’m not settling for a loser.
The door opens and three girls walk out. I recognize them from Teagan introducing us. I believe their names are Samantha, Penelope and Zoey. They’re on the dance team. I saw them dancing inside, to some annoying pop song, and they are pretty good. All three girls smile when they see Estaine, and say hi to him, but they are polite to me, as well.
Estaine heads back inside, but I stay outside.
“How’re you liking East Raven?” one of the girls asks me, but I can’t remember which one she is.
“It’s nice. I’m just overwhelmed. I’ve met a lot of people tonight,” I say. “And I’m really bad with names.”
“I’m Penelope,” she reminds me. “But you can call me Penny.”
Penelope is really pretty. She’s got super light-blonde hair. It’s so light that it almost looks white. And she’s got big blue eyes. She kind of reminds me of a Barbie, minus the makeup. She’s also short and very athletic. Her arms are toned and I’m guessing it’s partly because of the dance team.