Me:The girl sitting next to me agrees. She just asked for your number.
Pen Thief Jake:Is she cute?
Me:Nope, but I gave it to her, anyway.
Pen Thief Jake:a true friend
Me:I really am sorry.
Pen Thief Jake:I know. don’t even think abou tit. Just have fun
Pen Thief Jake:tit lol where’s autocorrect when you need it
I roll my eyes, laughing to myself as I put my phone in my pocket. But then it dings again.
Dad:Did you get the email?
Email?
I open my email app to find one unread message in my inbox—from Mr. Erikson.
Ellis,
I’m so sorry to do this, especially at the last minute, but I have to cancel tonight. Hopefully you get this before you catch your bus. I’d still love to meet with you to discuss your future at Columbia and the admissions process. I’ll be in touch soon to set something up for November. Things should slow down for me then.
Best,
Justin Erikson
I don’t have time to process the utter relief that creeps into my bones before my phone is ringing.
I swipe up. “Hey, Dad.”
“Did you get it?”
“I just saw it, yeah,” I say.
“So unprofessional. He always was a flake,” Dad says. “I should have known better.”
“Sounds like something came up. People get busy.”
“Yeah, well,” he says. But he doesn’t add anything.
“The bus is pulling up, so I’ll text you when I’m close, okay?” I say as the bus comes into view.
“What do you mean? Why would you still come?” he asks, truly sounding puzzled.
“Um, because I figured we could still get pizza and hang out?”
“Oh, right. Sorry, Ellie Belly. Tonight’s not good for me,” he says. “Maybe in a few weeks. I’ll have Kara check my schedule and get you penciled in, okay?”
He’ll pencil me into his schedule. Like I’m a client.
“We’ll be back home in a few weeks,” I remind him.
“Well, then, that’s perfect.” A door closes wherever he is. “I have to go. Sorry again about Justin. Love you.”
The line goes dead as the bus comes to a stop.
