Page 2 of Everything's Coming Up Rosie

Time for the role of my life.

Chapter 1

I have that feeling you get when you’re next in line for a roller coaster.

A little bouncy, a little anxious, and so excited that I might wet my pants.

“Rosie?! I can’t believe you’re actually here!”

My best friends, Taylor, Marnie, and Maya, all rush toward me, and for a few moments it’s like the rest of the room fades away. I’m seventeen again, getting ready for homecoming with the three people I love most in the world, aside from my family. We all try to talk at the same time, succeed for a solid thirty seconds, and then stop and laugh.

It’s like we never left each other and all of my hesitation about being here melts away.

Our friend group is a sitcom.

Taylor—the chipper one. Class president. Head cheerleader. Currently pregnant.

Marnie—the studious one. Speech team champion and National Merit Scholar. Currently crushing it as the anchor for the local news.

Maya—the wild one. Rebellious party girl who hid her intelligence behind blue hair and piercings, both of which, I now see, are gone, making her currently look beautiful and grown-up.

I step back and look at Taylor’s belly. My gorgeous friend is tiny,so the baby bump looks like someone stuck a basketball to her midsection.

My hand hovers over it. “Can I...?”

Taylor takes my hand and pulls it toward her belly. “Of course! All aunties have full access.”

Maya and Marnie and I each put a hand on Taylor’s stomach, like the last ones to leave wins the car, and I grin. It’s been too long since I saw them, too long since I’ve been home, too long for all the things. I’m so out of the loop, and I swear to myself not to let it happen again.

“Taylor, honey, come say hi to your Aunt Janet!” Taylor’s mom gives us a wave, then ushers her daughter to the opposite side of the room.

“Where do I put this?” I give the card I brought a little shake.

“Oh! Over here,” Maya says. “And make sure to sign the guest book.”

I set the envelope down, grateful my mom offered to go in on a gift card together. It’s impersonal, and I do plan to buy something for the baby once she arrives, but right now, I just can’t swing anything extra. The Cheez-Its I bought at the airport just about did me in.

Thankfully the Bank of Mom doesn’t charge interest.

“So you’re doing a movie?” Marnie asks, a wide smile on her face.

“And you work in a Broadway theatre?” Maya grins. “Oh my gosh, you have the best life.”

They each loop an arm through mine and lead me we’re-off-to-see-the-Wizard style, over to an empty table.

“Oh yeah, things are good,” I say brightly as we sit. “I mean, I don’t know about ‘the best life,’ but... it’s good. It’s, you know, different every day. It definitely has its challenges.”

I don’t want to lie to them.

But I also don’t want to tell them the whole truth.

“Have you met anyone famous?” Maya asks. “Please tell me you know Timothée Chalamet.”

“Better yet, please tell us you’redatingTimothée Chalamet.”

I look around for some water. My throat is dry. “Sadly, no. He’s... uh... in a bit of a different... league than I am. “

“Okay, so tell us all your news,” Marnie says.

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