Page 19 of The Summer of Everything

“Uh. Don Henley,” Cooper says.

“Don who?”

Cooper’s jaw drops. “Don Henley, from the Eagles.”

“You’re sixteen. How do you even know what the Eagles are?” Ella replies.

“You have to know who Don Henley is.”

“I do not,” snaps Ella. “Don’t threaten me with your bland music taste.” Her eyebrow lifts sharply and…there it is!Burn-in-hell face activated.

Carefully, Wes turns his head and laughs into his shoulder.

“It’s a classic,” Cooper says, as if it’ll matter. It’s not punk and it’s not loud and it’s definitely not Ella.

She clears her throat. Back arched, hands cupped over her mouth, Ella shouts, “Canceled!”

“What? No.” Cooper looks mortified.

Ella slides behind the front counter, reaching for the stereo system. “I’m cutting this shit off. I do not care about the heart of the matter.”

From the aisles, Anna and Zay say, in unison, “Canceled.”

Cooper crumples across the counter, head in his hands. “This is a mutiny. I’ve been betrayed.”

“Sorry.” Wes rests his chin on his knuckles. “It’s a struggle in these streets.”

There are three simple rules to Once Upon a Page:

1. Show up for every shift!

2. Participate in One of These Three Things—a game Wes and Nico invented their first year at the bookstore because they were bored out of their skulls and needed something to pass the time. It’s now a must for all personnel.

3. Abide by the rules of Canceled!

As outlined by the handful of employees who have occupied Once Upon a Page before Wes began working at the bookstore: Every staff member gets two daily music vetoes during their shift. No more. If anyone hates the music selection being played, that employee can “cancel’” that band or artist for the remainder of the day. Usually, Wes saves his cancels for Ella or, on his aggressively annoyed days, Zay. There’s no love lost at the bookstore for mediocre musical taste.

“Don whatever, you’ve been Canceled,” Ella announces, unceremoniously dropping the CD into one of the storage bins without putting it back in its jewel case.

Delicately, Cooper fishes the CD out and re-cases it. “Did you guys steal the Canceled thing fromEmpire Records?”

Ella clutches her chest, feigning astonishment. “We don’t steal around here, Lucifer,” she says, indignant. “We borrow until asked to return.”

“Damn right,” Zay says.

Ella flips through a different bin of CDs. A minute later, she earns a microscopic amount of Wes’s respect by putting on Blink-182. Humming “What’s My Age Again?” under his breath, he shifts around to stare out the window. A neon orange flyer taped to the glass advertises a forgotten book club the bookstore used to host. Outside, the sun tickles gold beams across the sidewalk.

His heart beats fiercely when the alarm on his phone goes off.

It’s one minute until three o’clock.

Chapter Six

Unlike Ella, Nico’s never late.At exactly three p.m., he whizzes past the bookstore on a skateboard, dodging pedestrians and tourists. He does a kickflip, then doubles back for an ollie. With his back to the store and head sloped, his shoulder blades are sharp angles under smooth tan skin. All his lines are perfect—narrow hips and straight arms.

Over his shoulder, Nico flashes a lazy smile. Wes’s heart uppercuts his tonsils.

When Nico’s out of sight again, Wes tries to fix his hair. The bookstore’s air conditioner is inadequate. Pit stains are ruining his lucky shirt. And, unfortunately, he doesn’t have any cologne or even a stick of deodorant stashed in the office.

---