Page 57 of The Summer of Everything

He takes off with no destination in mind.

After two hours, he ends up at Tongva Park. He stops to stretch his legs on a wooden bench. He hasn’t gone on a run since graduation. His calves burn, but he feels good.

The sun’s a gold gem in the center of a clear blue sky. Wes inches over until he’s under the shade of a curved palm tree. The giant leaves spread above him like a green roof. He pulls out his phone to check the time. 1:37 p.m. Less than a half hour until his shift at the bookstore starts.

Leaning over, elbows on his knees, Wes pulls up his notes app. He needs to double-check his ideas before he meets with the others today. He scrolls past all his other lists but pauses over an unfinished one.

His heart lurches; his breath stalls.

Wes & Nico’s Ultimate Guide to UCLA Greatness

1. Catch the Big Blue Bus until Nico gets a car. Get a license, Wes!!!

2. Visit Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Take selfies in front of Urban Light like a true basic tourist.

3. Eat @ Fat Sal’s deli!

4. Study at Espresso Profeta. Learn to like coffee—all the cool college kids drink ICED COFFEE!

5. Ice cream sandwiches @ Diddy Riese.

6. UCLA Planetarium. Kiss Nico under the stars!

Wes blinks away the sting in his eyes. There it is. The plan he made sophomore year just before Nico’s life went into a tailspin.

Why do I still have this?

His thumb hovers over the delete option. It’s a pipedream now. But Wes closes the list, keeps it tucked in his phone’s memory like a hope.

Today is about Once Upon a Page. He refuses to let some cheap Starbucks knockoff come into his territory and take over. There’s no way he’s letting his comic book sanctuary be demolished and turned into a bar where someone can order fifty different versions of the same damn latte. No one’s writing their amateur bestseller in the same spot where Cooper reads crappy novels. Freshmen will not invade his space to sip Frappuccinos and compare selfies.

He’ll deal with his other issues later.

By the time Wes has reviewed his list to save the bookstore, it’s 2:09 p.m. He’s late for his shift, but at least the tightness in his chest has loosened. Besides, it’s only a two-minute walk from here to Once Upon a Page. He pockets his phone, reties his shoes, and stands. His eyes scan all the places the sun touches—the batches of mountain aloe nearby, the pebble pathways that wind all around the park, monster palm trees reaching green hands into the sky.

Today’s too pretty to waste.I’m already late. Might as well enjoy it.

With a quick stretch of his hamstrings, Wes jogs in the direction opposite from the bookstore.

“You’re late,” announces Ella beforeWes has one crimson-sneakered foot through the open doorway.

The irony of Ella Louise Graham, notorious tardy employee, calling him out isn’t lost on Wes. But he ignores her.

“A book drive,” he says, strolling into the partly vacant bookstore. Most of the city’s population is clogging Third Street Promenade, as he observed while stopping by a smoothie shop nearby. Lateness might as well come with a banana-orange-strawberry-peanut butter concoction.

Ella, dressed in a sleeveless Debbie Harry T-shirt and black tights, sizes him up. “Nice legs.”

Mrs. Rossi has never implemented a strict dress code, so Wes didn’t bother changing between his jog and showing up at the bookstore.

“A book drive; that’s my first idea to save this place,” he says, turning away from Ella.

Ella pops her gum. “Weak, but not terrible.”

Anna leans against the front counter; her hair is spun into a braid-bun hybrid. “What’s that?”

“We’ll head down to the pier and boardwalk with some stock.” Wes crosses around the counter and flops onto his favorite stool. “We can hand out flyers and discount codes. Sell some of the more popular books.”

“I think we’ll need permits to sell the books out there, though,” Zay notes from the carpet. He’s surrounded by a pile of books. Wes can see formulas and numbers and, nope, he doesn’t want any piece of that.

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