Page 79 of In Your Wildest Dreams
Grace
Put the scissors down, Everly Rose!
Everly
Just some cute little fringe ones, maybe?
Grace
Don’t do it. I’m going to be growing mine out forever.
Me
You could definitely make bangs work, but maybe sleep on it?
Everly
Ugh. Fine. I need something to do. Campus is dead, everyone is still gone for break, and Ty had a game in Seattle.
Grace
Go out and meet new friends.
Grace
And by friends I mean cute boys. I bet Mike’s is busy tonight.
* * *
By the end of the first week home, our group text thread is basically a running commentary of our days. Grace is still in Hawaii, so she pops in and out to share gorgeous photos. Everly and I are commiserating in our boredom. We’ve buddy cleaned out our email inboxes, learned a TikTok dance together, and did an eight-hour read-a-thon where we FaceTimed and read the same book.
So when she video calls me as I’m flipping through Netflix looking for something new to watch, I’m not surprised.
“Hey,” I answer, setting the phone down and scrolling the romantic movie section.
“So, I did a thing.” She’s in her car so I can’t see her that well.
“Uh-oh. You didn’t cut bangs, did you?”
“No.” She laughs. “I’m outside.”
“Outside of where?”
“Your house.” She grins at me through the screen. “I know, total creeper vibes, but you were bored and I was bored… we can be bored together. I brought wine.”
An hour later, half the bottle is gone, and Ev and I are sitting on my couch with the TV muted.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Well, to be honest. It’s not just because I was bored and missed your face.” She traces the rim of the glass with a finger. “You sounded a little bummed the past couple of days. Is everything okay?”
“What? Bummed?” I shake my head. “Just bored.”
“Where are your parents tonight?”
“They went out to dinner.”
“And you stayed in?”
