Chapter Twenty-Five
TWENTY-FIVE
It’s Saturday night, and we’re in Savannah.
Allegra joined us, though she didn’t agree until the last minute, which is typical Allegra.
Brandon couldn’t make it, but Cosmo has taken his place.
Cosmo had overheard several of us talking, and he’d expressed interest, if there was room.
Polly said we should invite him—she thinks he and Isolde have exchanged their share of shy glances.
I’d have loved Maddox to come but…Well, even if we ignored his ongoing not-friends charade with Theo, I really can’t see Maddox joining a group outing.
We take two cars. Kai drives Allegra, Cosmo, and Polly. Theo drives my Jeep, while Isolde and I sit in the back and tease him about chauffeuring. We also snap photos of just the two of us for our socials—and her parents.
We start with a concert—a local band Isolde wanted to see, which is playing at an open-air venue.
Then we hit an all-ages club for dancing.
Sure, half of our group have fake IDs, and I suspect we could all get into an actual club if we tried, but that is not the kind of publicity Westdale wants.
So we play the part of good little teenagers and stick to the places that’ll let us in.
At this point, I should clarify that I have never actually been to a club, all-ages or otherwise. The last time I danced was at a school event back home. But I’m with friends, and so I tell myself it’s not like anyone will notice me or care how badly I dance.
Yeah…
I’m walking to a club with Theo Dubois’s arm around me, and I’m accompanied by Polly Reeves and Allegra Khan and Kai Olson.
We managed to make it through the concert without being recognized because it was dark and we were outdoors and we slipped into our reserved section once the band was already playing. Going to the club is different.
First, there’s a line to get in, and the others think it’s adorable that I insist on joining it. Allegra mutters, “Well, this won’t last.” I think she means that my determination to stay “normal” won’t last, and I resolve never to be someone who jumps the queue.
And then we are recognized. It’s actually Polly who gets noticed first. That quickly turns into “Oh my god, Theo Dubois! That’s Theo Dubois!”
At that point, I learn what Allegra meant: It’s not that we jump the queue; it’s that someone from the club hurries over to escort us inside—past the line—“for our own safety”…and also to ensure that Polly Reeves and Theo Dubois don’t decide to go elsewhere.
Theo and I might have gotten the red-carpet treatment at Quartz, but this isn’t a sophisticated gathering of wealthy and famous adults at a fundraiser. This is high-school and early college kids, out for a night of dancing, posting their selfies online and hoping for a few likes.
Then we walk in.
The club actually clears a path with security guards.
Cellphones flash and kids turn around to get stealth selfies as we walk by.
Theo periodically leans to get in the picture, and Polly and Kai pop out of our line for actual selfies.
I smile and nod, though feel like I should be lifting my hand in the royal wave.
When we reach a group of kids who can’t be more than fourteen, Theo pulls me into a shot with them.
It’s exhilarating and overwhelming and also a little scary, as I wonder how we’re going to even dance without being mobbed.
But once we find a place, the guards motion kids back, and they’re polite about it so the kids listen, settling for distance selfies where they catch one of us in the background.
We dance, and we drink non-alcoholic beverages, and the other club-goers seem content to just stay back and watch, which is a little unnerving—I feel like an exotic beast on display—but eventually I tune it out.
“Having fun?” Theo leans in to ask as we leave the dance floor.
I nod.
“Up for a little PDA?” he asks.
When I look at him, he puts his fingers under my chin. “You can say no,” he says, “if you don’t want to make this official—”
I answer by kissing him. Cameras flash and someone whoops, but I ignore that. I keep the kiss short—I’m sure “making out in public” isn’t the look Westdale wants for its students. But when Theo settles onto a chair, I perch on his lap, and more cameras flash.
Our friends are all on the dance floor, and we watch them as we sit together and enjoy the moment.
“We good?” Theo murmurs at my ear.
I flash a grin. “Very good.”
He squeezes me and whispers, “You want time with Isolde?”
My heart swells. He’s been so careful about that all night, making sure I sat in the back seat with Isolde, making sure we were seated together at the concert, giving us as much space as he can, acknowledging what tonight was supposed to be.
I twist to kiss him. “Thank you.”
“For remembering you’re here with a friend? Pfft. Low bar, Lil.” He puts his hands under my ass and propels me up. “Go. Dance. Have fun.”
—
Isolde and I return to the dance floor together.
None of our friends try to join us—they’ve all been giving us space.
Sadly, despite those glances Polly had noticed between Isolde and Cosmo, they haven’t seemed to connect, but maybe that’s just Cosmo acknowledging that Isolde was meant to be here with me.
My new friends are everything I wanted in a friend group, and it’s tempting to think I’ve finally found my people.
But that’s bullshit. My “people” were always there, waiting for me to form deeper connections.
I just wasn’t ready. Too busy with school.
Too grief-stricken after my dad’s death.
Too uncertain, with the constant moving.
In two months, school will be over, and we’ll all go in different directions.
I’m heading to Stanford, and Theo is off to USC, which is also in California…
but six hours away. Maddox hasn’t applied to college—he’s taking a gap year—but he and Theo have talked about sharing a place.
Polly’s going to Columbia, where her mom attended.
Allegra is debating options, and Isolde is probably going to Harvard.
This time, I’ll be sure to keep in touch. And when it comes to Theo and Maddox…Well, I try not to think about it. Whatever we have, it’s so new that I feel awkward even admitting I’ve checked the distance between Stanford and USC.
Enough of that. Isolde and I dance, and we’re able to do so in relative peace, without our famous friends nearby. Once we realize no one is paying attention to us, we ease across the dance floor, getting farther from the others, until we’re just two girls dancing.
“You’re so good,” I say, panting, when the song ends. “You have to teach me.”
“Years of lessons, m’dear.” Isolde affects an English accent. “Dance lessons twice a week at all the best schools.” She leans in. “I hated it, but it does mean I can move to a beat.”
I brush back my sweaty hair and look around. “Uh, where are we?”
“On a dance floor?” She grins. “Kidding. We do seem to have wandered, and I could really use a cold drink.”
She lifts up on her tiptoes to look around, but neither of us is tall enough to see over the mass of dancers. “I think the others are over there?” She points. “And I know the bar was to the left of them. Head that way?”
We try, but the mob is too thick. The next song starts, and we’re trapped on the dance floor. Isolde grabs my hand and leads me to the nearest wall. As we peer around for a way through, she points at a hall doorway and mouths “Shortcut?”
We weave past people to reach that door. A couple of guys try to catch our attention, but we pretend not to notice, and when we finally get into the hall, we both lean against the wall, catching our breath.
“Restrooms to the left.” Isolde points at the sign. “Friends to the right. I think. Yes?”
“I have no idea. Apparently, it’s adventure time.”
We set off down the hall.
“This better not lead to anyone’s drunk uncle,” I say as we turn a corner.
Isolde chokes on a laugh. “What?”
I’m about to explain and then I’m not sure whether I should. It was Theo’s uncle, after all, and he’d been embarrassed.
“Long story,” I say, “and hopefully this hall is not long.”
“Oh! There’s something to the right up ahead. That might be the way back.”
We pick up the pace, our footsteps echoing along the empty corridor. There is indeed a door to the right, and we can hear music on the other side, but it’s closed and locked.
“Nice fire escape route,” Isolde mutters. “I see another door ahead. It’s on the left, but at this point, I’m willing to give it a shot.”
We keep going. When the lights flicker, Isolde says, “Okay, that’s not creepy at all.”
My heart picks up speed, and all I can think of is Maddox’s fear when I said I was going into Savannah.
Now I really am being paranoid. It’s a flickering light in a hallway. We can hear music and even voices.
It’s a public place, and I’m not alone—
The light goes out, plunging us into darkness.
“What the hell?” I say.
A hand grabs my arm, and I jump.
“It’s me.” Isolde laughs, but it’s nervous, as if I’m not the only one freaked out. “Do you have your phone? I left mine in the car. No pockets.”
It takes me a moment to realize what she’s asking. Phone. Cellphone light.
“Mine’s with Theo,” I say. “But it’s fine. We’ll just go back the way we came.”
Hand in hand, we start back. The lights are out, but the music keeps pumping, and no one’s shrieking, so the outage must just be here.
A power outage in this hall. Where we are. Me and Isolde. Alone. Separated from—
Stop that.
I take two more steps. Then I freeze. There’s someone up ahead. My eyes have adjusted to the faint glow from a distant exit, enough to make out a figure standing between us and that exit light.
“Hey!” I call. “I don’t suppose you have a cellphone light?”
The figure just stands there, and my stomach twists even as my brain screams that I’m overreacting.
Then the figure steps toward us.
Isolde tugs on my hand. “Let’s go.”