Chapter 9
Nine
You Can Count on Me
“DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD go to prom?”
“What?” I grabbed Cole by the elbow and pulled him into a side corridor, out of the flow of students rummaging through lockers. We were on our way to history class, but it could wait.
“What do you mean? We can’t go —” My eyes darted back and forth to make sure that no one was watching before I mouthed the word together.
“I know.” Cole shrugged. “But I was just thinking — it’s senior year, and it’s a thing you’re supposed to do when you’re our age, and I just feel like we should. You know, to say we did.”
I frowned. “I didn’t go last year.”
“Yeah, but things were different last year, right? And everybody likes you now. And after the storm and the way the town has bounced back — Jersey Strong, right? Think of it as a celebration.”
I looked up, studying Cole’s face. “Why are you pushing this now? Did something change?”
Cole blushed to the roots of his golden hair.
“Okay, look — I have art class with Courtney, right? And I was sort of lost in thought working on a drawing and she came up and asked me if I wanted to go with her, and I was so surprised that I couldn’t think of a reason to get out of it so I said yes. ”
“Fuck.”
Cole laid a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, I should have talked to you first, I —”
Suddenly, the whole thing struck me very funny. “You know, she’s going to stuff you in the trunk of her car and then tie you up in the basement. We’ll never see you again.”
“I know, right?” Cole was laughing too, a little hysterically. “And see — that’s why I need you as a bodyguard! So what do you think — will you come to the prom with me, but you know — not with me exactly?”
“I’ll think about it,” I sighed. “But come on, we better go or we’ll be late.”
Later that afternoon, I arrived at my AP biology lab a few minutes early. I pulled out my things as the other students filed in, lining up my notebook and my textbook and my mechanical pencil precisely on the table. Then I sat down and pulled out a book to read.
“Hey, Ezra, what are you reading?” Hannah was my lab partner, and today she had all of her dark hair piled up in a knot on her head. She was wearing a tight black T-shirt with a skull on it and she was smiling at me.
I showed her the cover, where a willowy elf prince was fighting a dragon. “It’s pretty good, actually.”
“Oh, I’ve read that one, and I loved it!” She sat down and began to pull her books out of her bag. “I didn’t know you read books like that. Every time I see you, you have some dusty history book that my dad would read.”
“Cole lent it to me, actually.” I hoped Hannah didn’t notice the way my face heated when I said his name. Even though the whole school knew we were friends, I still felt weird mentioning him out loud.
“I’m glad he’s broadening your horizons.” She sighed. “I lost a lot of my library at home — you know, when the flooding happened? But so many people donated books afterward, and Courtney and Melissa saved all the best ones for me.”
“That was really nice of them,” I said, tucking my bookmark between the pages. “But that sucks about your books, though. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. So many things have changed, and some of them were actually for the better.” She reached out and touched my arm. “You, for one thing. I’m so glad you came out of your shell and started hanging out with us.”
There was a beat of silence, and then the words were tumbling out of my mouth before I even had a chance to think about them. “Hannah, do you want to go to the prom with me?”
Her eyes widened with shock. “Oh, Ezra —”
“I mean, no pressure. And if you’re already going with someone else, I’m not gonna be hurt. And I’m not — I mean, just as friends. Because you’re nice and I dunno, it would be fun. Maybe.”
She paused, studying my face as she chewed on her lip. Then, her face broke into a smile. “Yes, I would love to go with you — You know, as friends.”
I couldn’t wait to tell Cole at the end of the day.
I found him out by the bike rack, unlocking his bike under a clear blue sky.
It was one of those bright days just before the start of spring, when the air wasn’t quite warm enough yet, but the sun was doing its best and the first daffodils were starting to bloom.
When he saw me, he waved, beaming as I walked across the lawn.
“Yes, I will go to prom with you — I mean, not with you,” I announced as soon as I was close enough to speak without shouting.
“Really?” Cole watched as I leaned down to open my bike lock. “What changed your mind?”
“I asked Hannah and she said yes. So I figure the four of us can go together, and she’s friends with Courtney so it won’t be weird.”
“Wait — you asked Hannah?”
Cole was squinting in the sunlight, his brow furrowed. I shielded my eyes to study his face.
“Yeah, is that a problem?”
Cole sighed. “I mean, Courtney is one thing, but Hannah —”
“What about her?” I asked.
“You like her.”
“Cole —” I glanced over my shoulder, then reached out to squeeze his hand. His fingers were ice cold. “I like you.”
“Are you sure?” Cole’s voice was oddly small.
“Of course I’m — I mean, every afternoon we —” I stared at the puzzle pieces in front of me, willing them to click into place. “Wait, are you jealous?”
Cole blinked hard and tossed his head.
“Oh fuck, I wish we weren’t —” I pulled my bike away from the rack and swung one leg over the seat. “Look, you remember that thing you did for me yesterday? I was thinking today it’s my turn to do it for you.”
A slow smile broke across Cole’s face. “Really?”
“If you race me to the bottom of the hill, you’ll find out!”
I took off, pedaling as hard as I could, and I could head Cole cursing behind me as he rushed to catch up. I couldn’t imagine how someone like him could ever be jealous because of something I did, but I knew we would be able to straighten things out.
***
July 2025
“No, you can’t — that’s not — come on, that’s not fair — just give me a chance to — mother fucker!”
I toss my controller onto the couch beside me as my orc character on the TV screen explodes into a geyser of blood.
Seth chuckles, placing his own controller on the coffee table. “You know I’ve pored over pretty much every line of code in this game — considering I fucking designed it and all.”
I huff, crossing my arms over my chest. “I don’t know why I bother to play with you.”
“Because you’re a glutton for punishment, little bro.
” Seth pushes himself up off the couch and stretches luxuriously before starting down the hall toward the bathroom.
“You know, we should probably think about getting going. Bree wants me there while the guests are still around to show me off and stuff.”
We’re in a two-bedroom apartment in a ritzy luxury building on 57th Street — Sabrina’s dad’s pied-à-terre for whenever he’s in New York on business for any length of time.
It’s not lost on me that I’m working my ass off for a tiny studio in Brooklyn while this dude has a place on one of the most exclusive streets in the world, and he’s barely ever here.
When Seth comes back into the room, I rub the teal velvet couch cushion beneath me with the palm of my hand.
“You know, I bet this thing costs as much as I get to teach an intro class for the whole semester.”
“More, probably,” Seth agrees. “It’s crazy, right? You and I grew up the way we did, and meanwhile Bree flew out to LA last month, and her dad took her to dinner with Tom Hanks. I have to keep pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.”
“You are one lucky son of a bitch.”
We make our way out of the apartment and take the elevator downstairs to the parking garage, where Seth’s sensible SUV is deeply outclassed by the sea of luxury cars stretching out in every direction. I climb into the passenger seat and reach for my seatbelt.
“I’m surprised that they’re still letting you drive this thing,” I remark as Seth starts the car. “Do you think they’ll make you replace it after the wedding?”
“Why, what do you think I should be driving?” Seth asks.
“I dunno — one of those duckboat buses? A stretch limo with a jacuzzi inside? A llama?”
Seth laughs and shakes his head. “You’re crazy.”
He pulls out of the garage into Midtown traffic, and I’m just glad I’m not driving — not that I ever learned how, because it never seemed like a good idea.
We’re on our way to make an appearance at Sabrina’s bridal shower at a ritzy Gramercy Park condo owned by one of her dad’s producer friends.
Cole is already there, waiting on Sabrina’s every need, but it was decided that Seth should make an entrance, so to speak, and somehow they all roped me into coming along with him.
It hasn’t been a bad afternoon — burgers for lunch, and then a couple hours of video games back at the apartment.
But I feel like I’m about to be thrown into a den of lions, and I’m not exactly excited about it.
Miraculously, Seth finds a parking spot just a few doors down from the building we’re visiting.
The party is in a stately townhouse with a facade of brick and terracotta that looks like it dates from the late nineteenth century.
Rodney Slade’s friend occupies the top three floors, and when we knock on the door, we’re greeted by a statuesque woman in red who ushers us into an opulent living room. Then —
“Seth!”
Sabrina detaches herself from the group and rushes towards us, throwing her arms around my brother’s neck and giving him a kiss.
She’s wearing a frothy white minidress that looks like something Tinkerbell would wear, and she looks sufficiently bridal, I guess.
When they break apart, she turns and beams at the assembled guests.
“Everyone, this is my soon-to-be hubby, Seth. Oh, and his brother Ezra, who is his best man.”
Seth is immediately mobbed, but nobody seems to give a shit whether I’m also present, which suits me fine, so I figure my job is done. I make my way over to the buffet table.