Chapter 13 #2
A loud cough spluttered from farther up the aisle, and I glanced up to see Noah clearing his throat. He was still facing the front of the bus, but he was definitely listening in.
“That sounds great,” I replied, shooting a glare at the side of his head—not that he noticed. “Count me in.” I said it more for Noah’s benefit than my own. I didn’t really want to go to a club, but if Noah thought I was taking steps to move on, then hopefully he would too.
New York was several hours away by bus, but the trip went relatively quickly.
Anna and Cress chatted constantly, so it was easy to lose myself in conversation with them.
I never quite managed to forget Noah was sitting so close to me.
He was like a mosquito bite, a dull itch on my skin that wouldn’t go away no matter how much I tried to ignore it.
As we drew closer to the city, Anna swapped seats with me so I could stare out the window. I’d never visited a big city before, and I knew I was really exposing my small-town upbringing as I gaped and gasped at the bustling streets and towering skyscrapers that flashed past.
“You’re so funny.” Anna chuckled, when I started bouncing up and down on my seat. I’d just spotted the Empire State Building for the first time.
“I can’t help it. I’m excited!”
The girls laughed. “We know,” they said in unison.
“I don’t think we’ve got much choice but to ditch some of the shopping for sightseeing,” Cress added. “Seeing you experience New York for the first time is like watching a small kid open presents at Christmas. It’s adorable.”
I scowled in her direction. “I’m not like a small kid.”
“You totally are,” Anna agreed with a smile.
“I’d probably be offended if I wasn’t so excited by the idea of sightseeing.”
The girls laughed again.
Eventually, the bus pulled up outside our hotel.
It was an impressive and imposing stately building right across from Central Park.
Tall columns flanked the gorgeous stone entrance, and a plush carpet ran down the marble steps leading up to the front doors.
Just one look at the hotel made me realize this little excursion must have been costing my father a fortune.
There was no way my mom and I could have ever afforded such luxury, and I knew the type of place in our budget would have looked very different.
When we entered the hotel, I was shocked by the grand foyer.
A beautiful fountain trickled in the middle of the space, and it was surrounded by large leafy trees that looked like they’d been plucked straight from the park across the street.
The soft smell of roses floated across from the floral arrangements that lined the walls, and above it all was a high ceiling with an elaborate golden design.
I couldn’t help but imagine the many floors that were stacked on top of it, reaching up toward the sky.
We were all crowded to one side of the entrance hall as one of the teachers arranged the keys and began calling out our room arrangements.
They assigned the girls to share rooms alphabetically, and by some miracle, that meant I’d be sharing with Anna.
“Yes!” she squealed as our names were announced.
She darted forward to grab the room key from the teacher and grinned brightly as she came back to me.
“This is going to be the best trip ever,” she gushed.
Cress didn’t seem to agree. Her roommate had been revealed just before our names were called.
She was rooming with one of Veronica’s cronies for the night.
Cress was normally able to see the positive side of most things in life, but even she appeared pretty bummed about it.
The teacher finished assigning our rooms before he explained our itinerary for the rest of the day.
We were going to spend the rest of the afternoon on a literary walking tour of Central Park.
Dinner was going to be at a restaurant close to the theater, and then we’d finish the day by seeing the play.
I was excited about catching a play on Broadway, but I also loved the idea of wandering away the afternoon in Central Park. My friends didn’t seem anywhere near as excited as me, but it was a bright and sunny day, so there were no complaints.
The others kept chatting about the day ahead, but I wasn’t listening too closely as Noah caught my eye.
He was looking at me through the crowd of other students milling around the foyer, but he glanced away the moment our eyes met.
I blew out a breath and forced my focus away from him and back on my friends.
This trip to New York was all about getting the closure I needed and the space I wanted so I could finally get over Noah.
So far, I hadn’t been doing too well with the space part, but now the bus ride was over, I was hoping we could keep our distance for the rest of the trip.
I just had to hope fate didn’t have other plans for us because it was about time it started working in my favor.