“Youweren’t feeling it?And with no advance warning? What about Ms. Branch? Tell me she at least went.”
“Ms. Branch isn’t going to anything now,” I laughed bitterly. That did the impossible—Linyue calmed down, sounding curious now.
“What? Tell me what happened.”
“You want the long version, or the short version?”
“Give me the summary while I get my tablet and then give me the long version.”
“She lost her home and is leaving New York.”
I heard her suck in a sharp hiss of air over the phone. “What? Bring her back.”
“I don’t know if I’m feeling that. The long version will explain why. Do you have your tablet ready?”
“If it will recognize my damn fingerprint. Okay, long version. Start from the beginning and talk quickly.”
I told her the long version on the long walk to my apartment, where I kicked my shoes off by the door, dropped my bag on the floor, and fell onto the couch, lying down staring at the ceiling as I finished the explanation. Even now, in her absence, Julie kept pulling off the impossible with Linyue: for a long time, Linyue was quiet.
“You still there?” I said.
“I’m here. I’m just thinking of what to do with her. Fighting her in the street is probably uncouth.”
“Linyue, come on. You’ve seen the girl. You wouldn’t even have to fight her, just make like you’re about to throw a punch and she’ll drop.”
“Your dates are bad luck, I swear.”
“She wasn’t…” I sighed frustratedly, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I guess they are.”
“I will see what I can do about the event, how to recover from both of you missing the mixer. How to… recover from losing Ms. Branch. We have some float.” She was quiet for a minute. “Except that we’ve lost you too, I can only imagine.”
“I’ll be okay,” I said hoarsely. “Just need a night off.”
“I don’t know why you lie to me. You will not be okay. You’re a silly girl who keeps falling for people who have bad intentions and it is going to leave its mark.”
“I wasn’tfallingfor anyone, Linyue, just… we just had a little casual thing.”
“But you’re still heartbroken. This is why you should let me plan your dates.”
I smiled thinly, even though I still didn’t feel anything, like every emotion had been sucked out and I was just vacant, just a body that was here in the room. “I can always count on you to make the situation worse.”
“You were in no state to perform as it was. I understand the situation clearly now. You were unhappy and unwell and snuck out to do this thing with Ms. Branch, and you were only doing well when you had her with you. If anything, I imagine you will only be worse now than you were before.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, I don’t know if you’re consoling me or insulting me right now, Linyue.”
“I am doing both. I will consult with your parents, but I believe the best option right now is to place you on leave.”
“On leave? From what?”
“Everything.”
Dammit. I’d argue if she weren’t right. I couldn’t imagine getting up tomorrow and going to my shoots, my events, everything as normal. But the last thing I wanted was to just have time to wallow and feel stupid. “I needsomethingto do,” was what I finally said.
“No. You rest, you eat well, you exercise, and you read. Make sure to do plenty of reading. Even if your body is tired, you can’t let your mind become lazy. I will discuss this with your parents.”
“Linyue,” I protested, but she made that sharpahnoise that said there was no arguing.
“We will discuss this later. Rest tonight.”
