Now, as snow piled up outside and there were whispers about school being canceled tomorrow, Theo, Juliet, and their other best friend Callie burrowed under blankets at Juliet’s place, preparing to watch a DVD. It had been the three of them, almost constantly together, for years—especially after last summer, when Callie’s boyfriend Jeremy had broken up with her. As ever, there was a massive bowl of popcorn between them, covered with parmesan cheese and salt, and Juliet was listing all the movies available to them, including a few Ivy had rented for them during a recent trip to the rental store. The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio was a big one that year, as were Garden State and Million Dollar Baby.
Juliet’s oldest sister Celia had been gone for years at this point. They never heard from her.
“Juliet?” Wren, who was fifteen and bright-eyed and funny, came into the living room, probably hoping to hang out with them. “Juliet, did you take my sweater again?”
“The pink one?” Juliet asked.
“Did you take the pink one, too?” Wren looked miffed.
“Callie and I were putting together looks for my portfolio,” Juliet said simply. “Everything I took from your room should be on my bed.”
Wren looked disheartened. Callie got up and said, “I’ll help you find it!” Together, they went back upstairs, leaving Theo and Juliet on the couch. Theo’s heart pumped. He adored being alone with Juliet, but it also terrified him. He wasn’t sure what blood pressure was, but he was pretty sure his skyrocketed when it was just the two of them.
Juliet put her head in her hands and sighed. It was a performance that Theo knew demanded a question from him.
“What’s up?”
“It’s just Callie,” Juliet said. “She’s still sort of trying to convince me to stay in Bluebell. I mean, it makes me feel so guilty. And it makes me feel like I can’t be honest about what I’m thinking? Because I don’t want to hurt her. Actually, I wish she wanted more for herself!” She removed her hands and looked Theo in the eye. “You know, my family is not very honest with each other. I thought I could be honest with Callie. But maybe I can only be honest with you?”
Theo’s mouth went dry with a mix of fear and longing. Ever since their first kiss when they were twelve, Theo had willed himself to recreate that moment again. But Juliet had always found a way to move away from him and ensure there was always a boundary.
“You can always be honest with me,” Theo said quietly.
Juliet squeezed his shoulder. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
When school returned after the snowstorm, Theo found himself sketching back in the art room. It was a small class, ten students all told, with Callie and Theo being the only two seniors. Callie was the best art student in the class, able to master everything from painting to sculpture to printmaking. Their art teacher, Mrs. Simmons, adored her and frequently said that Callie had a future in the art world if she wanted it. Callie just blushed.
Now, Theo watched as Mrs. Simmons went over to Callie and spoke under her breath, but just loud enough for Theo to hear. “They want a new mural in the cafeteria,” she was saying. “And I couldn’t think of anyone else to design and paint it! What do you think?”
Callie’s eyes widened. Theo knew she wasn’t used to being selected for anything.
“The entire wall?” Callie asked. “I don’t know if I can do it on my own.”
Mrs. Simmons raised her eyes and found Theo’s, peering at her. “Maybe you could ask Mr. Maddox to help you? He knows his way around a paintbrush. Don’t you, Mr. Maddox?”
Theo laughed. “I’m nowhere as good as Callie.”
Callie grinned. “You’re pretty good, Theo. Come on. I can’t do it by myself.”
Theo heard himself agree.
That afternoon, Juliet invited Callie and Theo over to her place to watch movies and hang out. But Callie and Theo needed to get started on the mural pronto. When they explained to Juliet what they were up to, Juliet said, “You’re really going to waste your time with that?”
It was clear that this hurt Callie’s feelings. But Callie was too shy to let anyone know that for sure. “It’s dumb,” she agreed with Juliet. “But I’m basically being forced, so.”
Juliet went home alone, leaving Theo and Callie in the cafeteria with a mountain of scratch paper. Sitting at a long, skinny table, Callie explained to Theo her vision for the wall: the artists she wanted to imitate, as well as the spirit of the school she wanted to shed light on. “Juliet would think I was so lame if she heard what I was saying,” Callie said with a smile.
Theo rubbed his palms together. “There’s nothing lame about it. Let’s get started right away.”
Callie had made up several sketches of the Picasso-adjacent Bluebell Cove High School mural, which Theo helped her finalize and outline on the wall. By the end of their first session together, they’d traced the pencil outline with black paint, boxing them into a design that Callie felt was “some of my best work yet.” Theo watched as she beamed at what she’d done.
He felt a strange thumping in his heart.
That night, after he’d finished his calculus homework and was on the computer, he got an instant message from Juliet, asking him about the mural.
JULIET: How stupid is it?
Theo furrowed his brow and got offline immediately. He wasn’t willing to drop into Juliet’s world just now. He found that he was still buzzing from his hours of making art with Callie.
