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Kate clung to her mom, battling tears.
"Its going to be okay," Mom said. "Trust in all the dreams youve made. You and Tully are going to become the best reporters this state has ever seen. Your dad and I are so proud of you. "
Kate nodded and looked up at her mom through hot tears. "I love you, Mom. "
Much too soon, it was over.
"Well call every Sunday," Tully said behind them. "Right after you get home from church. "
And then, suddenly, they were gone.
Tully flopped on the bed. "I wonder what Rush will be like. I bet every house will want us. How could they not?"
"Theyll want you," Kate said softly, and for the first time in months she felt like the girl theyd called Kootie all those years ago, the girl in the Coke-bottle glasses and high-water Sears jeans. It didnt matter that shed gotten contacts and lost her braces and learned how to put on makeup to enhance her features. The sorority girls would see through all that.
Tully sat up. "You know I wont join a sorority unless were in it together, right?"
"Thats not fair to you, though. " Kate went to the bed and sat down beside her.
"Remember Firefly Lane?" Tully said, lowering her voice. Over the years those words had become a catchall phrase, a kind of shorthand for their memories. It was their way of saying that a friendship begun at fourteen, back when David Cassidy was groovy and a song could make you cry, would last forever.
"I havent forgotten. "
"But you dont get it," Tully said.
"Get what?"
"When my mom dumped me, who was there for me? When my gran died, who held my hand and took me in?" She turned to Kate. "You. Thats the answer. Were a team, Kate. Forever friends, no matter what. Okay?" She bumped Kate, made her smile.
"You always get your way. "
Tully laughed. "Of course I do. Its one of my more endearing traits. Now lets figure out what were going to wear for the first day . . . "
The University of Washington was everything Tully had hoped it would be and more. Spread out over several miles and comprised of hundreds of gothic buildings, it was a world unto itself. The size daunted Kate, but not Tully; she figured if she could triumph here, she could triumph anywhere. From the moment they moved into their sorority, she began preparing for a reporting job at the networks. In addition to taking the core classes in communications, she made time to read at least four newspapers a day and watch as many newscasts as possible. When her big break came, she was going to be ready.
It had taken her most of the first few weeks of school to get her bearings and figure out what Phase One of the academic plan should be. Shed met with her School of Communications advisor so often that he sometimes avoided her in the hall when he saw her coming, but she didnt care. When she had questions, she wanted answers.
The problem, once again, was her youth. She couldnt get into the upper-level broadcasting or journalism classes; no amount of cajoling or prodding could move the behemoth bureaucracy of this huge state school. She simply had to wait her turn.
Not something she was good at.
She leaned sideways and whispered to Kate, "Why is there a science requirement? I wont need geology to be a reporter. "
"Shhh. "
Tully frowned and sat back in her chair. They were in Kane Hall, one of the biggest auditoriums on campus. From her chair in the nosebleed section, crammed in among almost five hundred other students, she could barely see the professor, whod turned out not to be a professor at all, but rather his teaching assistant.
"We can buy lecture notes. Lets go. The newspaper office opens at ten. "
Kate didnt even glance at her, just kept scribbling notes on her paper.
Tully groaned and sat back, crossing her arms in disgust, waiting minute by minute for class to end. The second the bell rang, she shot to her feet. "Thank God. Lets go. "
Kate finished with her notes and collected her pages, methodically organizing everything in her notebook.
"Are you making paper? Come on. I want to meet the editor. "
Kate stood up and slung her backpack over one shoulder. "We are not going to get a job at the newspaper, Tully. "
