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LATER THAT NIGHT, AMELIA leaned against her pillow on her bed and pulled up the app. According to her, there isn’t a better feeling in the world than changing into her cozy robe, climbing under her sheets, and scrolling through her phone.
“Nerd. Nerd. Gap tooth. Ugly. Ugly. Gross. Ew. Ugly. Short. Ugly. Ugh! Why is this so hard?!” She’d been on her phone for the past two hours, scrolling nonstop, guy after guy, and not a single match. She paused and swiped the app away, pulling up Lucas’ social media profile, smiling as if his smile on one of his pictures were smiling back at her, leaning in to kiss her phone gently. “It’s been almost a full day since I super liked you. Why are you ignoring me?!”
And suddenly, her phone started to ring. Her mother.
“Hey, Mom, what’s up?”
“Hi, honey, how’s school treating you? You doing okay? I can’t wait to see my little girl’s name on the Dean’s List.”
“Aw, come on, Mom. College is supposed to be about having fun, finding myself. You can’t seriously expect me to study all the time.”
“But your brother—”
“I’m not like Jason, okay? He’s a nerd! His nose is always shoved inside a book that I bet he has no life!”
“Amelia!”
“Sorry, I get that you want me to go to med school like him, but that’s not me, Mom. Let me make my own decisions for once.”There was a loud sigh on the other line.“What is it, Mom? Everything okay?”
“What? Oh, yes, everything’s great, dear. Listen, can you come home tomorrow night? I know you’re on spring break next week, and I was thinking you could spend a few days at home, with your family.Your Aunt Evelyne’s visiting Friday night before going on her business trip, and it’ll be good for us to all have dinner together.”
Amelia looked over at her calendar. She hated visiting home, particularly because she always got compared to Jason whenever she’s around her family. But she hadn’t been in over five months, and it wasn’t like she had anything else planned for the next upcoming days. Honestly, she’d hoped to spend all of spring break swiping through more potential suitors. Every day she isn’t using the app means another day spent without her new boyfriend.
“Fine, I’ll drive back tomorrow night.”
“Wonderful! I’ll even make your favorite, pot roast and garlic baked potatoes. I love you, honey.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
When she hung up, Amelia reached under her dorm bed and grabbed a bag of family-sized sour cream and onion chips along with a beer.
“It’s going to be a long night,” she whispered and pulled up the app.
CHAPTER
TWO
“CAN I GET AN iced coffee, please? Extra-large?” Amelia asked the freckled-faced teenager at the counter of the university’s coffee shop. She barely had the strength to stay awake in English Lit, and now she had to drive two and half hours back home to her parents.
“I really, really don’t think you’re in the condition to drive home, Lia. What if you pass out on the wheel?” Melody asked as she grabbed her own drink from the teenager, a medium matcha green latte with extra foam.
“No, I canceled on them the past three times. I can’t do it again.”
“Why not just go home tomorrow? I mean, youdohave an entire week to spend with them,” Melody suggested and took a sip from her cup.
But Amelia shook her head. “Can’t do that, either. My Aunt Evelyne is coming over tonight before leaving town for a few days. My family already sees me as a disappointment. The least I could do is show up for dinner.”
“Lia, you’re a mess, you know that?”
Amelia laughed and reached over to grab her coffee. “I sure do, but ahotmess.” Then she paused. “Are you sure you don’t wanna come spend spring break with my family? It beats sitting in your dorm all by yourself.”
Melody nodded. “Yeah, it’s my fault, anyway. I forgot to remind my parents about spring break before they booked their flight to Puerto Rico. But it’s all good. Kyle’s coming to visit for a few days. At least, I’ll have him to keep me company. Besides, I should really study for that physics final if I want to make the Dean’s List this semester.”
“Ugh, not you, too.”
“What do you mean?”
