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“That’s nice of you to say, sweet pea,” said Lilac, almost inevitably going into “teacher mode” around too-quiet Pembroke, “but wait until you hear what I’m going to be doing instead.” She pushed her tray to the side slightly so she could lean forward and place both hands on the table for emphasis. “I’m. Going. To. Tildy World.”
“Wait, what?” This was not at all what Brielle had expected Lilac to say. Sure, she had a soft spot for Tildy Tapir—she’d practically grown up on Tildy Tapir cartoons and defended them as being better than Mickey Mouse’s; it was practically the only outwardly childish thing about her—but she’d been to Tildy World a dozen times throughout her life already. And she still dubiously claimed that the park was better than the nearby Disney World. She’d yet to find anyone who agreed with her, even though, to be fair, the park seemed to give Disney a run for its money.
“Doesn’t your aunt live in Orlando?” asked Gavin. How he kept track of insignificant details like that, Brielle would never understand.
“She does! And Mom and Daddy onlyapprovedof this venture because I’m going to move in with her, at least for the first few months. Not that I need their approval exactly.”
“But… are you going to be on vacation forthatlong?” Pembroke couldn’t keep the confusion out of her voice. Ah, poor, dear Pembroke. Brielle sometimes herself forgot the petite blue-streaked blonde wasn’t a little girl.
Lilac blew an audible breath out. “It’s not a vacation.” She shrugged. “Well, not that I won’t ever just hang out at the park or head to the beach. Kind of the whole point of relocating to Florida instead of even-worse-winters-than-here-like-that’s-somehow-possible Minnesota.”
Brielle knew that was definitely one thing that Lilac hadn’t been happy about when she’d accepted that job offer. But rejecting it now—after she’d already committed to so much of her life there—would probably hurt her resume. Not thatLilacneeded to worry about that, apparently.
“Aunt Frankie knows someone who works at one of the resorts as a manager. She knew he was looking for an assistant manager and voila.” She gestured at herself. “I became available for the job in an instant.”
“They hired you asan assistant manager?” said Brielle. “Right out of college? With a degree that has nothing to do with running a hotel at all?”
Lilac smiled. “What can I say? I’m a charming interviewee, even over Skype.” Brielle’s eyes flitted to Lilac’s chest, which even when covered was hard not to notice, and she instantly felt guilty. But she did say “he” had been looking for an assistant manager. Lilac’s voice interrupted the guilty nature of Brielle’s thoughts. “And I’m just in training to start. Earl was especially keen to hear about my experience with elementary school children, since running interference between the resort’s childcare center and the management office would be a big part of my duties.”
Gavin wrinkled his nose. “You’re working for a guy named Earl.Earl.”
Lilac waved a hand. “He could be named Billy Bob Jimbo for all I care if he got me a job in Florida.”
“I don’t know,” said Gavin. “There’s just something ominous about a guy named Earl.”
Lilac punched his shoulder. “I’ll behave. It’s a thin-haired, chubby-faced man old enough to be my father named Earl. And I’m sure there’s a Mrs. Earl.”
“Hasn’t stopped the type before.” Gavin sent Brielle a look. Lilac’s ability to attract all the wrong kinds of attention—with or without her intention to do so—was about the number one thing the two friends had to discuss on the rare occasions they were left alone.
“Stop being such a drama queen,” said Lilac. “Soanyway, enough about me. Pem, what about you? I know Brielle’s got a plan for the summer until she finds thatamazing jobthat awaits her”—Brielle didn’t fail to notice the sarcasm dripping in her words—“but you’ve never let us know what you have planned. Did you ever find anything?”
Pembroke stared at her lunch tray and the food that was only half-eaten. “No. Not really.”
“What?” said Gavin, trying as usual to coax Pembroke out of her shell. “A catch like you with honors in biology? There wasn’t any lab or something that would take you?”
Pembroke shrugged. “Nothing local, anyway.” Given how much time Pembroke spent on campus, it was easy to forget she was a commuter who’d lived in the area her whole life. Not that Brielle had fared much better, since she was from a suburb only about an hour away and she technically still lived at home, even if she lived in a dorm when school was in session. Lilac had been her roommate the first couple of years—it was how they’d met and how Brielle had become friends with Lilac’s instant bestie Gavin—but Lilac’s parents had more money than they knew what to do with and had paid for an apartment for Lilac and Gavin to live in off-campus after Lilac had come back from Spain. Just as well, since Brielle had finally gotten into one of those tiny-but-peaceful solo dorm rooms in Lilac’s absence.
“And you can’t move because…?” Lilac really never had any tact.
Brielle knew better than to pry. Pembroke had family issues, or she was just too shy to break out of her shell entirely, or maybe she was just happy where she was. From what little hints Pembroke dropped of her private life, Brielle imagined it was perhaps a mixture of all three that led the girl to be so unadventurous. It really wasn’t Brielle’s business anyway.
“I didn’t even apply to any jobs outside the area,” said Pembroke, as if that answered the question. But no one pried further.
“Well, maybe you can think about med school or nursing school,” suggested Gavin. “They need medical professionals everywhere.”
Pembroke nodded, but her eyes drifted elsewhere. It wasn’t the first time Gavin had tried to be helpful by tossing out career advice Pembroke would likely never bother to take. Gavin certainly wasn’t rolling in it, even before his parents had cut him off, but Brielle suspected finances would prove a huge obstacle to Pembroke pursuing any further degrees. If she was even interested in the medical field at all. Brielle realized she wasn’t really sure. She didn’t talk much to Pembroke outside of social media, and those conversations were usually reserved for gushing about the latestThe Walking Deador superhero movie with her.
“Well, good luck with whatever you decide,” said Lilac, and Brielle was certain Lilac really couldn’t care less about Pembroke’s situation. Her eyes were glossing over and her expression was faraway, like she could smell the ocean air and feel the sand beneath her toes already.
Brielle shook her head. Lilac doing an about-face at this point in time was shocking, but it wasso Lilac.
“Uh-oh, trouble at 3:00,” said Gavin. “Bri, isn’t it about time you see if your mom’s made it here yet?”
“Is it 3:00 already?” asked Lilac dreamily. “I thought all our parents weren’t coming until after dinner anyway.”
Brielle turned to look in the direction Gavin indicated.Oh.That kind of 3:00. That kind of trouble.Brielle bolted upright and gathered her utensils and napkins hastily atop her tray. “Right. Thanks for the heads-up. See you guys tomorrow!” She turned around, ready to put her blinders on, but Daniel managed to meet her halfway to the dishwashing station, where she attempted to deposit her tray.
“Hey! Elle! Congrats.”
