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My phone beeps in my ear, alerting me to an incoming call. When I look, I see Cleo’s flawless face smiling at me. She looks like an angel in the picture, but I know better. You can see the evil glint in her eye if you look close enough.
“Can you hold for a moment? I’m getting another call.”
I don’t wait for them to agree before I switch to the other line.
“Perfect timing,” I say in lieu of a greeting. “My parents are on the other line, and I can’t deal with their shit this early in the morning.”
“What’d they do this time?” Cleo asks, sounding amused at my situation.
“That’s a long story. Let’s just say they were themselves over break. I refused to accept the future they built for me, and now we’re not speaking. Or, at least, I thought we weren’t until they called. I wouldn’t have answered, but I assumed it was you.”
“And you don’t want their future because why? Aren’t your parents like insanely rich?”
“Yes, and unhappy with life. I’d rather be poor and happy than rich and miserable.”
“I’d rather be rich and happy,” Cleo laughs like she’s told the funniest joke in the world. When she finally gathers herself, she says, “Did you want to call me back?”
“Um, no. I’d rather deal with this issue than anything they want to talk to me about this morning.”
“Are they still on the other line?”
Pulling my phone away from my ear, I check the display to see my parents’ call is on hold. “Yup.”
“You’re not going to click back over, are you?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
“Fine. Start talking then. I want to know what I’m walking into before I get there. I have my entire drive to figure out a plan.”
“Here’s the thing, I don’t think a plan is going to help us here.”
“And why is that?” She doesn’t bother to mask her surprise. In Cleo’s mind, a plan is the solution to every problem.
Problem A can be solved by actions B, C, and D.
Addendum: if B, C, and D don’t work, actions E, F, and G will be implemented.
In Cleo’s defense, her plans tend to work out. She puts a lot of thought into her action plans, which is probably why she successfully scored an internship at the top advertising agency in town. I’m a little jealous to be honest, even though I have no interest in that field. Her resume is going to shine even brighter now.
“You can’t make a plan for how emotions are going to play out. And that’s what’s at stake here. If we’re not careful, hearts are going to break, and it’ll be our fault instead of Max’s.”
Cleo sucks in an audible breath.
“I’m not going to say anything else until everyone is together.”
“I couldn’t help but notice there were a few girls you left off the group message.”
“That was on purpose.”
“So is it safe to assume that they are the hearts we’re concerned about?”
“It is, but don’t get ahead of yourself. I know your—" my phone beeps in my ear, interrupting my thoughts. Checking to see who’s calling, I recognize my mother’s number and send her to voicemail. “Sorry, my mother was calling. What was I saying?”
“You were about to tell me that you know how my mind works. That I’ll start playing out scenarios based on no factual evidence and show up ready to throw down.”
I hate how well Cleo knows herself sometimes. She’s aware of her actions, the way she comes across, and she’s unapologetic about it. Love her or hate her, she is who she is.
“Not exactly what I was thinking, but yeah. Try not to let your imagination run too wild.”
