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| 19
DECEMBER
Christmas, Christmas, time of year. Time for toys and time for cheer.
The Chipmunks play in the background as I bop around the room. This is the one holiday that has me happy the entire month. I get to see my parents, sister, and brother-in-law in a few days. Plus, there’s the incentive of decorating my dorm room with cheesy Christmas décor. My roommates hate me for it, but nothing can take my joy.
We’re back in the States, and it feels foreign. The irony of that is obviously screwing with me, but it’s foreign in a good way. After the drama back in Europe, I felt hopeful that being home for a change will bring new memories.Ever the optimist.
Our room smells of peppermint candles, and I’m finishing putting up the tree when Sarah and Taya walk in.
“Leia...what did we say about putting up Christmas décor without letting us know?”
I roll my eyes at Sarah’s condescending tone. I don’t care what they have to say. I like our décor.
“Nothing that I can remember.” I put on my best fake smile, earning a roll of the eyes from her. My gaze meets Taya’s, and she gives me a small smile. I quickly look away and put on some ornaments.
I’m not completely over everything that happened in Europe, and Taya knows that. We’ve yet to have a discussion about it. I’ve just been preoccupying myself with Christmas stuff and catching up on schoolwork. I managed to meet with Coach Venus about her decision to kick me off of the track team, and she’s changed her tune. As long as I can make up some workouts and work extra hard every day on the track, I have my spot back on the 4x100 meter relay team. I’m over-the-moon happy about that agreement. Everything has been coming into place.
“We saw Nick at the coffee shop, love.”
Except for that. I wasn’t expecting to hear that name again. I didn’twantto hear that name again. But leave it to Sarah to complicate things more by bringing his name up.
“Awesome. Did you guys say hi?” I didn’t want to hear anything more about it. If they reunited, that’s great. Otherwise, I’d be very annoyed if they brought my name up. Sarah gives me a look of concern. “What?”
“You guys should meet up again, Leia. He might miss you. You never know.”
This is when I get annoyed. I step down from the chair and turn off the lights on the tree. I’m not in the mood for this.
“I’m not interested in seeing Nick, Sarah. But I really appreciate your concern.”
She raises her eyebrows at me. She looks to Taya, hoping that she’ll say something, no doubt.
Yeah, Taya’s the last person I would listen to advice from.
“I’m not really one to...give advice on this matter.” She looks nervous. I look away and light a candle on the desk. “Right. Well...I’m gonna head down to the library to study. See you guys soon.”
“See you soon, Taya,” Sarah says. Taya’s out the door as Sarah shakes her head at me.
“What?”
“How long are you gonna continue acting like a baby?”
I roll my eyes at this. “I have no idea what you mean.” If she means the silent treatment I’m giving Taya, probably forever. She’s yet to apologize, so I’m not giving her my attention anytime soon.
“She was drunk, Leia. And besides, you and Larson are broken up, remember?”Don’t remind me. I hate thinking about him. Once we all landed back at LAX, we all went our separate ways and haven’t looked back since. I’m sure he’s doing perfectly fine. “Look, if you’re gonna be a Scrooge—”
“I’m notbeinga Scrooge. I just...don’t want anything to ruin my holiday spirit.” She raises her eyebrows at me again. “It’s our second week back home, Sarah. Cut me some slack. That was a rough trip, and I really just want to decompress.”
She gets up and gives me a hug. “I know, love. But you have to address your feelings at some point.”
“Just like you need to address yours with Brock?”
That gets her. She rolls her eyes. “Brock Morris is dead to me, and I refuse to talk about it.” Something major happened in Europe.
“What could’ve possibly happened? Did he murder a poodle?”
“It’s not wise to joke about murdering animals, Leia,” she deadpans. I roll my eyes. She can be even more dramatic than me. “Look, he can just eat shit, okay? I’m not involving myself with athletes anytime soon.”
