Page 128 of 16 Forever

It’s long-haired Everett, one of my best customers from last school year.

“Oh hey. I actually, uh... I’m not doing the hookup thing anymore,” I tell him. “Just taking more time to focus on other stuff. Like photography.”

“No, man, that’s what I wanted to tell you,” Everett says. “I couldn’t stop thinking this summer about what you said that onetime. How vaping is destructive to my health. So I looked it up. You were right! It’s, like, really bad!”

“Oh. Wow.”

“Yeah, man. So I don’t do it anymore!” He holds up a hand for a high five, which I give him. “Hey, do you ever do photography on skaters?”

“Uh, I haven’t. But I could.”

“That would be sick, man! I’ll hit you up soon.” Everett pats me on the back and disappears in the opposite direction.

It all feels so different from when I first showed up here last December. Better. People know me, and this time I know them too. Bodhi calls out my name as my friends spot me, and it is only then that I’m reminded of the one thing that is worse:

The person I most want to see is no longer in the building.

October.

Maggie

“Never have I ever dated two people at the same time,” my roommate, Tolu, says, followed by a gulp from her can of Natty Light.

There are seven of us crammed into our dorm room, and two others take a drink, including this guy Rory sitting next to me on my bed.

“That’s so stressful,” my frizzy-haired friend Gwen says. “I don’t know how people do that.”

“I found it exhilarating,” Tolu says. “And fun.”

We’re almost two months into the semester, and I really like it here. It’s honestly a little weird how comfortable I am—I just met Tolu and Gwen last month, but I already feel so close to them. Soon after meeting Gwen, I learned that she plays the violin, and we’ve been messing around with songs ever since. Earlier tonight, we did an insane cover of Katy Perry’s “Never Really Over” at open mic night—me on piano, her on violin, both of us on vocals—and it truly killed.

“All right,” Rory says. “Never have I ever made out with someone in a car.” He takes a chug of beer with this smug look on his face, but I can barely take it in because I’m considering all the timesI’vemade out in a car.

With CarCo.

I’d be lying if I said he hasn’t been on my mind a lot.

I wonder how he’s doing. How he’s feeling.

Gwen and Tolu know I broke up with someone in the spring, though I haven’t yet gone into the weird details. I savethatfor my voice memos to Shana and Ember.

Tomorrow marks two months till his birthday.

I wish I could talk to him.

Laugh with him.

Make out with him in a car.

But that would only be a recipe for more pain.

So I wait. I immerse myself in my new world, and I wait.

Two more months, and he’ll forget me.

And then I will move on.

How will I even officially confirm that Carter looped back? I’ll have to, like, reach out to someone who’s still at Ridgedale. Probably Bodhi.