Page 98 of Kiss Collector

[email protected]:WTH, Zae? You know I can’t read that. What does it say?

[email protected]:Figure it out. And don’t use an online translator. Use the alphabet booklet I got you.

[email protected]:Ugh! You suck! Fine!

[email protected]:Aww. I did it! I’m doing great and I miss you, too! This is actually kind of fun...

[email protected]:OMG, Zae! You’ll never believe this! Vincent and I are homecoming king and queen!!

[email protected]:Gahhhh!!! Of course I believe it! Send all the pics!

[email protected]:Also, I ate a whole hot dog in front of him before the game. I know that sounds stupid to anyone else, but it was a big deal for me and I know you’ll understand.

[email protected]:I am so proud of you! Stop making me cry!

Zae,

I see you in my mind’s eye, feasting on carne and cerveza,

Smiling and laughing, still loca en la cabeza.

I see your friends in the hall, like a three-legged cat,

Missing their Zae, it ain’t the same, that’s a fact.

How’s your list? Never mind. I don’t want to know.

Things at Peakton are fine, but every day is a show.

To answer your question I’m still single,

This kid’s too busy to mingle,

Learning days, working nights.

Enjoying Friday night lights.

I saw a juice the other day, said he’s missing your lips.

I told him, Have some pride, my man, but he ain’t open to tips.

For real, I hope you are well, and learning all the big words.

From your friend in America, flying high with the birds. J

PS—not really high, just needed a rhyme... and I’m done with cigs, too. For real this time. Though I partake in vaping on occasion. Oral fixation and all that.

Epilogue

Joel was right. My kiss list did grow while I was in Argentina and France. Fun kisses. Spontaneous kisses. Moments with gorgeous foreign boys that made me laugh and smile but did not reach my heart, which I kept heavily guarded with someone else’s name on it.

Joel kept his promise to write me, and I’ve saved every word.

We learned each other’s favorite songs and books. I told him every weird new thing I ate, and he dared me to try more. I confided in him about my family, and he told me about his brother and how close they were, and how his letters from prison depress the hell out of him. We told each other so much in those letters, and yet I felt the distance between us with each word. His careful avoidance of intimacy. He was always kind,always uplifting, never closing his hand on me.

Monica and Lin weren’t great about emailing, but I could always count on them to video chat. Kenzie was the best about keeping me up-to-date on every sordid, dramatic detail of Peakton life.

Monica and Dean broke up the first month of senior year. Apparently they were both so busy with sports that they grew apart. Lin and Parker lasted until after homecoming in the fall when they got early acceptance to schools in different states. Meeka and Kwami were spotted kissing after a basketball game—guess he finally won her over. Quinton and Camille had a baby in March. Señora Hernandez asked Kenzie about me all the time, and the cheer squad took third place at regionals.