Page 132 of Places We've Never Been

“Okay,” I said.

By the time we got back to Skyler, everyone was with him, mostly giving him a hard time about his fear of heights.

Paisley held up a plastic bag and said, “Oh, Skyler, I got you something to remember today by.” She pulled out a Space Needle T-shirt.

“You’re so funny,” he said.

“I really am,” she replied.

Olivia laughed.

My first snarky instinct when we got back to the group was to walk up to Skyler’s side and slide my arm through his. And that’s what I did. But as I stood there, having let that instinct win, I began to realize that maybe all my instincts were wrong, selfish. Maybe I reallyhadscrewed up when I kissed Skyler. I hadn’t known about his mom at the time, of course. But I had always known he was leaving. I had always known how hard the first separation had been for both of us. How much harder thissecond one would be on us with even stronger feelings involved. Had I made a huge mistake?

***

“Are you on the debate team or something?” the girl asked me. Her name was Clea.

I tugged at the silky bow at my neck that I hadn’t remembered the shirt had until I’d put it on that morning. It had been choking me since I arrived at the college. I had obviously tied it too tight. “No, I’m not.”

“My best friend in high school was and I swear she had that exact same outfit.” She laughed like we were in on a joke together. She wore jeans and a graphic tee with a character I didn’t recognize on it.

I was already feeling anxious and this wasn’t helping. Two guys walked by and both stared at me until they passed.

“What’s that room used for?” I asked, pointing to our right.

“They’re all just classrooms.” She’d been giving me a tour for the last fifteen minutes and I could tell she’d never done it before. “I showed you the interesting places first. I should’ve saved them for the end.”

Shehadshown me some cool rooms—the CGI studio, which was all green aside from the tech, and the room that was all computers. Each station had two screens, a keyboard, an electronic drawing pad, and other things I couldn’t see. Each room we’d looked at had a class in session, so we really just peered in from the doorway.

“Is there an outside area anywhere?” I asked.

“You need vitamin D? I’m pretty much a vampire.”

“I do like the sun occasionally.”

“Well, that’s good because that’s probably as often as you’ll see it. You are in Seattle. You’re coming from the land of sun, right?”

“I am. Where are you from?” I asked.

“Here. So I’m used to it. But yes, there’s the roof, which is a pretty cool place to sit. There are chairs and tables. Some people sit and eat up there.”

“You have like a snack bar or something?”

“We’re pretty small. There’s a food court unrelated to the college downstairs. People buy stuff there or bring their own food.”

We passed a room with a handful of guys standing around a computer. “How many girls go here?”

“You mean right now in the summer session? Or in the fall?” she asked.

“Either.”

“Summer isn’t as full. There are five of us here. But that doubles in the fall.Go us.”

“Ten girls?”

“I know,” she said. “The industry has a long way to go. But we’re helping change it one girl at a time, right?” She held her fist out for me and I bumped it with a smile. Despite her comments about my outfit, I liked Clea. I liked her graphic tee and her nerdy quips. Maybe I would fit in here. The thought made me excited.

“And now we have arrived at your interview. Level two.” She bowed and presented a closed door.