Page 11

The following Saturday, I met up with Everly for breakfast.

“What are you doing today?” I asked.

She looked at me over her glass of apple juice, jokingly narrowing her eyes. The tails of her two French braids were hanging over her shoulders of her Blue Haven Bobcats t-shirt as she leaned in closer. “Why? What do you want?”

I looked at her in mock horror. “Maybe I just want to spend the afternoon with my best friend getting to know the campus better.”

Everly raised her eyebrow and downed the rest of her juice. I sent her Sierra’s link for the scavenger hunt.

“I knew it. You’re just using me for my problem-solving skills.”

I shot her an exaggerated look of exasperation. “Yes, Everly. I’ve been friends with you for fifteen years because I knew I was going to need help with this exact scavenger hunt in college.”

She scanned the clues before grinning at me. “This is going to be so much fun. You know I’m the riddle queen. But we aren’t allowed to look at the clues until we leave to start it. You didn’t cheat did you?” She narrowed her eyes.

I held my hands up in mock surrender, eyes wide. “I would never.”

“Okay,” she laughed. “Just had to make sure.”

“Did I read the clues without you?” I muttered, making sure she could hear me. “What kind of best friend do you think I am?”

“The kind that takes too long to finish pancakes. Now hurry up so we can go do this scavenger hunt.”

***

“Okay, so we have five clues,” Everly said, reading from her phone as we left the dining hall.

“Hit me with the first one.”

Close to Chemistry

Lives a tiny appliance

It’s used to toast bread

I shook my head. “We’re way too far away from Chemistry to start with that one. What’s next?”

“Okay, number two is:”

The fastest of dogs

In the middle of campus

Near the tallest tree

Everly put her phone in her pocket and looked at me.

“What do you think, riddle queen?” I teased. “There are only a million greyhound statues on campus.” I gestured to my NFSU shirt with the mascot greyhound running across the chest.

She rolled her eyes at me. “It’s got to be the one engraved on that plaque by the tree in the middle of the plaza.”

“We can swing by this one on the way to Chemistry. Aren’t there any clues that are closer to where we are right now?” I asked.

She scrolled for a brief minute, and said “Oh, here!

A place to relax

Cool off in the splashing water

Don’t take off your shoes

That’s the fountain by administration, I think. I guess we should head there, and we can get the greyhound over there, too.”

I nodded. “Sure. Where are the other two?”

She skimmed the rest of the flier. “Umm, it looks like the History building and the flower garden near Plant Sciences. Let’s do the fountain and the greyhound. Then, we can circle back to Lady Grey on the way to Plant Sciences and Chemistry.”

“Can we swing by The Roasted Bean first?”

She rolled her eyes but started walking in the direction of the coffee shop. “You haven’t found a favorite yet?”

“Everly, We’ve only been here for two weeks. You know I’m not picking a favorite until I get through the entire menu.”

“Well, what are you in the mood for today?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Why don’t you pick something for me?” I nudged her with my elbow.

She looked at me sideways. “You sure you trust me enough for that?”

“I would trust you with my life. You know that. Just don’t pick something gross or I’ll never trust you with anything else again.”

***

When we got to the Roasted Bean, Everly went to order our drinks. While I waited, I read the other two clues.

The oldest building

A statue of Guinevere

Our own Lady Grey

That one was definitely easy. There was only one notable statue of Lady Grey on campus, and the History building was the first one that had been built.

Lady Grey was Guinevere Grey, the wife of the first president of the university. Her favorite breed of dog had been the greyhound, resulting in the university mascot. She’d been more popular than her husband during his long tenure as president and a statue of her had been put up outside the History building.

“This was definitely designed for first year students,” I said to myself, looking down to the last clue.

Among the giants

Sits a small group of minis

Please don’t take the seeds

“Oh, my sunflowers!” I said as Everly walked up next to me holding two cups in her hands. “What did you get me?”

“Just close your eyes and try it.”

I closed my eyes and took a big sip. A burst of cherry flavor and sweet cream hit my tongue and I immediately knew what it was.

Black cherry Italian cream soda.

“This one is cheating. You know how much I like these.”

She smiled and shrugged. “You told me to make sure it wasn’t gross.”

“Well, you’re not wrong.” I looked down at her cup and saw that she had the same thing. “You ready for this?”

“Please. I was born ready for this. Let’s go check that fountain off our list.”

***

Everly and I had found the fountain, greyhound, and Lady Grey. We were on our way toward Plant Sciences when Sabrina called. Everly ignored it. Sabrina immediately called back, and Everly ignored it again.

“You know you can answer that, right?”

She shrugged. “This is our time, though. She knows I’m spending the afternoon with you.”

“What if it’s important?”

“It’s not. You just make her nervous,” she avoided eye contact and started walking faster.

Why would I make her nervous? What does she think I’m going to do?

“Everly, talk to me.”

“Okay, maybe not nervous,” she stopped, waiting for me to catch up. “She just doesn’t know how to act around you.”

“What do you mean?”

Everly shrugged, fidgeting with the purple tail of one of her braids. “She doesn’t know if there’s space for her in my life when you’re such a big part of it.”

I had so many thoughts running through my head, it was hard to decide which one to express first.

How much did Everly want Sabrina in her life?

How much was I willing to step aside to make room for someone new?

Would Tyler feel the same way?

The last thought surprised me. I hadn’t intended to put him in the same category as Sabrina.

“Okay, what can I do to make her more comfortable then?”

Everly shrugged again. “I don’t think it’s a you problem. She just doesn’t want to step on your toes, or make you think she’s trying to push you out.”

I gave her a look. “That’s not helpful.”

She heaved a deep sigh and started walking toward Plant Sciences again. “I know. I’ll talk to her,” she said quietly.

We walked in silence for a few minutes. I was waiting for her to elaborate more on Sabrina, but I didn’t know what to say to push her.

“So,” she said, a little too loudly, “what’s the latest with Tyler?”

I guess the topic of Sabrina is off the table for now.

I shot her a sideways look and she slightly shook her head.

“Just let me talk to her first,” Everly said.

Fine. Only for you.

“There really isn't much to tell. Luisa and I saw him when we volunteered at the shelter on Monday. Apparently he plays guitar for the dogs, which-”

“Which makes him perfect for you,” she squealed, taking my hands in hers and dancing us around in a circle. “You love dogs, and he loves dogs. You love green eyes and he has green eyes. Oh, I bet he has this really hot accent, too. Yes?”

I smiled, thinking of Tyler’s small smiles and striking green eyes. “I wouldn’t know. He still hasn’t said a word to me.”

“Oh, so he’s like really quiet. Have you asked him why?” She let go of my hands to pull her phone out of her back pocket.

“No. I haven’t thought about how to do that yet. It would be weird for me to just come out and ask him. We aren’t like friends, but I think we’re more than just classmates. There’s just something about him…”

Everly’s phone rang. She looked up at me, a guilty look on her face.

What are you hiding from me?

“Sorry,” she said. “Sabrina just, well-”

“Go,” I said, sounding more encouraging than I felt. Pulling her into a hug, I continued, “We lost our ambition for this scavenger hunt anyway. I’m going to hang out here for a while before I head back.”

She pulled away and started heading back toward the dorms. “You need to tell me the minute you have an update about Tyler,” she said over her shoulder. “And let me know when I can meet him.”