PROLOGUE

Natalie

I can’t find them. I rummage through my bag carefully because I don’t want to make a mess. Where are these tickets? I pull out my phone and turn on its flashlight. I hold it above my bag with one hand and the other hand moves through the mess of my bag. I hear the bell ring and panic. Chloe’s getting out of class now. I need to hurry. I sigh and decide to just do it. I dump out all the contents of my bag onto the grimy, locker room floor. I see my mom’s pills rolling towards the door. I get up and run, hoping they don’t go out the room. The jar hits the edge of a locker, giving me time to pick it up. 

I grip it tightly, rubbing it all over to make sure nothing’s missing. I go back to my pile and sit cross legged in front of it. My notebook catches my eye, so I flip through it, checking to see if the tickets are in between one of the pages. Instead, I find a couple of dollar bills. I put them safely into my wallet and run my fingers through my hair. Chloe probably left already. 

I lift my bag off the floor and start putting my things back in it. As I’m putting my charger back in, I spot them. My heart slows down and I release my breath. The tickets are not lost. Thank God. I grab them and think about putting them in my front jean pocket and pulling my shirt over it, but Chloe would know right away. I love her but sometimes, her intelligence is overwhelming. I can’t slip up one bit or the surprise will be ruined. So, instead I stuff them into the front pocket of my bag, separated from everything else so I don’t lose them again. I zip up my bag hurriedly and sling it onto my shoulder. I run out of the locker room, almost bumping into the gym teacher. 

“Hey!” 

I act like I don’t hear him and continue running. I can’t risk missing Chloe.

CHAPTER ONE

Chloe

We were just finishing up our reports for English class, when the school bell rings. Ugh. I dread the sound of the bell at this time. It means we have to leave and go to another class, and I don’t want to. It’s like that thing in psychology, classical conditioning. I associate the bell with boredom. Bell = Boredom. Boredom = Bell. 

Nothing compares to English class. The discussions, fun readings, divers topics to cover, what’s not to love? That’s why I don’t get why no one enjoys it. I get that the essays are annoying and explaining every claim you make with thorough reasoning is excessive but that’s pretty much how everything in life is. Your parents don’t listen to you unless they have endless amounts of proof, you have to go to extreme lengths to be heard, in your job, you have to write boring stuff all the time (at least that’s what I’ve heard)... That’s just how it works. So, why don’t more people try to see the good in it? 

My thoughts are tuned out when I get pushed by the other seniors, rushing past their desks out of English towards their next classes. For me, it’s History. Which sucks since that’s a class I can’t wrap my head around. All we learn about is past events and past heroes and leaders and their enemies. It’s so somber. Plus, the discussions are boring ‘cause there’s always a firm right and wrong answer. Just push me out a window. 

This time, though, I’m not alone in my feelings. Pretty much everyone hates history as much as I do. It’s weird how much our opinions differ from each other yet we share a lot of common hatreds. Is this how politics work? 

I go to my locker, where the words Lake View High School are engraved. I love tracing the gold, script letters against the deep, blue locker. It’s almost like a ritual. I trace. Then put in my combination. Then open the door. I check to see that nothing’s out of place. I take out my English papers from by bag and exchange them for my history textbooks. I check the time on my phone. 8:57. Oh my gosh, what’s taking Natalie so long? She told me to wait for her at my locker. If she doesn’t show up soon, (and by soon I mean in the next thirty seconds) I’m leaving. 

Just as I was going to pick up my backpack, I hear my name bounce off the walls. 

“CHLOE!,” Natalie yells. 

She’s at the end of the hall. 

“Hey. What took you so long?” 

She runs towards me. “Forget about that, I need to show you something.” 

By the gleam of her eyes, I can tell she is going to show me something big. 

I can’t help but ask, “What is it?” 

“You’ll see.”

She grabs me by my wrist and pulls me along with her. We go down a few halls until at last we slow down by the girls’ bathroom. We walk into the bathroom and stand in front of the sinks. Natalie takes out her phone, so I look over her shoulder. 

“Stop it,” she turns and faces the wall. 

I move closer to her but she turns the other way. I move again and she turns even faster this time. For extra safety, she covers her phone, so I decide to stop annoying her. 

I lean against an empty stall and stare into the mirrors. I keep a poker face but inside I am boiling with excitement. Surprises are Natalie’s thing. She is always coming up with the craziest plans whether it’s for a vacation or us just hanging out. Last spring break, she surprised me by taking me to go dirt bike riding. Another time, it was scuba diving. The surprises just keep getting better and better. I feel like one day, she’s gonna take us for a ride in a rocket ship. Honestly, I wouldn’t be too shocked. 

“What is so important that you couldn’t just show me at my locker?” 

“Ok, I’m done. You can look now.” 

I walk up next to her and look at her phone between us, both of her hands covering it. I see her promise ring, twinkling in the bathroom lights. 

“Soo, that’s it? Your hand? I get it, you tanned.” 

“Did you know you’re really sarcastic?” 

“Sorry, I just really want to know. You’re killing me.” 

“Ok, ok.” Natalie pauses. “Promise you won’t get too excited. And don’t tell anyone about what I’m about to show you. Except your mom, of course.” 

I’m just thinking, who would I even tell? She’s like my only friend. “ Of course.” 

When she finally lifts up her hand, it shows a picture of 2 airplane tickets next to each other. 

“Stop!”

Natalie smiles. “Read it!” 

I snatch the phone out of her hand and bring it close to my face. I zoom in on the flight information with my fingers. 

Departure 9:45 a.m.
Chicago, IL —> Paris, France

CHAPTER TWO

Natalie

The look on her face when she saw the tickets was hilarious. I wish I could’ve taken a picture of it. Or just a video of her whole reaction. I would replay it all the time, just to embarrass her. 

First, Chloe started screaming quietly. Then, she kept repeating “No way, Nat,” over and over again, different pitches each time. 

“Lower your voice, Chloe.” 

Chloe covers her mouth but she keeps moving around excitedly. 

“Also, please don’t call me Nat unless you want me to give this to Hailey,” I say, waving the tickets in her face. 

“Sorry, Lee- you have them with you?!,” her mouth opens slightly. 

She grabs the tickets out of my hand, tearing them a little. 

“Oops.” 

She marvels over the sight of them. “So this is real, not a fake ticket you printed off ‘line?” 

“Of course, they’re real. I’m not that harsh.” 

“I literally thought you were gonna show me a picture of a cabin we were gonna stay at or a rental car. Paris? This is a whole ‘nother level.” 

“I knew this is something you’ve wanted to do for a while now.” 

“Yeah, with my family in like... 10 years.” 

“So are you saying I shouldn’t have bought them?” 

“NO. I’m so glad you did. This is the best surprise ever.” Chloe pauses, thinking. “I don’t know how you’re gonna top it off next year.” 

I smiled. I hadn’t thought that far ahead but I knew I could pull it off. 

“So, when are we going?” 

“Spring break.” 

“When-” 

“We’ve got to go before we’re late to class.” 

Chloe pulls me in for a hug. “You’re the best, Natalie.” 

I pull away. “Yeah, let’s not do this right now.” 

Chloe smirks. “But seriously, you really didn’t have to. How can you even afford thi-” 

“We HAVE to get to class,” I cut her off and pull her arm so we step out of the bathroom. 

Chloe still doesn’t know about my job, so I don’t want her asking questions. Especially, after I just surprised her with her dream trip. We rush through the hallways, passing various bulletin boards and lockers. There’s barely anyone in the halls since class is starting. We finally arrive at History with a halt. There is a giant line that stretches from the history door all the way to the science door. 

“What’s this all about?,” I ask Phoebe, who is standing at the end of the line. 

“Oh, just another one of his sign-in before you enter the classroom games,” she says. 

“Of course.” Mr. Gaines can really be a pain in the neck. 

I pull out my phone to reply to my astronomical amount of texts and DMs. While I’m at it, I scroll through my email, to see if there was any updates on my college application status. Zilch. I do see an email from my job at the local restaurant, though. My schedule for the week. Lovely. 

“I’m going to check out what’s happening,” I say to Phoebe. 

I walk up to the semi-open door and look inside. Mr. Gaines is leaning on his desk, watching everyone sign in and proceed to walk into the classroom. Freddy, who is at the front of the line, is signing the paper which says, ‘History Essays or Nah?’ Today, the history essay is due. And as always, Mr. Gaines is trying to be cool. Not out of the ordinary. So, I go back to my spot on line. Now, for another hour of dread. 

After everyone has finished signing in and checking off if they did the essay or not, we sit down in our assigned seats. 

“Good morning, kiddos.” 

Mr. Gaines’ booming voice wakes up the two boys who are already sleeping. 

“Good morning, Mr. Gaines,” a few people reply back. 

“At least some of you have a little bit of life,” Mr. Gaines shakes his head. 

“I am glad to see that almost everyone has brought in their essay. That marks the end of Unit 7: Work, Exchange, and Technology. So, today you start your group project for the new unit: US Politics. Get to work.” 

About 10 hands shoot up in the air, including Chloe’s. 

“Brennan?” 

“You never told us who we’re going to work with.” 

“Work with whoever you want. Only 4 to a group, please. Chloe?” 

“You didn’t really give us directions for this project...” 

“Oh, here.” He turns around to face his desk and picks up a pile of papers. 

“Brandy, pass this out,” Mr. Gaines passes the pile to the girl in the button up top in front of him. 

“You know, that’s not my name. It’s Stephanie.” 

“I was just referring to your outfit.” 

The class snickers. Stephanie rolls her eyes and passes out the assignment. Once she was done, everyone scatters around the classroom, meeting with their friends, and debating who goes with who. This is always interesting to watch. It’s always easy for me because I have friends in all my classes and if not I make them immediately. But that’s not the case for most high schoolers. They swarm in cliques. The loud ones. The musical theatre kids. The studious ones. The ones that don’t wanna be here. To be quite frank, none of us do, but they show it the most. 

Chloe, Phoebe, Jessica, and I become a group. Jessica reads the assignment aloud. 

“In this poster, you must outline the purpose of each amendment. You must also include historical context for each amendment. Don’t forget to include the amendments themselves. I know this project is lit, but please don’t stray away from the main task.” 

I physically cringe after Jessica says that last sentence. “ ‘The heck you just said Jessica?” 

I grab the paper and read it for myself. 

“Which part?” 

“He really said lit.” 

“Yeah, let’s just move past that,” Phoebe says. 

“Um, anyways...Chlo, the brainiac of creativity, have any ideas?” 

Chloe grins. “We could use a poster that has a gradient effect.”  

“Where do you find posters like that?” 

“I’ve seen some in Michaels.” 

“I actually happen to have a poster similar to that at home,” Jessica says. 

“Great, so we can start tomorrow.” 

“Have any more ideas, Chlo?” 

“Well, we need to know what we’re going to write and how much space it’s going to take up. Then, we need-” 

I daze off after that. Chloe’s level of her thinking is so high but then she talks like this. I really hope for her that she learns how to talk more... I don’t know... simple? 

Sometimes, I sincerely question how we even became friends. We are polar opposites. But opposites attract. That’s what they say, right? Me, a dancer, with no interest in school, best friends with a genius that rambles on about a poster. 

“So Natalie, wanna be the leader?” 

I was obviously the leader. It is the least strenuous task, and I’m all for it. I can’t have anything more added to my plate right now, with all my college prep and dance and making time for Logan. Without mentioning my mom. 

I tried to help with the research but my head was all over the place. I couldn’t concentrate on amendments and reasoning and etcetera when I have more important things to worry about. I hope my mom doesn’t realize it was me that took her pills. 

The only thing I remember doing is giving them designated roles and splitting up the amendments into four groups. With my amazing leadership skills, despite my distractedness, we got half of the work done by the time the bell rang.

CHAPTER THREE

Chloe

The squeaks of sneakers against the white tile floor are deafening. We were playing basketball. The boys against the girls. Mr. John is watching us from the bleachers. His cerulean eyes chase the boys’ defense. 

“Pass!,” I yell. 

The orange ball flies towards me. I catch it just before it hits the floor. I run and dribble the ball across the floor. Boom, boom. I drown out Phoebe’s voice, insisting that I pass the ball to her. Boom, boom. That’s all I pay attention to. I look up and see that I am directly in front of 2 boys with their arms up. I almost bump into them but risk it and run past them. I can feel them sprinting, nearing me. I keep running to basket. I finally get close enough to the hoop and do a layup. The basketball hits the backboard and spins around the rim slowly various times. 

Everyone is silent. I glance to my right. Brennan is there, ready to get the rebound. I instantly put my hands up, ready to catch it if it doesn’t go in. After about 5 spins, it goes in and Mr. John blows into the ear-piercing whistle. All the girls cheer and head for me. They lift me up and carry me, mosh pit style. 

I am so high up that I can see everything all at once. The top bleachers, the emergency exits, the storage room, the linoleum floor. It is such a great, inexplicable feeling. The only way I can describe it is like having a lot of power; being in control of all life, not just yours. The boys glare at each other, shoving and mumbling curses. One of them grabs the basketball and slams it on the floor. It bounces really high. I just laugh the whole time. 

“4 to 2,” says Mr. John to Clara, who is counting up the scores. 

The bell rings. 

“Ok, everyone. Remember, tomorrow is the championship. Practice, practice, practice. The winning team gets a pizza party.” 

I run to the bleachers to get my pink duffel bag. Mr. John signals me over to where he is. 

“Good game out there.” 

“Thank you. I try.” 

“I wish everyone had that attitude.” 

I nod understandingly. 

“Ok, I won’t take up more of your time. Go on.” 

“Bye, Mr. John.” 

He gives me a half wave. I walk to the girls’ locker room, where Phoebe and Jessica catch up to me and congratulate me. 

“That layup-” 

“You are so good at basketball. I wish I was even close to that skill.” 

“You guys are just being supportive friends. I’m decent.” 

“No, you’re modest.” 

I shake my head. 

“Any major homework for tomorrow?” 

“The history poster for one.” 

“Right. And that physics worksheet?” 

“It’s not due until Friday.” 

“Where’s Natalie?” 

I untie my Nike’s and pull off my socks. 

“Who knows? Probably taking pictures of herself.” 

“Yeah,” Jessica says. 

Our eyes lock; she gives me a ‘you already know’ look. 

I turn around to face the lockers and take off my gym shirt. 

“I’m gonna go look for Natalie,” Phoebe says. 

I flash her a thumbs up while I put on my collared shirt. 

“So what’s up with Natalie? I mean like her running around everywhere recently.” 

I turn around and look at Jessica puzzled. “What do you mean her running around?” 

“Oh. Well I’ve seen her going to the lunchroom and going the opposite direction of her next class between periods.” 

I layer my fleece sweatshirt over my shirt, giving me time to think about what Jessica just said. 

“That’s a little strange.” 

I switch my shorts with black leggings. Then I pop on some flats. 

“She told me not to tell anyone but she bought us some plane tickets somewhere I cannot say. Maybe that’s what she was doing.” 

“Why in school though?” 

I freshen up and do my makeup. “Natalie’s just weird like that I guess.” 

Jessica nods but she doesn’t seem convinced. “Well, I’m gonna go now. Bye!” 

“Bye.” 

I walk out of the foul-smelling locker room and past all the doors. As I turn a corner, I see a dark blur run past me. I recognize the short-lengthen brunette anywhere. 

“Natalie, wait up!,” I yell. 

Natalie whips around and gives me a worried smile. 

“Hey!” 

“Hi.” 

I walk up to her. 

“Where were you?” 

“In the bathroom.” 

“Ok. You usually go to the locker room with me.” 

“I guess I didn’t want to go inside that stinky locker room today.” 

“Good point. Ok, let’s go.” 

“By the way, you were great today, Chlo. What aren’t you good at?” 

“Um, let’s see... tennis, singing, trying new foods. I could continue.” 

“I’d rather not hear it.” 

We laugh. Natalie was her usual, charming self. My previous doubts wash away. Jessica must’ve been overreacting. I trust Natalie, she would tell me if something is up. So, we walk out of Lake View High with our arms linked together.