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“Wait, what?” Matt looked up. “No, Julie. It’s fine.”
She stopped just outside the hall. “You don’t mind that I’m here?”
“No. It makes sense. We’ve got an extra room.”
Gee, thanks for the enthusiasm. “At least you won’t have to come home to be with Celeste in the afternoons, since I’ll be doing that. You’ll get more work done, right?”
“That’s true,” he agreed. “I will. Just don’t bother Celeste about Flat Fi
“OK. Good. Well, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Julie.”
She went to her room and shut the door. If Matt was cranky, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with her. But there was still something bothering her. She yawned and opened her laptop. Maybe Fi
Fi
Hey. Are you online? I need that advice sooner than I expected. Wondering if you can help me with Celeste. I think I did something wrong and upset her. We had a little girl time today which was great, and then… I don’t know. I must have done something wrong, I can’t think what. For a minute there, I thought she was going to cry. I feel terrible, and I’m worried she’s mad at me. I hope she is all right with me being here, because your brother seems less than thrilled. I know there is something going on with Celeste and Matt won’t talk about it. I’d like to help her out, but I’m at a loss.
Oh, and you could have told me about the tricky front lock and the creaky step! I’m lucky I didn’t wake your parents up at this hour!
-Julie
Julie got into her pajamas and then took her laptop into bed. Two minutes ago, Fi
Yup, Fi
Julie-
Celeste? Yeah. She’s complicated. I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong. I can tell that you already care about her, and I’m glad. My parents consulted some highly respected shrink who thinks that Flat Fi
My parents went through a ton of babysitters who were less tolerant of Flat Fi
Fifth step from the bottom? Sorry. I should have warned you. Slipped my mind. And the lock? You got the knob turn/key jiggle maneuver down already? Impressive. That one took me years to perfect. What were you doing out so late? Were you sneaking home late from a hot date already? In Boston only a few days, and you’ve already snagged a man. Celeste said you’re a romantic. Hope he took you to di
-Fi
Fi
Yes, incredibly hot date tonight. I’ve only been in town a few days, and I’ve already snagged a native Bostonian, whom I plan on totally corrupting with my college girl wiles. I refused both the four-star restaurant and the boring opera tickets, and just dragged him to a cheap motel. I came home with smeared lipstick, my hair a mess, and my shirt inside out. How’s that for romance, baby!
Or, I just went to a party on campus, chatted for a few hours, and came home alone. You decide.
OK, I’ll try not to screw things up with Celeste. But Flat Fi
I want to see pictures, too! My travel experience is limited to a selection of boring cities in Ohio, one excruciating weekend in Jacksonville to visit some senile fourth cousin of my mother’s, and a trip to Yosemite one summer where I stepped on a wasp’s nest and got bitten seven times.
-Julie
Julie-
Not sure when I’ll be home. I’m really entrenched in all of this traveling business and have committed to volunteering for a number of different places. I’m going on a two-week scuba diving trip not far from here (just for fun), and then I’m off to coach kids’ football in Ghana. I lost my phone in Palau and trying to replace it when moving around so much is a nightmare. I hop on computers at volunteer headquarters, etc. when I can, but phone service is usually sketchy where I am.
Here are the pics I sent Celeste. (I do have one picture of a senile Ohio wasp, but I don’t want to make you feel nostalgic.)
I choose boring campus party.
-Fi
Julie checked out the three pictures he’d attached to his message. Any non-brain-dead girl would be impressed. The two photos of him standing next to an elephant were great, but the best one was a shot of Fi
Then she did what any girl would do: she Googled him. Eight-minutes of scrolling through search results and clicking on links got her nowhere, although she did learn that there was a Fi
She looked at the pictures again. Yes, indeed. Fi
Julie stopped herself. This was silly. She couldn’t possibly have a crush on someone she’d only exchanged a few messages with, right? Because that would be abnormal. Insane. Completely not based in reality. She was not that desperate. Besides, Boston was likely teeming with smart, adorable boys. Not that having a boyfriend was really a priority, but it wouldn’t be awful.
And while the pictures were attractive and distracting, she hadn’t failed to notice that Fi
Chapter 10
“What if the clip comes out?” Celeste squirmed as Julie fixed her hair.
“It won’t.”