Страница 9 из 60
But a few months ago, she found out she was accepted into a summer poetry course at Harvard. The program was impossible to get into, and Ellie had only applied on a whim after seeing a flyer taped to the bulletin board of her English classroom, never thinking she might be chosen. There were only fifteen high school students from across the country who would get to spend the first three weeks of August studying poetry while staying in the Harvard dorms. But the program cost just over two thousand dollars, and there were no scholarships or financial aid.
The night she told Mom about it, she’d seen the hesitation in her eyes.
“It sounds like a great opportunity,” she began, choosing her words carefully. “And I’m so proud of you for getting in. But—”
Ellie didn’t let her finish. She couldn’t bear it. “And they gave me a scholarship too,” she found herself saying, relieved to see the light go back on behind Mom’s smile, the worry replaced by a look of pure pride.
“Of course they did,” she said, giving her a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
Ellie had needed to let them know she was coming by the end of May. At that point, she had exactly $178.24 in her savings account, and no plan whatsoever for how to make up the balance by the time the course started and the payment was due. But she sent back the form anyway, a check mark in the box beside the words “Yes, I will attend!”
The job at Sprinkles helped. But even with that and her pay from Happy Thoughts, Ellie’s calculations showed that at the end of the summer she was still going to be short by half. Qui
But she dreaded having to give up her spot in the course to some trust-fund kid who’d spent her summer lying by the pool at a country club. There was no way she couldn’t go, and there was no way she could ask Mom to help make up the difference when they were just getting by as it was. It only made it worse that Ellie knew she’d say yes. It didn’t matter what she needed to do—sell the shop, donate a kidney, rob a bank—Mom would make it happen, which was precisely why Ellie could never, ever ask her.
Since school had let out, she’d started to become more desperate, working all day at one job or another, and then babysitting at night. She could see that Mom was worried about her new industrious streak, the way that work was taking over her summer.
“You’re sixteen,” she said. “You should be out getting into trouble.”
“I’m fine,” Ellie told her, again and again.
Now, as they stood there on opposite sides of the counter, the wind chimes tinkling in the breeze from the window, Ellie was sure they were about to stumble into the discussion once again, the same one that had lately been ru
So when the door banged open, Ellie whirled around with a rush of relief. It took a moment for Qui
“Okay,” she said, her hands held up as if she were about to perform a spell. “Okay, okay, okay.”
Mom leaned forward and turned to Ellie. “Is she having a nervous breakdown?”
“This is serious, Mrs. O,” Qui
“Is everything okay?” Mom asked, still looking relatively unconcerned. Ellie and Qui
“Okay?” Qui
There were a few beats of silence as this a
“Who’s Graham Larking?” she asked, and Qui
“Graham Larkin,” she said, “is only one of the biggest stars in the world.”
Ellie laughed at the expression on Mom’s face, which was still utterly blank. “He’s in those magician movies,” she explained, “and now he’s the star of whatever they’re filming here.”
“And you’re going out with him?” Mom said to Qui
“He was in Sprinkles,” Ellie explained. “And he must have thought Qui
Qui
Ellie couldn’t help feeling sorry for poor Devon Alexander, who’d been in love with Qui
“Well,” Mom said, grabbing a red rubber ball from the jar beside the register and tossing it absently from one hand to the other, “you’ve come to the right place. I’m proud of my daughter for a great many things, but most particularly for her fashion sense…”
“Very fu
“I really just need her for moral support,” Qui
“I just got here…” Ellie began, but Mom was nodding.
“It’s okay,” she said, still juggling the red ball. “Really. We can’t send Qui
There was a teasing note in her voice, but Qui
Mom fumbled the ball, which fell to the floor, glancing off a bin full of snorkeling gear and then rolling off into a corner. “Cameras, huh?”
“Yeah, tons of them,” Qui
“Yeah,” Ellie said, looking sideways at Mom. “It is.”
“Too bad I don’t want to be an actress. Or a reality-TV star or something,” Qui
“Yes,” Mom said, regaining herself. “It’s a terrible shame you only want to be a marine biologist. I suppose it would be much more useful to have been asked out to di
Qui
“Then I guess you’ll have to make do with the movie star,” Mom said with a smile. “Just be careful of those photographers, okay?”
“I will,” Qui
“That’s not quite what I meant,” Mom said. “But you’re right. Better go find something appropriate to wear. Your wardrobe specialist is officially free for the afternoon.”