10
A month later, the SAT scores were released.
Adrian and I were tied for first place in the state, and first in our school.
As for Sean, he didn’t even manage to hold on to second place. His total score had plummeted, dropping his
Chapter 2
school ranking by dozens of places.
1922
The day we went to pick up our acceptance letters, Adrian walked me home. When we reached my doorstep, he suddenly stopped.
He looked at me, the tips of his ears turning red. “You told me that if I helped you beat Sean, you would grant me one wish. I want to be clear… you can refuse this wish. I won’t force you.”
He took a deep breath, and his fingers tightened around mine, his voice slightly hoarse with nerves. “Will you… be my girlfriend?”
I didn’t answer.
I saw Adrian’s heart sink.
Just then, I stood on my toes and gave him a quick, light kiss on the lips, as soft as a dragonfly landing or water. Then I pulled my hand away and, blushing furiously, bolted for my front door.
I left him standing there, utterly unsatisfied and adorably flustered, pacing back and forth on the sidewalk.
That summer, our principal celebrated the school’s two new Harvard students by setting off firecrackers at the main gate. On the honor roll, my name and Adrian’s were right next to each other, so close that someone joked they looked like a wedding announcement.
Olivia’s exam scores were a disaster; she decided to repeat the year. Sean’s grades had fallen so much that his shot at an Ivy League was gone; he had to settle for a state school.
And I had finally given my youth the happy ending it deserved.
Extra:
Adrian first met Ava when they were children.
He was born with a rare congenital condition: a third arm, underdeveloped and fused to his torso, connected to fragile internal organs, making surgical removal incredibly difficult. As a premature baby, his body was too weak for the operation, so for the first nine years of his life, the third arm remained.
At the hospital, every child who saw him would scream and cry, calling him a hideous monster. His nickna-
me was “the freak.”
The Adrian of those nine years was not cool or aloof. He was insecure, sensitive, and fragile. He shut himse- If off from the world, refusing to interact with anyone.
Then, when he was eight years old, a new girl was admitted to his ward. Her name was Ava.
Ava was beautiful. Her skin was so pale it seemed to glow. She had large, round eyes like a deer’s-clear, clean, and so pure you could see right through to her soul. She wore a white dress and her soft, long hair fell down her back. She looked like an angel.
Back then, he never could have imagined that this same angelic Ava would one day humble herself to dust
Chapter 2
for the love of her childhood friend.
Of all the children in the ward, Ava was the only one willing to play with him.
“Aren’t you scared of me?” Adrian asked her once.
19.22
Ava blinked her big, innocent eyes. “Why would I be scared? I’m actually kind of jealous. You have an extra hand. You can probably do your homework much faster than the rest of us.”
Adrian was speechless.
But Ava didn’t just play with him; she played with all the other children, too. She gave every single person that same angelic smile.
Adrian didn’t want her to play with anyone else. He was jealous of every boy who could run alongside her, a jealousy that burned so fiercely it felt like madness.
He spent nine years fighting to become someone worthy of standing by her side. He endured the excision surgery, the painful post-op recovery, swallowing the bitterest medicine and pushing through agonizing phys- ical therapy. He forced himself to become the top student.
And when he had pushed and strived and finally, finally felt he might be worthy of standing next to her…
He found himself, on a perfectly ordinary day, in a classroom, sitting at the desk right behind hers. And with the weight of a ten-year crush behind him, he raised his hand and, at last, confessed.
