Meet Cute by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author:Jennifer L. Armentrout
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Oomph

— — — — — —

EMERY LORD

I BLAME IT on being the oldest child. I also blame it a little on my parents, who moved my family to the contained, drivable suburbs of Indianapolis. I definitely blame whatever genetics wired my dad to be an Olympics-qualifying worrier.

“Hi again, Dad,” I say into the phone. My throat is relaxed, the pitch of my voice cheerful. I am the picture of not annoyed.

“I can hear you rolling your eyes, Cass.”

I throw one hand up in the air, though there’s no one with me to acknowledge my exasperation. And that—my aloneness—is exactly why he has already texted me four times since I got in the cab. Once was to make sure I was going to JFK, not LaGuardia. C’mon, Dad. New York is intimidating, but I do have basic capabilities.

“Cassidy. Are you there?”

Deep breath. I’m a trained actress, but it takes a toll, pretending I am fine for my parents when I am internally freaking out. “Yes, Dad. I’m walking into JFK right now. I still have my driver’s license and my boarding pass.”

“Well, I just looked up your flight again, and it’s delayed now.”

“I know. But only an hour.”

“I’m looking at the weather, honey, and I think you should expect more delays.”

It’s been a sloppy April so far, rain kicking up slush. For me, a pull-your-coat-tighter spring break in New York instead of the South Carolina beach trip some other seniors took. “I know, Dad.”

I imagine his frown, lit by his tablet, as he switches between the airline website and the weather app. My mom is almost certainly nearby, with an online crossword pulled up and maybe the Anthropologie website, cruising drapey sweaters in the Sale section.

“I’m just saying, keep an eye out for changes, okay? And maybe eat a proper dinner since you’re delayed now. I know airport food is expensive, but—”

“Dad, I’m getting into the security line.”

“Okay,” he says. “I’ll let you go.”

Will you? I wonder, and I can almost hear it—the distant clang of the next phase of my life, hurtling down the tracks. It’s coming. Six months away. And that phase will carry me right back here, for college. Supposedly.

“Bye, Dad,” I say, quiet now.

This was a trial run for them, letting me travel to New York alone. Last summer, we did a family road trip to Manhattan, all five of us crammed in a hotel room in Times Square. The second time, it was just me and my mom, for my audition.

It all seemed terrifying and magical, until about three days ago when I realized, sitting at a party in my best friend’s dorm, that I have made a terrible mistake. Now it is simply terrifying.

I spent the rest of my trip secretly Googling whether or not you can get deposit money back from a university. Ivy kept asking, “What’s goin’ on, Cass?” and I didn’t even lie. I said, “Just thinking about next year.” Then she’d loop her arm through mine and chatter excitedly about how we’ll be in plays together just like at home, only at NYU this time.

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