Spring Break Mistake by Allison Gutknecht

Author:Allison Gutknecht
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

“Who’re you stalking there?” Kensington startles me to the point that I nearly drop my phone on the floor.

I look at Roberto, who is leading a discussion about another photo, and I send her a text instead of replying out loud.

The guy who said he liked my picture, I type, and I watch Kensington read it.

Tate? she writes back.

? I don’t know his name.

It’s Tate, Kensington answers. He was the roommate I was initially assigned to. You know, when they thought I was a boy.

Ha. His PhotoReady name is @TaterTotter.

I’m sure you think that’s adorable. I’ll introduce you after this joy is over.

Nooooooo, so embarrassing! Don’t you dare!

Well, now I’m definitely going to, she says. You pretty much cemented your fate.

I send back an angry face, followed by, I don’t like to meet new people.

That would explain your “welcoming” reaction to me, Kensington writes, and I have to laugh.

He looks much older than us, right? I ask about Tate.

Speak for yourself.

No, but really, I continue. He looks like he’s in high school.

He’s in eighth grade, so a year older? Kensington writes. He lives somewhere near Boston. And that’s all the info I got before they realized I wasn’t a boy.

I sense movement around the room and lift my head to see people rising from their seats. “What’s going on?” I ask Sofia.

“Roberto is giving us a ten-minute break,” she says. “Have you two listened to a single word today?”

“This one blanked out after she realized she had a fan,” Kensington answers. “Come on, I’ll introduce you. You should come too, Short Stack.”

“Am I supposed to be Short Stack?” Sofia asks her.

“Well, you are short, and I assume you can eat multiple pancake stacks in record time, so yes,” Kensington replies.

“Okay, that’s valid,” Sofia says, and she follows as Kensington drags me—truly drags me—across the room.

“Tate!” Kensington calls when we’re still at least ten feet away from him. I immediately stand up straight and try to look normal, rather than like a toddler who is being pulled across the room against her will. And I swear, something about the way he turns makes it look like he’s moving in slow motion, like I have many minutes to prepare myself for the face-to-face encounter instead of the half a second it actually takes. I want to lower my eyes, to not witness his reaction to this all-but-certainly awkward introduction, but I also can’t seem to look away.

“Hey, Kenz,” he says.

Kenz?

“Kenz?” Sofia says out loud, echoing my thoughts. “Didn’t she shoot down all nicknames within moments of meeting us?”

Kensington ignores her. “Hey, roomie,” she greets him, casually friendly, and very unlike the Kensington who was dumped on our doorstep yesterday. How long, exactly, did it take for the PhotoRetreat people to realize Kensington wasn’t a boy before they broke these two up? Because they seem awfully chummy.

“Excuse you, we’re your roomies,” Sofia interjects, followed immediately by, “Hi, I’m Sofia.” She extends her hand to shake Tate’s.

“Charmed,” Tate responds. Charmed? “And I recognize @AvalonByTheC here.

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