This Time It's Real by Ann Liang
Author:Ann Liang [Liang, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2023-02-02T00:00:00+00:00
⢠⢠â¢
I decide to give Caz his presents before lunch.
Heâs recently started shooting some big-budget xianxia drama based on a super-popular web novel, so he doesnât show up at school in the mornings anymoreâmaking this the earliest possible time I can get it all over with. Iâll hand him the gifts and forget about it for the rest of the day.
But as I draw closer to Cazâs locker, the jar of paper cranes in my hands, the candles and birthday cake tucked deep in my schoolbag, I feel two things snake past the sharp of my ribs.
Hope.
Dumb, dangerous hope.
And dread.
It should be physically impossible for them to coexist inside meâthis silly lightness in my chest, buoying me up, and this heavy sinking sensation in my gut. But now, in broad daylight, with Caz standing right there, as unfortunately beautiful as ever, Iâm forced to admit that what I wrote on those paper cranes wasnât just my exhaustion talking.
I might actually be crushing on Caz Song. Like a total sucker.
Even though our arrangement is already messy enough. Even though this makes yet another starry-eyed, rosy-cheeked fangirl with her heart on her sleeve.
As if to prove my point, in that very moment, Cazâs usual gang of friends come spilling through the locker area and swarm around him.
âHappy birthday, my man,â Daiki calls, slapping Cazâs shoulder while the others echo the sentiment with loud whoops, and Savannah, grinning widely, pulls out one of the most beautiful cakes Iâve ever seen.
My heart sinks.
Itâs the kind of creamy white, multitiered, elaborately decorated cake that wouldnât look out of place at a fancy wedding, with delicate blue flowers frosted over the sides and glistening bubble tea pearls placed at the very top. A few random onlookers gasp, some inching closer in hopes of getting a slice.
Suddenly, my own cake feels ridiculous.
It was an absurd idea to make it in the first place. Absurd to hope.
Iâm already walking away, debating whether or not to just give my cake to Emily for lunch, when I hear someone call my name.
âEliza! Elizaâwait up.â
I turn around, surprised. Caz is pushing his way through the crowd, past his adoring fans. Moving straight toward me. And I realize abruptly that the only thing worse than having a crush on a star is being made aware of it. My pulse speeds up, and if this were one of Cazâs campus dramas, thereâd definitely be slow, romantic music playing in the background right now.
Oh god.
This is everything I was afraid of.
âDamn, you walk fast.â He shakes his head. Behind him, all his friends are nudging one another and watching us the way youâd watch a particularly fascinating episode of a drama, eyes wide and mouths half-open. Savannah is still holding the giant cake.
âYeah, well, I have, um, plans already so â¦â I force myself to smile, but all of a sudden I canât remember if I used to smile at him before. Or smile this wide. Iâm terrified thereâs a neon sign projecting my feelings from my forehead.
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