And Other Mistakes by Erika Turner

Author:Erika Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

CHAPTER 13

Alas, even with the heavenly embrace of a blossoming romance, I must still contend with the eternal damnation that is academic probation. Thankfully for me, Naomi is a living saint. I mean, she is truly anointed, as the churchfolk would say, because I know that I am getting on her last damn nerve, and she still hasn’t cussed me out.

This is our first one-on-one meeting with her as my “peer adviser,” and we’ve been sitting here at Starbucks for the better part of an hour. So far, she’s managed to get me to list, oh, two colleges. One of them is in Narnia.

She wrote it down anyway.

“Okay,” she says finally. “Let’s talk about USD.”

Boooo. “Naomi. I told you. I’m going to the community college. If I go anywhere. Or maybe UNLV.”

She nods enthusiastically. “Great. That’s two local schools, and I think those are perfectly acceptable choices.”

“Cool. So can we go?”

“No, because you need to list eight more that exist in this universe.”

I groan. “Fine. Nevada State College.”

“Great! Okay, that’s three. Seven to go.”

“I can’t think of any more colleges in Las Vegas.”

“What about the university in Reno?”

“That’s too far.”

“Aaliyah,” she says, showing the barest hint of frustration. “Can I ask … why are you so obsessed with staying here?”

“Why are you so obsessed with me leaving?”

At this, she takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders, taking a moment to choose her words carefully. I don’t know why I’m being an asshole—I could just put her out of her misery—but I’m getting the tiniest bit of glee seeing Naomi frazzled.

“It’s not necessarily any of my business,” she says. “But from what you told me last year, your house doesn’t seem like … the safest place.”

Oh. I shift in my seat. “It’s fine.”

She does her adorable nose twitch and then sighs again. “We don’t have to talk about it. But, as your peer adviser, and your captain, it is my job to support you.”

“You don’t need to worry about me, Cap. I’m not going to fuck us over again this year, I promise.”

“That’s not—” Naomi cuts herself off as her phone buzzes on the table. Not surprisingly, a text message from Tessa pops up. My heart does a little jump, even though I’m not the one she’s texting. Plus, it’s probably about school. One may not guess it from appearances—Naomi’s got a much simpler style to Tessa’s more eclectic choices—but the two are oddly similar. Both calm, down-to-earth, and nerdy as fuck. Since our group date, they’ve created their own little study pod for geniuses. The only reason Tessa’s not here now is because peer advisory sessions are mandated one-on-one, unless a counselor is also present. “Reduces distractions,” and all that crap. So instead, I’m reduced to getting all fluttery at the mere sight of her name.

Naomi sends a quick response to Tessa’s text and then turns back to me. “Okay,” she says, smoothing down her completely unwrinkled shirt. “I’m going to get another iced tea. You want something?”

I shake my head no.

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