Chapter 7: New Beginnings

When the college admission letters arrived, I found out that both Melissa and I got into NYU.

We were thrilled and decided to celebrate our unbreakable friendship.

At the mall, we bumped into Sarah.

So the two became three, and we went for pizza together.

Tony’s Pizza smelled like garlic knots and old linoleum. There was a faded Yankees pennant over the counter.

Sarah was even more excited than us. “Now I can hang out with you guys again! Lucky I ran into you—hey, don’t forget about me, third wheel here!”

She got along with us really well. Like Rachel, she was a top student, and also Rachel’s best friend.

She got into Columbia, which was just across the river from NYU. No wonder she was so happy. I was glad, too.

“Sorry, dude, almost forgot about you,” I joked.

“Mike, I’m a lady—who are you calling ‘dude’?” She glared at me.

“Okay, okay—my bad!” I put my hands together apologetically.

Melissa looked at her, as if remembering something. “Hey, why are you shopping alone? Where’s Rachel, the prom queen?”

Sarah gave a wry smile. “Her? She went to New York already.”

“But it’s still a while before school starts. Why’d she go so early?”

Sarah got mysterious. “I’ll tell you two, but you can’t spread it.”

We both nodded, all ears for gossip.

Sarah cleared her throat. “Rachel had a breakup and went early to get over it.”

“Breakup?”

“She was dating someone?”

Melissa and I were both shocked, blurting it out at the same time.

“Yeah, the guy cheated on her.” Sarah shook her head, looking helpless.

I was both surprised and bummed. The girl I’d loved from afar was actually hurt by someone else. I felt a pang of regret.

“Sigh, nobody’s life is perfect,” Melissa sighed.

“She said she liked him for a long time. She’s really heartbroken,” Sarah added.

“Was it someone from our class?” Melissa asked, curious.

I perked up too.

“Not sure, probably not,” Sarah shrugged.

No wonder she turned down the school heartthrob—she already had someone else in her heart, but picked the wrong guy.

Thinking back to how warm she’d been to me at the party, I almost misunderstood. I felt a wave of disappointment.

The three of us had a few more drinks, ate our fill, and left.

A few days later, Sarah went back to her hometown for the summer, and Melissa went traveling.

I wandered the city alone, bored out of my mind.

Every day I bounced between my house, my aunt’s, and my grandma’s—almost wearing out their doorsteps.

Finally, it was time for college’s early orientation.

Sometimes I’d kill time at the bowling alley or walk through the little farmer’s market near the train station, always running into someone’s mom who wanted to know where I was going to school. Summer felt endless.