Page 12 of Daydream

The top of Gigi’s head disappears as she ends the video call and I sit for five minutes working out the best thing to do. I finally admit defeat and pull out my phone to text Cami.

CAMI WALKER

Hey. Thanks for the invite but I don’t have anything to wear

My sister says I look like Miss Honey

miss honey was my ex’s bisexual awakening and i only have enough energy to think about one person who doesn’t want me anymore currently

ava (one of my roommates) said she has stuff you can wear

Oh, thanks! What size?

i’d say she’s a couple of sizes bigger than you, but she literally has every size bc she’s a fashion student/long-term clothes hoarder

Are you sure she doesn’t mind?

i don’t know her SUPER well yet bc i’ve only lived with her since last month, but she’s so chill and she said she’s excited to dress you up

so anyway let me know when you’re outside bc our building can be a pain to get into

*Location Shared*

also don’t be alarmed but i dyed my hair red and it’s the patchiest thing you’ve ever seen in your life

i’ve been dyeing it blond since i was 14 but i have a salon appointment to fix it in the morning.

feel free to come and keep me company

My trust issues have me sprinting to see which Avas Cami follows because I’ve been stung by the “oh, you’re basically the same size” so many times in my life, and it’s always by someone significantly smaller than I am. Thankfully, the first picture on her page is with a girl called Ava Jones, and one minute of scrolling through her page soothes all my worries.

CAMI WALKER

I’ll let you know when I’m on my way

Cami hearts my message and I drag myself from the sofa to get ready. Joy is following me around, confused probably, because I never do anything this late. She’s easily distracted by the food in her dish, and I use the freedom from her weaving around my feet to check every closet for an emergency outfitjustin case Ava doesn’t have anything I like.

When I come up with nothing, I admit that maybe something new might be a good thing.

ON THE DRIVE TO THEparty there was a split second, honestly just a tiny blip, where I had the urge to call Will.

It caught me off guard more than anything because I’ve done my best to push him to the back of my mind since I had my “new starts” last week at book club and work. Rationalizing, with some encouragement from Cami, that if he wants to say we can still be friends, he needs to put the effort in to be my friend. As it goes, I haven’t heard from him at all, and I’ve adjusted to not reaching for my phone to text him when I wake up.

In that blip, I think I wanted his reassurance that I was going to have fun. As the car moved through familiar-looking streets andCami talked about people I don’t know with her roommates, I began to feel like I did going to all those parties in San Diego.

It’s funny that with a different house, different people, different school entirely, I still managed to feel like the outsider.

Until we stepped out of the car and Cami linked her arm with mine, reassuring me that she wouldn’t leave my side unless I decided to make some poor life choices with someone from the basketball team. She said it was a shame we only met now, because her favorite player just graduated.

Her intuitiveness about how I’m feeling soothes me. Earlier, when Ava suggested I wear something that was so far from what I’d normally wear, Cami sensed my hesitation and was the one to suggest something different.

Having a group of women to get ready with—ones who seem to want me there in the first place—is what I’ve always wanted. Maybe I watched too much TV growing up, but it always seemed like the pinnacle of girlhood, and I’ve always felt like I’ve missed out.

The party is like others I’ve been to. Hot, overcrowded, and full of drunk college students. Kaia and Poppy, Cami’s other roommates, put themselves in charge of “drinks and fun” the second we walked through the door—which roughly translates to more liquor than is smart and games that make me laugh so hard my sides hurt.

“Three, two, one… drink!”

Poppy blinks rapidly and grimaces as she struggles to swallow the contents of her cup for failing to find a basketball quicker than Ava.

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