Page 46 of Finding Fate

13

Nacho Betrayal

A thud sounded on the table as Annie dropped a thick folder, flyers spilling out around their menus.

“What’s this?” Tucker asked, picking up a brochure from the stack.

“Our potential colleges,” she replied in an enthusiastic tone.

The two guys groaned. “I thought we were here to have lunch. I’m starving,” Tucker complained.

Isabel rolled her eyes. Why was he being so difficult? “Oh, please, Tucker, you just had a sandwich before we left.”

“Well, I didn’t,” Jet protested.

“We can have lunch, but we need to talk about this first.”

Isabel groaned, the smell of Mexican food and her favorite nachos platter wafting from a nearby table had her stomach growling with hunger. “At least, let us order first. I swear, sis, I’m nearly as hungry as the guys today.”

“Seriously? You’re going to complain, too?” Annie gaped. She looked around, realizing her defeat. “Fine,” she huffed, “We can order, but we’re talking about this,” she slapped a hand against the stack, “while we’re waiting.”

Tucker flagged down a waiter and ordered their usual while Jet sighed. “Why do we need to do this right now? Isn’t it a little early to be worrying about college stuff?”

“Why are y’all making such a big deal out of this?” Annie asked, exasperated. “I am the only one of us who went to that seminar yesterday to find out information for all of us. I didn’t complain that Jet went to football practice, or that Izzy had a headache, or even that Tucker had to stay late to talk to one of the coaches, but now you’re complaining that I want us to talk about it?”

She paused, and when no one said anything, she leaned over the table and gave them all a look. “The earlier we apply, the more likely it is that we’ll all get into the same school. That’s what we want, isn’t it? To all go to the same school? Jet living with Tucker and me and Izzy living together? Hanging out and going to parties, no parents around? Think of how much fun it will be. That won’t happen if we don’t all get into the same school.” She was almost pleading at that point.

“Sweetheart, with y’all’s grades, you and Izzy can get into pretty much whatever school you want. And let’s be honest, the chance of me getting into the same school as y’all isn’t that great. You’re not dumbing down your college for me.”

She gave Jet a half sympathetic, half-angry look. “That’s not what I’m trying to do. We won’t know for sure until we look over the options. Here,” she grabbed the four main brochures from the stack and spread them out. “I made sure to grab the schools that have already offered you basketball scholarships, Tucker. You know you’re going to take one of them, so, if we narrow it down to our best choice from here, we can get started.”

“But this is ridiculously early, Annie,” Tucker tried to reason. “I might get other offers this year.”

“Then we pick one for now and use it as a backup if we need to,” she argued.

Isabel exchanged looks with Tucker and Jet. Annie was in her determined and persistent mode. There’d be no stopping her until they complied.

“Alright, sis, show us what you’ve got,” Isabel agreed, afraid to know what Annie would do if she mentioned Baste Academy or the audition letter she’d just received.

Annie’s eyes lit up, and she whipped her pen and tablet out. “Okay, pros and cons. What’s your first choice, Tucker?”

* * *

“You okay, sis?” Annie asked her when she pushed her plate away and laid her head down on the cool, hard table surface.

They had finally gotten their usual combination nachos platter, and she hadn’t even been able to make it through half a stupid plate of the delicious chips when her stomach started turning on her. How could it be so awful to her when she had been so hungry only minutes before?

She felt Tucker place a hand on her back. “What’s wrong, love?”

Wanting to answer and being able to were two different things if they didn’t want her to toss her portion of the nachos all over the table. She just placed a hand on her stomach instead, hoping that they would understand. The touch on her back did not help her stomach either, and she started taking in slow, deep breaths to try and soothe the churning she wasn’t sure she could win the battle with. She must have looked pretty awful if Tucker actually took a pause from eating to see what the matter was.

“Here, drink some of your soda. Maybe the carbonation will help,” Annie suggested as she held out the drink to her.

Isabel steadied her stomach as best she could before accepting the glass. She was terrified but still hoped that the clear, bubbly drink would ease her nausea.

Uncomfortably aware of all three pairs of eyes on her, she raised the glass to her lips, hating having everyone stare at her like that, but, at that moment, she couldn’t even work up the ability to blush.

The second the soda hit her stomach, she knew the battle was only seconds away from being lost. She wasn’t sure if the glass made it onto the table or not, but leaped from her seat to run to the ladies room. She dashed into the first stall she saw open and dropped to her knees, her hands clutching the sides of the porcelain bowl as the offending lunch left her body.

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