Page 23 of Come As You Are

I’m not yet at the point where I’m cool enough not to blush at that, but I try to cover it up with a joking hair flip anyway.

“Me and these guys were just gonna go shoot around in the gym for a while. You in?” Matt asks Salem.

We both know Salem’s gonna turn down the offer beforehe even opens his mouth, but I refuse to let him. If this is what the basketball players do, then he’s gonna follow their lead, and he’s gonna like it. “Go ahead,” I tell him, as if I’m what’d be standing in his way, and not his general misanthropy and loathing of all things recreational that can’t be smoked or blasted from speakers. “I’m gonna go see what your sister’s up to.”

Those stormy gray eyes narrow, but I just squeeze his arm and whisper, “Good boys are joiners who practice their sports.” Then I say my goodbyes and am pleasantly surprised to see that Salem doesn’t put up any further fight about being dragged off to the gym.

The campus is unusually quiet as I walk through the quad alone, with most of the students either still lingering around the Student Center after the movie, or at game night in the library, or, like Matt and Salem, throwing balls at things in the gym. There are a few kids scattered on the grass, though, tossing Frisbees and picnicking on blankets, and there’s something about the serenity of it all that overwhelms me. I close my eyes, inhale the scent of grass and pine, and let the evening breeze ruffle my curls.

In this moment, I am so, so glad I came to Camden.

And then I remember that while I may be heading to Lockwood, what awaits me at the end of the night is a solo room in a building full of boys who, with a few exceptions beyond Matt and Salem, either glare at me, leer at me, or pretend I don’t exist.

As I enter the girls’ dorm, I’m not sure whether I hope Heather is already back or still out of sight—both seem likebad options—but I do hope that Sabrina, at least, is in their room. Sure enough, I hear the faint drifting of music down the hall as soon as I enter, and only one person on the first floor of Lockwood listens to emo covers of sea shanties.

“Sabrina Grayson!” I rap on her door, loudly enough to be heard over wailing about whaling. “Hang out with me!”

The door flies open, revealing my favorite goth in black sweatpants and a matching long-sleeved tee, an undeniable smirk on her face as she registers my presence. “I thought you were at the movie. On a date. With my brother. Which I cannot even begin to fathom.”

“God, how fast does gossip travel around here? You haven’t even left your room.” I let myself in and am relieved that Heather hasn’t somehow beaten me here. “And obviously we were not actually on a date.”

“Okay, well if you’re here to pick my brain for how to turn hanging out with my brother into something more, I have zero advice for you except to fully equip me with barf bags any time you two plan to be in my presence.” Then her expression twists into something more serious. “For real, though. I really, really hate to be lied to.”

“I’m not lying!”

“You’re literally wearing his jacket, Evie.”

Oh, right. It was so surprisingly comfortable, I’d forgotten I even had it on. “I asked to borrow it,” I admit. “I needed something to make my outfit more interesting.”

She looks like she wants to say something else, but thankfully, she thinks better of it and slides back down onto the fluffy pink rug instead. “Well, how was the movie?”

“Stupid. Mostly.” I close the door behind me and join her on the floor, where a pile of tarot cards sits next to a can of Dr Pepper and a laptop. “Do you read these?”

“I’m learning.” She gestures at the computer screen, and I see it’s open to a page on card readings. “Want me to read for you?”

Do I? I’m not in the best state of mind to hear I have a bleak future ahead, but given I’m here to turn my life around, Iamimpatient to know what the cards hold for me. “Please! But if it’s bad, can you lie to me a little? I have not had the best luck with, uh, this entire year.”

The best thing about both Grayson twins is knowing you can say something like that and neither one will express even the tiniest bit of interest in digging any further. Sabrina just nods and shuffles the cards.

I don’t know why I hold my breath when she draws the first one; it’s not like I know the first thing about tarot, or what any of the cards suggest. But when she places it down in front of me, I wanna gag.

The Lovers. Fantastic.

Sabrina, meanwhile, is delighted. “The Lovers! This card represents relationships, connections. This bodes well for you partnering up, if you’re so inclined.”

Orrrr it knows I already partnered up and it was a terrible idea.The pair on the tarot card looks like Adam and Eve—the ultimate couple of mass destruction. That sounds about right. “Next.”

She rolls her eyes, but puts down the second card. “Ooh,the Nine of Wands. This means you’ll have to work hard to get with this lover—”

“Stop saying ‘lover.’”

“To get with this lover,” she repeats, louder, “will require much self-improvement, sacrifice.”

Oh, I sacrificed. And I’m working on self-improvement. But I would not like to return to any of my past “lovers” anytime soon, thank you. “Is there a ‘win the lottery’ card in there somewhere? I’d like to hear something good.”

“This isn’t about bad or good,” says Sabrina, tapping the deck. “We’re just gaining some insight into your life, maybe helping guide your choices for the future. And you’re not even old enough to play the lottery, smart-ass.”

She flips over the third card and breaks into a huge smile. “The Knight of Cups. This card symbolizes creativity, romance, maybe a slow burn… man, this deck really wants you to get laid, ideally by an artist.”

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