Page 15 of Rules for Rule Breaking
“You would have burned me at the stake!”
“Of course I would have, you witch!”
Emmy snorted. “Look, Winnie. I never wanted to tell you this, but I had a gigantic crush on Bobby when we were kids.”
Winter’s shoulders sagged. “So all those times you were making fun of him with me?”
“Desperately in love,” Emmy admitted. She applied a clear gloss to her lips, considered her reflection for a moment, then wiped it off with the back of her hand. “I even drew Punnett squares in my journal to see what our kids would look like. Spoiler alert: They would have had black hair and brown eyes.”
“I feel like I don’t know you anymore. Like, why do you keep adjusting yourself? And are you putting on makeup? Do you even still likeCosmos?! Or board games?”
Emmy’s smile disappeared.
“It’s possible to enjoy all those things at once, you know,” Emmy said, annoyance in her voice. “Anyway, why don’t you come over to Nai Nai’s? We can go for a walk or something.”
“I just got into bed. Can you come over here? We can watch a dumb movie and be lazy together,” Winter replied.
Emmy got suddenly serious. “I always come to you. Just come over here. I want to talk to you about something.”
Winter felt the eggshells under her feet again.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. Everything is fine. But we should talk in person.”
“Okay, I’ll see you in a few, then,” Winter said, and hung up.
The synapses were firing in Winter’s brain, but they weren’t making any connections. What could Emmy possibly need to talk about in person? Ninety percent of their friendship happened over the phone.
Winter walked down the community center path toward Nai Nai’s old condo. Emmy was sitting on the edge of the open patio, waiting for her. She had on one of her customary leotards, nude this time, and her shoulder was bound in neon green athletic tape. She must have been in the dance studio that day.
Winter took a seat next to her best friend, and they let the awkwardness linger in the air for a moment.
Winter felt small under the canopy of the evening sky. Stars appeared, seemingly one by one, twinkling, daring the next one toshine brighter. Lightning bugs also slowly made themselves known. They burst into flashes of light, then disappeared, adding magic to the community courtyard lined with trees that were only silhouettes against the recently set sun.
“How is your dad?” Winter asked finally.
“I’m used to seeing him grieve, but it’s different this time. Nai Nai can’t come back, and I think a part of him has always thought my mom might. He seems a little better every day, though,” Emmy replied. “Maybe once we get out of here and aren’t living in a shrine of his mother’s stuff, he’ll be able to grieve properly.”
Winter winced at Emmy’s eagerness to leave her behind.
“So are you going to tell me what’s up?” Winter asked. “What’s with the lip gloss and the clandestine meeting?”
Emmy averted her gaze. “I was going to wait to tell you, but a scout at a modeling agency saw some of my dancing videos and wants to sign me, so I’m going to Raleigh soon to get some headshots taken. If this works out, I might try to move to Milan or maybe Paris after I graduate.”
Winter froze. “I don’t understand any of those words. What about college?”
Emmy sat back and folded her arms. “School is your thing. It’s never been mine. This could bemyMIT.”
In truth, Winter could see Emmy as a model. She had all the stillness of a ballerina but the fire of a performer. Emmy was effortlessly pretty, charismatic, and one of the most talented people Winter knew. This just went against everything she had always imagined for their future together.
“Your dad is okay with this?” Winter asked.
“Surprisingly, yes. He just wants me to be happy.”
Winter scoffed. “Since when?”
Winter knew, of course, that not all people went to college. She understood that skipping college wasn’t inherently bad. But it was what was supposed to happen after high school. She and Emmy had heard this since before they could speak. Winter had a hard time believing the memo had only resonated with her.
