Page 15 of You Had Me at Hello World
“Mmm-yeah,” she mumbles, and then we’re finally moving.
As we roll down the street, she asks, “What was your phone call about, anyway?”
I explain about Mrs. Lombardi, Alpha Fellows, and Edvin Nilsen.
“That’s amazing, Char.” We stop at a red light, and she takes the chance to give me a quick side-hug. “So when are you leaving?”
I keep my eyes fixed on the road. “I haven’t decided yet if I’m going.”
Lola swerves around a pothole. “What is there to think about? Isn’t it all expenses paid?”
For some reason, my brain decides to remind me of Zach’s face. How defeated he looked.I was supposed to be the one who made it out.It pissed me off when he said that. Like he thought he was so much better than the rest of us. But he’s the loser who ran out on a thirty-dollar restaurant bill.
I don’t know why I’m thinking about Zach.
“Weren’t we going to spend the summer together? Go to the county fair? Try every ice cream flavor at Scoops? Flirt with tourists?” I wanted us to live our best lives. Channel all the main character energy.
But Lola’s not smiling, so I add, “Didn’t you say Taylor Swift has a new album coming out? Mercury’s in Gatorade.”
“Retrograde, dummy,” she says. “Char, I got something to say.”
“Oh, right, you mentioned before. What’s up?” Maybe something happened with her not-girlfriend Rachel. Lola hates how Rachel abuses the gritted-teeth emoji. She says it’s so boomer.
We turn onto my street and my house comes into view.
Lola silently pulls up to the curb by my front door. She gripsthe steering wheel tighter. “I’m graduating this June. I’ve been taking classes online to get the credits.”
What.
My mind pinwheels. Our final year we were supposed to have together, just… deleted. No more lip-syncing to Chappell Roan, no more hate-watchingThe Kardashians. No more sneaking leftover scallion pancakes from the Lucky Panda. No more senior prom. No more signing yearbooks, decorating graduation caps, fretting over The FutureTM.
There’s so much I want to say, but all that comes out is, “Why?”
“I’m enlisting right after my birthday.” She turns eighteen in July.
“Why the fuck would you do that?” The question comes out louder than I meant for it to.
At school, there are free sign-ups for the ASVAB, a standardized test for joining the military. Every fall, recruiters set up tables right outside the cafeteria and chat with whoever will listen. Each year, there are a handful of kids who end up in the army or Air Force. But Lola’s always dreamed of being a fashion designer. She wants to serve looks, not our country.
“Char, chill.”
I lower my voice. “You think camo print is a crime against humanity.”
“It is. But my recruiter said Mari could get her green card and good health insurance.”
Right. Lola’s mom doesn’t have citizenship. Mine does; when I was thirteen, I helped her study for the naturalization test. She snagged a green card through marriage. I’ve wondered if that’s why she was in such a rush to lock a guy down after my father left.
But there are other options for Lola and her mother. There have to be.
“What about the scholarship contest?”
She blinks fast. “I didn’t win.”
My heart squeezes.
“I’m sorry,” I say. The words seem so freaking inadequate, but I don’t know what else to say. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Felt stupid, I guess.”
