Page 77 of The Name Drop

I feel another shove from behind me and I stumble a step closer, never taking my eyes off of her.

“What are you doing here?” Jessica asks.

“I, I...”

“Elijah has moved to Los Angeles and we were craving banh mi sandwiches but wanted ice cream as an appetizer,” Jason says, coming to my rescue.

I whirl around to him. “You knew she worked here. You planned this,” I say to him.

“Dude, talk tohernot me,” Jason says, grabbing my shoulders and spinning me back to face Jessica.

Thing is, I don’t know what to say. I’ve run it through my mind a million times, what I’d tell her if I ever saw her again. But nothing felt right.

I’m sorry.

I miss you.

I love you.

“I’m sorry I loved missing you,” I say.

She furrows her eyebrows, confused. “What?”

“I mean, shit, what I wanted to say is I’m sorry. And that I’ve missed you. And I love—”

“You guys gonna order?” the customer behind us asks, clearly irritated. “If not, can I get a double scoop of pistachio and strawberry in a waffle cone for me and a salted caramel single in a cup for my daughter?” He steps up to the counter and Jessica shakes herself out of shock.

“Yes, of course,” she says as she begins to scoop their order.

“You love her?” Jason asks me, definitely not with his inside voice.

I give him a shut-up-you-asshole look and try my hardest not to flee the building.

The customer finally leaves with his ice creams in hand and I’m back to having a full-blown heart attack as I face the girl I can’t stop thinking about.

“What are you doing here?” she says. She quickly looks to Jason before he can butt in. “I don’t want your answer, I want his.”

Jason holds his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll wait outside,” he says. He sends an exaggerated wink at me as he leaves.

“Elijah, answer the question. What are you doing here?”

“I’m, uh, starting at UCLA in a couple weeks. Engineering, if you can believe it. I think I may want to program games myself one day.” It feels good to say. For once in my life, I’m excited about something pertaining to my future plans.

She nods slowly, not taking her eyes off of me.

“How about you? Did you decide which school to go to? You know, um, with the scholarship?”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “Oh, so you do know about that, huh?”

“Yeah, well, it was kinda part of the deal with my dad. I said I’d go back to Korea with him if he gave you the scholarship and then left you alone. I was worried he’d try to screw you over, but Hee-Jin said the scholarship was approved without a hitch.”

“Without a hitch,” she says. There’s no emotion in her voice. I feel like I’m missing something.

“So...did you decide where to go?”

“I’m taking classes at the local junior college. And I’m working part-time at an interior design firm as well as here at the ice cream shop.”

“You work two jobs and go to school?” I ask.

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