“That’s good,” I say.
“But on a more positive note, I also like bad scary movies, murder podcasts, and overdone memes.”
“Those things aren’t really positive….”
“True. Just seeing if you’re paying attention. But they still all apply. Now, what about you? What’re some things I should know about you?”
It’s funny how you think you have a ton of things going for you or that you’re interested in, but when you’re asked to name some, all your answers feel super unoriginal. I used to be able to say I was my school’s planning committee chair, but that’s not true anymore so why bring that up?
“Hmm. I really like hand-lettering,” I answer.
He looks at me thoughtfully. “What kind of hand-lettering?”
“Oh, nothing exciting. I mainly just do it in my notebook and I’m not very good yet. Actually, that’s a lie—I’m good, but I know I can be better.”
“So you’re creative. I like it. What else?” he asks.
“Well, it’s no Disney World, but my family likes to vacation in the Catskills,” I say.
“Oh, like Rip Van Winkle? Isn’t that where he falls asleep for years? There’s this copy in the library that looks like it might fall apart soon it’s been read so many times.”
“Yes! I loved that story when I was younger, but it scared my sister. She was always afraid of going to bed in case she didn’t wake up.”
“How old is your sister now?”
“Sixteen. I still think of her as my little sister even though she’s not so little anymore.”
Andy looks at me. “Okay, what about you? What were you scared of?”
“Nothing too unusual. I was afraid of sharks after I saw Jaws and didn’t go out too deep in the ocean for a while. But that’s when I was, like, ten.”
“And before the baby shark song,” Andy says, smiling more. “What’re you afraid of now?”
A lot of things. Never being able to get over missing those eleven weeks. Driving in the snow. Driving, period. But what am I afraid of that I actually want to tell him?
“It’s okay, Ella. I’m not a shark, but we can stick to shallow waters for now.”
He then asks me easier questions. What’s my favorite color? I say teal. When he asks about my favorite food, I tell him about my family’s taco night. When he asks about my pet peeves, I tell him that I don’t like spoilers in Goodreads reviews, when adults play teens in TV shows, or the fact that the word pet is in the phrase pet peeves in the first place, which he declares the most unusual answer he’s ever heard. He then proceeds to ask me what the quirkiest thing about me is, and I say probably the fact that I make lists all the time. But he tells me that isn’t that quirky, so I tell him maybe I’m not as quirky as he thinks. Andy just shakes his head like he knows I am.
Then we talk about our guilty pleasures, or kryptonite, as Andy calls it.
He tells me he has a huge sneaker collection—so many that he bets he has more shoes than me, but I’m not quite sure I buy that, between all the shoes I share with Ashley.
As we walk and talk, we take turns looking into the telescopes from different angles on the bridge until I can barely feel my face from both smiling and the cold. Eventually, we have to rush back to the car for warmth. Once we’re inside, Andy blasts the heat for us as we sit in the parking lot. It’s only when our fingertips start to warm up that I finally check my phone.
There’s a series of frantic texts from Carmen.
When are you leaving?
UM ETA PLEASE. I’m fashionably late and you’re even later.
Get your butt over here!!!
It’s the second quarter. Where are you?
This isn’t funny Ella…
I texted Ashley. She said you’re not coming?
Seriously.
Two from Pete that made me feel even guiltier.
Of course we can talk.
Did you decide not to come? I haven’t seen you all night. Carmen seems pissed by the way. I just ran into her.
And one from Ashley
Let me know when you want us to come get you.
I only respond to that one for now, my fingers still needing to thaw from the cold.
Can you come in 10 minutes?
She types back immediately.
Sounds good! See you soon!
I turn to Andy. “We need to get back now.”
Andy looks to me. “Even Cinderella gets to stay out until midnight. In the movie and the original Brothers Grimm version.”
“Yeah, well, I’d never dare sneak out of the house like her, and my curfew is at eleven. Plus, my sister is picking me up soon.”
“Where is she coming from?”
“I don’t know, I think some concert with her boyfriend.”
“Concert? Why didn’t you go with them?”
I shrug. “A bunch of reasons. The main one is these paper hearts.”
“You could’ve easily found these tomorrow.”
Of course he thought I should be going to a concert over chasing paper hearts, but he doesn’t know how urgent this is for me. Again I think to tell him but wind up saying something else.
“Well, I’m not exactly spontaneous like my sister.”
“So you’re telling me you never bend curfew? What does that mean? You’re a good girl? A Goody Two-shoes? A brownnoser?”
“Coming from the boy who works at a library,” I quip.
“Touché. Never judge a book by its cover. What’s your reasoning then?”
“I just don’t really fit into my sister’s scene.”
“What kind of scene is that? Have you never been to a concert before?”
“Of course I have. Just not this kind of concert,” I say, not knowing how to explain it.
“Fair enough. Unless you were going to a T Swift concert, they would definitely kick you out with that shirt you have on.”
I realize he can see my long-sleeved T-shirt thanks to my half-zipped jacket.
“What’s wrong with this shirt?” I ask.