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the guys here who wear, like, t-shirts with sport team logos and those ugly hoodies. The Greek guys look like men. Like real men. And did I tell about that one . . .”
    “Hi, Allie. Welcome home!” Mom came over and gave Allie a hug.
    “Thanks, Mrs. Andrews.”
    “Did you like it over there?” Mom asked.
    “Yeah, but it’s good to be home. I was telling Sam how everyone over there smoked. I feel like I still smell like it.” Allie sniffed her hair. “I have to buy all new clothes ’cause I’ll never get that smell out.”
    “Any excuse to go shopping, Allie,” I kidded. Allie could shop all day, every day, for weeks and not get tired of it. I got tired after shopping for just a few hours.
    Allie smiled. “Well, I can’t go around smelling like smoke. My mom’s taking me shopping this afternoon. I would have told her no so we could hang out, Sam, but you know how she’s like, never here, so she insisted we go today.”
    Allie’s mom had a job at one of those big investment firms. She worked constantly and traveled overseas for weeks at a time. Because of that, Allie didn’t have much of a relationship with her mom.
    “That’s okay. Mom and I are going out, too. We can hang out tomorrow.”
    “I can’t. My parents are making me go up north for some ski trip. Can you believe that? They told me this morning. I was like, ‘I just got home! I need to sleep!’ but they wouldn’t listen.”
    “Well, it’s nice you’ll have some time with your folks,” Mom said. “I’ll see you later, Allie. Have fun, girls.”
    Allie and I went up to my room to talk. She took a seat in my green chair and I sat on some pillows on the floor.
    “I have so much to tell you, Allie. I don’t know where to start.”
    “Yeah, me, too. We didn’t talk enough when I was gone.”
    “Because it costs a fortune. And then there’s the time difference.”
    “So what’s been going on at school? Any new gossip?”
    “Let’s see. Well, Caitlyn’s decided to start flirting with Colin again.”
    “Oh, please. Like she even has a chance.”
    I shrugged, not sure it was true.
    “Sam, don’t be so insecure. Colin is not at all interested in her.”
    “Well, he dated her.”
    “In ninth grade! Ancient history, Sam. Back when he went from being known as the smart kid to being the star athlete. He just got caught up in the whole ‘athletes only date cheerleaders’ thing.”  
    “Yeah. But I still hate it when she flirts with him.”
    “You just hate her in general. Along with everyone she hangs out with.”
    “Because she’s mean! Remember back in second grade when she told everyone that I was a boy because I had short hair and wore pants all the time instead of dresses?”
    “Well, you insisted everyone call you Sam instead of Samantha, so you did have a boy’s name.”
    “It’s not a boy’s name. It can go either way. And I never liked Samantha. It’s too long.”
    “Remember in middle school when she told everyone that you kissed Brian Caldwell?”
    Brian was a small shy kid with crooked teeth and horrible acne who was ridiculed so much that eventually his parents sent him to private school.  
    “Exactly! So you can see why I hate her.”
    “She’s got her own issues, Sam. Just ignore her. You’ll be in college soon anyway.”
    I jumped up from the floor. “Oh my God! I totally forgot to tell you! I got into Stanford!” I went and grabbed the letter.  
    “No way! That’s awesome!” She got up and hugged me.  
    “I know. I’m so excited. I totally loved the campus. And they have this huge library. I could sit and read for hours.”
    “Who cares about that? You’ll be living in California! No more cold. No more snow. And the guys—I bet the guys are really hot there.” She sat down again, as if dreaming of what they might look like. “What am I saying? You have Colin. Never mind.”
    I sat down on my bed and got quiet.  
    “Sam, what’s wrong? You are still gonna date Colin, right?”
    I