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PS Weather So cold I’ socks to sleep

Grace

I slaes in the wall froed the door open

Lana was lying on the sofa, and A used to my door dramatics, Lana didn’t move, but from Amy’s curses, I must have made her mess up a nail

"What happened?" Lana called as I walked over to the kitchen to pour o on a date with him," I paused, and Lana and A with Mike Walsh, and Noah’s bringing a ‘good’ friend" I held up ood

The squeals turned to groans of disirl who I as there when Noah set up the double date, and she has a crush on Mike She looked like I had stabbed her in the heart with a fork"

"You kind of did," Amy pointed out

"How’d this happen?" Lana asked

"I told Noah I was interested in Mike," I adirls filled the air

"Why?" they both exclaimed

"Because I didn’t want hi for two years for soave a half-hearted defense of my stupidity

"Bet you didn’t expect this," Alared at her, and Aers over herto do?" Lana asked

"Have the best daht" I stomped into my room and slammed the door shut

"What about the picture?" Ah I had already bailed on the picture once, and Ao She didn’t deserve any blowback for my recent wave of flakiness I picked up my backpack that carried ed, so I quickly scrolled through my contacts and found Mike’s nuht?

Sure, came the quick response

The cae of the south end of campus, down by the diner We’d just walk I didn’t want this to appear any more date-like than it already did

I pulled the backpack on and picked up o"

As we descended, I could hear footsteps on the stairs below Noah’s face appeared around the next turn

"Great I didn’t want to be late for ive a breathy sigh behind me

"I’m the assistant," Lana told Noah

I o down the stairs

At the porch, Noah stoppedthe tripod with the other For a moment I resisted until I realized how ridiculous we looked, as if ere two dogs fighting over a bone I let both the backpack and the tripod go

"Letto do with your ed on the backpack "I had it easier than you, you know"

"I don’t think that just because you lost your mom when you were born, and I lost my dad when I elve that you had it easier than me," I replied softly I didn’t want Lana or Aht his loss was less thanI needed a

"It’s true I don’t think you can miss what you don’t know," Noah replied

"Sure you can" I think Noah missed his mother more than he ever would admit

"I don’t have memories of her, but you have twelve years of them with your dad

"I also didn’t have so me forto try to out-horrible the other?" Noah ran a hand through his hair

"Out-horrible?"

"Like my life is more horrible than yours?" Noah explained

I shook ? Because I didn’t mean to"

"I knoasn’t," he let out a deep breath "This is too heavy a discussion for a sunny day"

I looked up and squinted Full ?" Noah asked Maybe I did have a black-ants-on-a-white-blanket face

"I’ for a little cloud cover"

"Why is that? I thought pictures needed a lot of light"

"Full sun is great for taking photos of the sky, but it casts hard shadows and makes even really beautiful people look kind of awful You have to have a lot of experience to take good full sun pictures, and I’m not there yet"

Noah opened his mouth, but I jumped in to add, "And don’t say that’s why I should rapher is just to practice"

"Fair enough Tell me about how you create these pictures that look like Bo’s old uys"

"I’ll do better than that," I said "I’ll show you"

After clihts of stairs to a rateful Noah was carryingand tripod Lana and I were both a bit winded, as was Jack, who escorted us up Two younger Delts stood in the roo clean up, but it was too late While a path from the door to the s had been cleared, it still smelled like old socks and pizza boxes Red plastic cups lay haphazardly on their sides, and the two desks pushed away froame boxes, textbooks, and a variety of T-shirts