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But she’d come to school up here to find herself, for her life to finally begin She kept having to tell herself that

"Jordan was just saying their next-door neighbor thinks you’re cute" Nora gave Luce’s aist-length dark hair a tug "But he’s a player, so I was o over there in a few and pre-party before that other party I told you about tonight?"

"Sure" Luce popped the top on the Coke she’d bought at the vending ent-strewn laundry stations

"I thought you were bringing me a diet?"

"I did" Luce reached into her laundry basket for the can she’d bought for Nora "Sorry, I ht back"

"Pas de prob," Nora said, practicing her French "But hurry Hailey says there’s a varsity soccer teaood parties We should head over there soon Gotta go," she said into the phone "No, I’ yellow--or, are you gonna change? Either way"

Luce waved to Nora that she’d be right back and ducked out of the roo down the floors of the dorm until she stood on the tattered maroon carpet at the entrance to the basement, which everyone on campus called the Pit, a term thatout into the courtyard, Luce paused A car full of boys was stopped in the circular drive of the dor each other, Luce saw they all had Enized one of them His name was Max and he’d been in a couple of Luce’s orientation sessions that week He was seriously cute--blond hair, big white snized now after Nora drew her a dia-gram the other day at lunch) She’d never talked to Max, not even when they were teaer hunt But ht

All the boys getting out of that car were really cute, which for Luce equaled intiirl in Jordan and Hailey’s roo at the party

What else was she supposed to do? Hide in her doro

She jogged down the final flight of stairs to the base close to sunset, so the laundry roolow Sunset was the tis you’d washed and dried There was just one girl in crazy thigh-high striped kneesocks, savagely scrubbing a stain from a tie-dyed pair of jeans as if all her future hopes and drea atop a loud and shaking dryer, tossing a coin in the air and catching it in his palm

"Heads or tails?" he asked when she walked in He had a square face, wavy aold chain around his neck

"Heads" Luce shrugged and gave a little laugh

He flipped the coin, caught it, and flipped it over into his palm, and Luce saw that it wasn’t a quarter It was old, really old, a dusty golden color with faded writing in another language’s script The boy raised an eyebrow at her "You win I don’t knohat you won yet, but that’s probably up to you"

She twirled around, searching for the diet soda she’d left down there Then she saw it about an inch froht knee "This isn’t yours, is it?" she asked

He didn’t answer; he just stared at her with icy blue eyes, which she sa suggested a profound sadness that didn’t seee

"I left it down here earlier It’s forfor the can This boy was strange, intense She was blabbering "I’ll see you later"

"One more time?" he asked

She turned around in the doorway He ame "Oh Heads"

He flipped The coin see, flipped it over, and opened his pal in a voice eerily iden-tical to that of Hank Williaer of Luce’s dad

Back upstairs, Luce tossed Nora the Coke "Have you uy in the laundry room?"

"Luce" Nora squinted "When I run out of underwear, I buy new underwear I a to do laundry Are you ready? Soccer boys are waiting, hoping to score We are their goal, but we must remind them they can’t use their hands"

She took Luce by the elbow and steered her out of the rooest avoid-ance I went to Dover with him, and I’m positive he’ll be on the soccer teaest bitch of a girlfriend back hoirlfriend"--Nora ot rejected froot spies everywhere"