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Swim—as if it were that simple

Yeah, I wanted to say, sure Your eyes tranquilized nizant enough to see the wave co (froht

I stared daggers at hirabbed my hand and asked if I was okay, then offered ot it

It was the first and last time Carson Brooks would ensnare me

With the memory of that day fresh inat how our rivalry only grew fro my laptop, I carried it over to ainst my upholstered headboard with a bunch of pillows and stretched s out in front of me

I booted my computer and clicked on the link in —and the website for Duke University loaded I let h the pictures with a yearning so deep it hurt By the time I was finished, my head ached, and my mood had darkened perceptibly

Where was my acceptance letter?

I had called last week, and sure enough, the wo them out

I dropped et in, I told myself I had to

Shake it off

Opening the folder Mrs Parks gave us, I removed the contents, surprised to find one over in her office There was a lot of valuable information inside—lists of supplies they’d need, pictures froive them an idea on how much food the families received, what the tree looked like upon coested lists of items to buy

A plan began to for out around me, then opened a spreadsheet on my laptop I could divvy up the tasks That way, Carson could take on a few things, and I’d do the rest There was no need for us to work on it together e could easily divide and conquer Why take three weeks to complete the tasks when I could probably finish most of it myself in a few days if I put my mind to it?

I compiled a master list of supplies in my spreadsheet, then divided them up and labeled one file “Mia” and the other “Carson” Once he gave ether and e the Angel Tree myself No need for him to help with all of it He’d be busy with the swim team, anyway Then we could each deliver our own boxes with little interaction Easy

I sighed contentedly and closedinto the plush headboard It had been a stressful day Maybe if I just rested for a ot home, before I needed to meet with Carson…

I drifted to sleep, awakening so I beca as I stared out into the hallaiting