boring campus party
.
–Finn
Julie checked out the three pictures he’d attached to his message. Any non-brain-dead girl would be impressed. The two photos of him standing next to an elephant were great, but the best one was a shot of Finn sitting on a boulder looking out at a sunset. Fine, it was a little corny. She didn’t care. Even though his face was shadowed, she could still see how handsome he was. The way his cheekbones caught the light, the hintof a smile on his face, his arm muscles peeking through his shirt.
Then she did what any girl would do: she Googled him. Eight minutes of scrolling through search results and clicking on links got her nowhere, although she did learn that there was a Finn Watkins who played drums for a rather successful college band called Eggs Benedict and that a Finneas Watkins from New Jersey had won a 2006 award for his classical ballet performance. None of the results produced any information about her Finn. Well, not
her
Finn, but…whatever. This was annoying. Not that Googling herself yielded any information either, but it would have been nice to find something.
She looked at the pictures again. Yes, indeed. Finn was cute. Super cute. And funny, smart, and charming. And he adored his sister. And did amazing volunteer work in between adventurous travels. And…
Julie stopped herself. This was silly. She couldn’t possibly have a crush on someone she’d only exchanged a few messages with, right? Because that would be abnormal. Insane. Completely not based in reality. She was not that desperate. Besides, Boston was likely teeming with smart, adorable boys. Not that having a boyfriend was really a priority, but it wouldn’t be awful.
And while the pictures were attractive and distracting, she hadn’t failed to notice that Finn had not answered her questions about Celeste.
CHAPTER 10
“What if the clip comes out?” Celeste squirmed as Julie fixed her hair.
“It won’t.”
“It might.”
Julie walked from behind the kitchen chair and stood in front of Celeste. “It won’t. On the off chance that it does, I can assure you that your hair will fall into gorgeous, billowing curls because of the anti-frizz serum I ran through your hair. And because you have naturally fantastic hair that most people can never achieve, even when they waste money buying celebrity-endorsed spiral curling irons on the off chance that three easy payments of nineteen-ninety-five will solve their hair woes. Just don’t touch your hair. And here’s the scarf I said would match the sweater I lent you perfectly.”
Celeste eyed the pale blue scarf suspiciously. “This is not a scarf. A scarf is thick and warm and only needed in the winter.”
“Oh my God. Relax, kid. This scarf is just an accessory. Like earrings or a belt. It’s long and gorgeous with a little shimmer to it.” Julie wrapped the scarf once around Celeste’s neck and smiled. “The color brings out your eyes. Now here, take my iPod, listen to the playlist I made you, and completelyignore Matt when he drives you to school. Then when you get out of the car, glare at him with solid disgust and slam the door.”
“Why would I do that? I do not consider that a fitting response to his driving me to school.”
Julie sighed. “Fine, forget that last part. But at least listen to the playlist. I’m obsessed with this local band, In Like Lions. You’ll love them. Support the indies, kid.”
Celeste scrolled through the music Julie had picked out for her. “But usually Matty and I do reasoning games and logic questions in the car. I don’t think he’ll like this. And I don’t know any of these songs.”
“Big deal. I’ll handle Matt, and you handle the Top Forty. OK, stand up and spin around. Let me check you out.”
Celeste dutifully allowed Julie to assess her outfit. Matt entered the kitchen—a messenger bag across his chest and a stack of Internet printouts in his hand—as Julie was adjusting the sweater
.
–Finn
Julie checked out the three pictures he’d attached to his message. Any non-brain-dead girl would be impressed. The two photos of him standing next to an elephant were great, but the best one was a shot of Finn sitting on a boulder looking out at a sunset. Fine, it was a little corny. She didn’t care. Even though his face was shadowed, she could still see how handsome he was. The way his cheekbones caught the light, the hintof a smile on his face, his arm muscles peeking through his shirt.
Then she did what any girl would do: she Googled him. Eight minutes of scrolling through search results and clicking on links got her nowhere, although she did learn that there was a Finn Watkins who played drums for a rather successful college band called Eggs Benedict and that a Finneas Watkins from New Jersey had won a 2006 award for his classical ballet performance. None of the results produced any information about her Finn. Well, not
her
Finn, but…whatever. This was annoying. Not that Googling herself yielded any information either, but it would have been nice to find something.
She looked at the pictures again. Yes, indeed. Finn was cute. Super cute. And funny, smart, and charming. And he adored his sister. And did amazing volunteer work in between adventurous travels. And…
Julie stopped herself. This was silly. She couldn’t possibly have a crush on someone she’d only exchanged a few messages with, right? Because that would be abnormal. Insane. Completely not based in reality. She was not that desperate. Besides, Boston was likely teeming with smart, adorable boys. Not that having a boyfriend was really a priority, but it wouldn’t be awful.
And while the pictures were attractive and distracting, she hadn’t failed to notice that Finn had not answered her questions about Celeste.
CHAPTER 10
“What if the clip comes out?” Celeste squirmed as Julie fixed her hair.
“It won’t.”
“It might.”
Julie walked from behind the kitchen chair and stood in front of Celeste. “It won’t. On the off chance that it does, I can assure you that your hair will fall into gorgeous, billowing curls because of the anti-frizz serum I ran through your hair. And because you have naturally fantastic hair that most people can never achieve, even when they waste money buying celebrity-endorsed spiral curling irons on the off chance that three easy payments of nineteen-ninety-five will solve their hair woes. Just don’t touch your hair. And here’s the scarf I said would match the sweater I lent you perfectly.”
Celeste eyed the pale blue scarf suspiciously. “This is not a scarf. A scarf is thick and warm and only needed in the winter.”
“Oh my God. Relax, kid. This scarf is just an accessory. Like earrings or a belt. It’s long and gorgeous with a little shimmer to it.” Julie wrapped the scarf once around Celeste’s neck and smiled. “The color brings out your eyes. Now here, take my iPod, listen to the playlist I made you, and completelyignore Matt when he drives you to school. Then when you get out of the car, glare at him with solid disgust and slam the door.”
“Why would I do that? I do not consider that a fitting response to his driving me to school.”
Julie sighed. “Fine, forget that last part. But at least listen to the playlist. I’m obsessed with this local band, In Like Lions. You’ll love them. Support the indies, kid.”
Celeste scrolled through the music Julie had picked out for her. “But usually Matty and I do reasoning games and logic questions in the car. I don’t think he’ll like this. And I don’t know any of these songs.”
“Big deal. I’ll handle Matt, and you handle the Top Forty. OK, stand up and spin around. Let me check you out.”
Celeste dutifully allowed Julie to assess her outfit. Matt entered the kitchen—a messenger bag across his chest and a stack of Internet printouts in his hand—as Julie was adjusting the sweater
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