“No, something better.”
“Oh,” Vicki said, letting go of the seat. From the tone in her voice, she seemed to understand that the letter was from Paul. Sierra had received quite a few letters from Paul over the last several months, and though she didn’t always confide in Vicki what the letters said, Vicki had been keeping close track of how often he wrote and what the general tone of the correspondence was.
Vicki’s interest had resulted from Sierra’s request that Vicki and Amy hold her accountable for her imagination, because at one time Sierra had read more into Paul’s letters than he was actually saying. With her friends keeping tabs on the relationship, Sierra’s feet would stay tethered to the ground.
“You’ll have to tell me about your letter,” Vicki said as they pulled into the driveway of her house.
“I definitely will.” Sierra set the brake and turned around to flash Vicki a smile full of clues as to how wonderful Paul’s news was.
But Vicki didn’t seem to notice, and her scowl had returned. “I don’t want to go in there. I don’t want to read the letter.”
“Come on,” Randy said. “We’ll go with you if you want.”
“I’m sure it’s an acceptance.” Even as Sierra said the words, she realized she didn’t have a right to say them. What if Vicki wasn’t accepted? Sierra had no power over Vicki’s future, any more than she had power over her own. Sierra suddenly realized they were at a major crossroads in their lives, and the words in Vicki’s letter could change their friendship forever. An ominous sense of foreboding came over Sierra once more, causing her to remain silent and wait for her friend to make the next move.
“Okay, okay,” Vicki finally said with a huff. “Let’s get this over with. I want you both to come with me.”
Reaching for her door handle, Sierra thought, And we both want you to come with us.
two
VICKI’S FRONT DOOR was locked. She pulled a key from her backpack and said, “I forgot that my mom said she was going grocery shopping. I’ll have to leave her a note to tell her where we’re going.”
The three friends moved through the living room and into the kitchen at the back of the house. The afternoon sun poured in on the large, round kitchen table and seemed to spotlight the letter that was propped up against a vase of yellow snapdragons.
“There it is,” Sierra said, noticing the letter before Vicki did.
Vicki picked up the envelope and stared at it. “I know this is crazy. It’s not that big a deal.”
“Yes, it is,” Randy said. “It’s a very big deal. At least I think it is.”
Vicki looked at Randy. “It’s just that I’ve never waited for a letter like this before. I’ve never entered a contest and waited to hear if I’d won. Nothing like that.”
“So open it!” Sierra blurted out. Both Randy and Vicki snapped their attention to Sierra as if she had invaded a private moment between them. “I mean, won’t you feel better at least knowing?”
Vicki looked at the letter and sighed. “I guess.” With that she slid her thumbnail under the flap and carefully opened the envelope, a fourth of an inch at a time.
Sierra was running out of patience. This was almost as bad as watching her older sister, Tawni, open Christmas presents. Tawni treated wrapping paper as if it were more precious than the gift itself and needed to be preserved from tearing or crumpling.
At last the single sheet of Rancho Corona University letterhead emerged. Vicki cautiously unfolded it. Both Sierra and Randy read along with her over her shoulder.
“Oh, brother,” Sierra muttered. “All that for a letter like this.”
“Well, I didn’t know,” Vicki said with an edge of irritation in her voice.
“What do they mean?” Randy asked. “What form is that?”
“I have no idea,” Vicki said.
“It’s one of the forms they send in their application packet,” Sierra said. “All they’re saying is that it wasn’t included when you sent in the rest of your stuff, and before they can process your application, they need the form. Do you know where it is? Maybe we could fill it out right now and mail it on the way to the restaurant.”
“I’ll check the mailer they used to send all the material. I know right where it is in my room.”
A thought flashed through Sierra’s mind that it was a good thing she wasn’t being asked to find anything of such importance in her room. Sierra and Vicki were opposites when it came to orderliness. They had discussed that in one of their conversations about rooming together at college. Sierra had promised Vicki she could and would adjust to Vicki’s standard of neatness. After all, for years Sierra had shared a bedroom with tidiness freak Tawni, and Sierra knew how to keep up with Tawni’s side of the room when she wanted to—which wasn’t often.
Vicki had taken offense that Sierra had compared her to Tawni and insinuated that Vicki was also a tidiness freak. Sierra had changed the subject and silently vowed never again to compare Vicki to Tawni, although their similarities were stronger than she had realized before.
“No news is good news, right?” Sierra said brightly to Randy after Vicki headed down the hallway to her bedroom. “I mean, this isn’t so bad. We can go celebrate, and Vicki will be fine.”
“I don’t know. I think this would be worse than bad news. This only means she has to wait longer to find out. The waiting can be more torturous than a rejection.” Randy skimmed the letter one more time.
“Don’t you think she’ll be accepted, Randy? I mean, it’s not that hard to get in.”
Randy took off his baseball cap, scratched a spot on the top of his head where his short, blond hair stuck straight up, and then put his cap back on. With his voice lowered, he said, “It’s not exactly the same for her as it is for you and me. Vicki doesn’t have the grades you have, and she doesn’t have the financial need I do. It might be harder for her to get in than we know.”
Sierra plucked one of the snapdragons from a stalk in the vase on the kitchen table and pinched the sides gently, making the “dragon” open and close its mouth. “She’ll make it. She has to.”
“How did you do that?” Randy said, watching Sierra’s tiny finger puppet.
“You’ve never seen a dragon snap before?”
Randy smiled his half smile as Sierra demonstrated again.
“Cool. Let me try.”
“Get your own dragon,” Sierra said, playfully guarding her fragile pet.
Vicki stepped back into the kitchen with a large manila mailer in her hand.
Randy asked, “Will your mother mind if we play with her flowers?”
“If you do what?” Vicki said.
“Make puppets out of her snapdragons. Do you think she would mind?”
“No. Our backyard is overrun with them.”
“Really?” Randy said. “May I pick some?”
Vicki looked up from the papers in her hand. “Are you saying you want to pick some flowers?” She looked confused.
“Yeah. Is that okay?”
“Be my guest,” Vicki said, pointing to the back door.
Randy left, and Vicki said, “What’s with him? He’s in the strangest mood today.”
Sierra shrugged and used a squeaky voice to make her tiny flower puppet talk to Vicki. “Maybe he’s picking flowers for you as a sign of his undying devotion.”
“Oh, right. That’s it. I finally wore the right perfume today, and Randy awoke from his coma and noticed me.”
Continuing in her high-pitched puppet voice, Sierra said, “Better buy a big bottle of that perfume!”
Vicki glanced at the yellow “mouth” and smiled. “I think he’s had too much caffeine today. That’s his problem.” She went through the papers and pulled out the missing form. “Look. I think this is it. I guess we overlooked it. It has to be signed by my parents, so there’s no use spending any more time on it now. I’ll leave it here with the letter and let them figure it out.”
“Are you bummed?” Sierra asked, returning to h
er normal voice.
“A little, I guess. It’s better than being turned down. But it’s not what I was hoping for. Should we get going to the restaurant? I’ll leave a note for my mom.”
Sierra wondered if Randy was right. Maybe waiting was more torturous than having the bad news delivered on the spot. She decided it would help if they got out the door and on to their celebration.
Randy came in the back door but not with an armful of flowers for Vicki, as Sierra had predicted. He had one snapdragon between his fingers, and he was trying to pinch it the way Sierra had. She thought it was funny that he had gone outside to pluck his very own snapdragon. Vicki was right. He was acting strange—or at least stranger than usual.
“Do we need to give Tre a ride?” Sierra asked after Vicki had finished writing the note telling her parents where she would be.
“I’ll call him,” Randy said, trying to use a puppet voice and maneuver his snapdragon at the same time.
Vicki motioned for Sierra to follow her into the hallway while Randy made his phone call. Sierra thought of how she had done the same sort of thing so she could tell her mom about Paul’s letter. Sierra figured Vicki wanted to hear about the letter, too.
But Paul wasn’t the guy on Vicki’s mind. “Do you think Randy’s acting this way because he heard what you said?”
“What? About the undying devotion?”
Vicki nodded.
“How should I know? Just go with it, girl. Maybe the whole college acceptance letter has rocketed our friend into a more serious approach to his future.”
“You think so?” Vicki looked over Sierra’s shoulder to see if Randy was coming. She self-consciously smoothed back her long hair.
“Who knows?” Sierra said. “But I can tell you from experience that it’s sobering to realize you’re about to graduate and go off to college having never dated anyone, much less kissed anyone.”
Vicki looked away. “Well, you already know how I feel about that. I wish I were as inexperienced as you are.”
Sierra bit her lower lip and tried not to feel a little hurt at Vicki’s comment. She knew Vicki meant it in a good way. Yet Sierra still felt bad that she was so inexperienced and had never been kissed. She had been asked out only once, by a guy from school named Drake. Even though she was sure at the time that she was ready for a dating relationship, the experience hadn’t turned out well.
Vicki grabbed Sierra’s arm and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“Something’s bothering you. You’re biting your lip.”
Sierra immediately ran her tongue across the pinch she had just made on the inside of her lower lip, as if trying to destroy the evidence.
“Ready?” Randy said, joining them from the kitchen. “Tre’s going with Margo, and they’re leaving his house right now.”
“Sure, I’m ready,” Vicki said.
“Me, too,” Sierra echoed. She leaned closer to Vicki and said, “Nothing’s wrong. Really.” With a convincing smile, Sierra led her friends to the car and drove them to Degrassi’s Italian restaurant. This time Vicki sat in the front and Randy was alone in the back.
They arrived at the same time as Warner, the band’s drummer, did, and the four of them entered the restaurant.
Amy stood at the hostess station. “So what’s the big event?”
“Didn’t Randy tell you when he called for reservations?” Sierra asked.
Amy shook her head. Her dark bangs brushed her eyelashes as she did.
“We’re celebrating!” Sierra told her. “Randy has some news. Tell her, Randy.”
Randy shuffled up to the wooden podium with the same enthusiasm with which he had approached Sierra when she was on the porch swing. “I’m going to Rancho Corona. And there might be a scholarship.”
Amy gave Randy a wide smile, which made her dark eyes stand out. “Good for you, Randy. That must be a relief.”
Randy nodded. “What about you? Have you made any final decisions?”
Amy shook her head. “I’m still not sure I want to go away to college. Or even if I want to go to college, for that matter.”
“You’re coming to our graduation, aren’t you?” Randy said, stepping closer. Amy had transferred from Royal Academy, the small, private Christian high school that Sierra, Vicki, and Randy attended, to a local public high school whose graduation was a week before Royal Academy’s.
“Yes. And you’re still coming to mine, aren’t you?” She looked at Warner and added, “You’re welcome, too, Warner. I’m not having a party or anything, but I was hoping all of you would come to my graduation ceremony.”
“We’re definitely coming,” Randy said.
“You know what?” Vicki added. “We really should have a party, the bunch of us.”
The wheels of Sierra’s imagination began to turn. She would love to have a party; she could introduce Paul to all of her friends. “Let’s!” she said. “I’m sure we can have it at my house.”
Just then Tre and Margo came in. They were in the process of becoming a couple lately, and they made an interesting duo. When Tre first came to Royal, he didn’t appear to speak much English, although he understood everything. The group later discovered he was quiet because he was shy. Born in Cambodia, he had lived in the Portland area since seventh grade. Tre was the strong, steady backbone of the band. He was the one who always reminded Randy they should pray before practices.
Margo’s parents had been missionaries in Peru, where she was born. This was her first year back in the States, and she had gravitated toward Sierra, Randy, and their group. Royal wasn’t a big school, and many of the groups were so tightly formed that it was nearly impossible to break into them. Even though they had experienced some difficult moments, the group that had been labeled “Randy and Sierra’s circle” had managed to remain open enough that just about anyone could hang out with them.
Lately Margo and Tre had been spending more time together. It seemed they had a lot in common because both of them had grown up in a different culture, and English was their second language. They looked cute standing next to each other. Both of them had changed into nicer clothes before coming. About a month ago, Margo had colored her short hair a deep brown with red highlights. Sierra thought it looked good, even though Vicki had tried to convince Margo to try lightening it instead.
“How many people are coming?” Amy asked, reaching for the menus and doing a quick head count.
“I think this is it,” Randy said. “Did you call anyone else, Tre?”
“Drake and Cassie,” Tre answered in his subdued voice. “But they’re working on the float for the parade.”
Every June, Portland hosted a parade to celebrate the roses that bloomed abundantly in the rainy City of Roses. Drake’s dad owned a diaper delivery service that had participated in the parade every year since the early 1960s. Drake had invited the group to help work on the float, but Sierra had forgotten about the invitation. Or maybe she had wanted to ignore it. She had a decent relationship with Drake, and he really was a nice guy. It was just that he had dated every girl on the planet—or at least every girl at Royal Academy. Sierra was still a little uncomfortable with the thought that last summer she had become one of the many on his list.
“That’s right,” Randy said. “Maybe we should go over there afterward.”
“I have homework,” Vicki said a little too quickly.
Sierra decided she would ask Vicki later how she felt about Drake and Cassie being together, since Cassie and Vicki had never gotten along. Whereas Sierra was a little uncomfortable around Drake, Vicki was very uncomfortable around Cassie. It was probably a good thing neither of them had come.
“I’ll put you guys in one of the big booths in the back,” Amy said, leading the group through the sparsely filled restaurant.
Warner walked beside Sierra. Any attention from him, deliberate or not, made Sierra feel queasy. She was okay with his being around all the time because enough people were in their gro
up that he usually kept his distance from Sierra. The two of them had never found a way to be more than civil to each other. He was one of those people who just got on her nerves, even though she did have to admit he seemed to be trying harder to get along with everyone.
“So you and Randy are both going to Rancho Corona,” Warner said. He was much taller than Sierra, and she could almost feel his words pelting the top of her head.
“Yes,” she said without looking up at him.
“Who else is going for sure?”
“Vicki,” Sierra said confidently.
“I haven’t heard yet,” Vicki said, turning around and taking in Warner and Sierra in one sweeping glance, “so I’m not a for-sure.”
They all slid into the booth, and Sierra sat next to Randy but not near long-legged Warner, who always bumped her legs whenever he sat near her at the school lunch tables. Margo sat next to Sierra, with Tre on the other side. The nice part of the arrangement, in Sierra’s opinion, was that Randy was at the center of the booth, which is where he should be for the celebration.
When everyone was nearly finished with dinner, Sierra tapped her spoon against the side of her water glass. “As you all know,” she began in her best dinner-hostess voice, “our very own Randy Jenkins has received an important letter today. So we are gathered to celebrate his good news and congratulate him.”
Warner lifted his water glass and, in a voice too loud for the quiet restaurant, said, “To Randy!”
The others followed Warner’s lead and clinked their glasses in a toast to Randy.
Sierra smiled at her buddy and said, “And now I think the guest of honor should say a few words.”
Randy shrugged. “I’m going to college.”
“And how do you feel about this big adventure?” Sierra used her spoon as a pretend microphone and held it in front of Randy.
He smiled his half smile and said, “It’s a day my mom said she thought would never come.”
The group let out a quick burst of laughter.
Sierra cheerfully added, “Yep, only a few short months, and we’re outta here!”