Chapter 4
When I got home, I slept for a whole day.
The next afternoon, somebody nearly wore the doorbell out.
When I opened the door, the three of them were standing outside.
Ethan was holding my favorite cake.
Jason brought two fresh rolls of film.
Ryan had a huge bag of meds in his arms.
I stepped out of the doorway.
"Come in."
Ethan looked visibly relieved when he saw I was acting normal.
"What was leaving the group chat about? Jason only noticed this morning. When we were kids you'd leave for ten minutes tops. This time it's been a whole day."
I sat down on the couch.
"Too many group chats. I cleared one out."
Jason set the film down on the table.
"Then I'll add you back. I asked the repair guy, and the exposed shots are gone, but we can shoot new ones. The teacher dinner is next week, and everyone's in uniform. That's a whole roll right there."
"I put the camera away."
"You're not using it anymore?"
"Not for now."
Jason stared at me.
"Brooke, you used to love taking pictures."
I picked up my water glass.
"People change what they like."
The room went quiet for a bit.
Ryan set the medication down.
"Take everything the doctor gave you the way it's written. And before orientation next month, go in for a follow-up. I'll come with you.
"Southbridge University is half an hour from our building. I asked about the campus health center. It's decent."
I looked up.
"Did you guys finish your college applications?" I asked.
Ethan sat down next to me.
"Yeah, we've all already applied to Southbridge University. The three of us picked different majors, but our campuses are right next to each other.
"Summer applied to Southbridge too. Her grades are good enough for the business school. Once we get our admission letters, the four of us should take a photo together in front of the university entrance."
Four again, huh.
I didn't correct him.
Ethan watched me for a second and then grinned. "So you are still angry. Don't worry about it. Once we're in college, you come first. Summer will have her own crowd. She can't follow us around every day."
I smiled.
"Alright," I said.
The three of them visibly relaxed.
They stayed until evening.
Before they left, Ethan placed a compass keychain on my desk.
It looked really worn.
The edges were polished smooth from years of handling.
The four of us had gotten one each when we finished elementary school.
Our names were carved on the back.
He said, "I've been holding this for you for three days. It went under the bed the night everything happened, and the owner found it later. Don't lose it again. One in each of our dorm rooms. That was the deal."
I picked the charm up.
The carving on it read: [Brooke Linwood].
Ten years ago, Ethan had spent a whole afternoon in the stationery store picking them out.
He'd said that even if the four of us got separated, a compass would bring us back.
The next day, I put it in a shipping box.
I sent it back to him.
The only note on the package was:
[It's yours. You keep it.]
*****
The whole class came to the teacher's appreciation dinner.
Our homeroom teacher saved a table for the ones of us who'd grown up together.
Summer was already sitting next to Ethan when I got there.
She stood up the second she saw me.
"Brooke, I saved you a seat. Ethan said you always liked the window, so I left it open for you."
I pulled out a different chair.
"Anywhere's fine," I said.
Ethan looked over at me.
Halfway through the meal, the teacher had everybody go up and say where they were headed.
Jason was the first to jump up.
"Southbridge University, journalism. I'll be shooting everybody's graduation pictures."
Ethan took the mic. "Southbridge, computer science. The four of us have been running around together since kindergarten, and college isn't getting rid of us either."
The whole class cracked up.
Somebody shouted, "What about Brooke? Are you four planning to hog each other for life?"
Every head in the room turned toward me.
Before I could stand, Summer smiled and said, "Brooke's going to Southbridge too, obviously. She and Ethan and the guys planned it forever. I'm the latecomer. Getting into the same school is lucky enough for me."
I took a sip of water.
My teacher glanced over at me and said nothing.
The dinner wrapped up.
Ethan called out to me.
"Let's go to the back gate."
"What for?" I asked.
"The time capsule."
Back when we finished elementary school, we buried a metal box behind the school.
We promised we'd dig it up after we graduated high school.
Jason brought a small shovel.
The four of us crouched under the osmanthus tree, digging for ages.
Summer stood nearby, filming the whole thing.
The metal box was all rusted.
When we opened it, there were four pieces of paper inside.
Ethan read his own out loud. "Eighteen-year-old Ethan is going to Southbridge University with Brooke, Ryan, and Jason. Brooke has no sense of direction, so I'll keep leading the way."
Jason laughed until he couldn't stand up straight.
Ryan said, "I hope Brooke gets sick less, Jason gets hit less, and Ethan does fewer stupid things."
Then it was my turn.
The words on the paper were a little messy.
[After we turn eighteen, the four of us stay together. Nobody gets left behind.]
The laughter stopped.
Ethan glanced at me.
"You were pretty sentimental when you were a kid."
Jason quickly folded up the four pieces of paper.
"Let's put them back in. We'll dig them up again after we graduate from college."
I reached out.
"Can I have mine?"
Jason paused for a second.
"Why not keep them all together?"
"I want to hang onto it."
He handed it over.
I folded the paper and slipped it into my pocket.
Four days later, the first round of results came out.
Ethan checked his admission to Southbridge University at home.
He immediately opened our high school group chat.
Our homeroom teacher had just dropped a congratulatory message.
[Congratulations to Brooke Linwood on her admission to Seaside University.]
Under the photo, my name had one line after it, plain as anything.
[Marine Biology Honors Program.]
Ethan stood there, staring at his phone for a whole minute.
Then he rushed out of the house.