Page 88 of The Lucky One
My brain totally lost its functioning. I went to Paul’s.
I lifted up the garage door and ducked in instead of knocking. I didn’t want to risk seeing her; I only wanted to see him. I stood in the pitch black. It was completely silent, and the smell of dried paint and slime hung in the air. “Ugh.”
I edged my way along the wall—no idea where the light switch could be.
“Ew!” I squealed as I walked into something that felt like a spiderweb. I swiped at it with my fingers, but the more I tried the more it clung to me. I backed away, nearly losing my balance—and an evil laugh rang in my ears.
I screamed in sheer panic and tripped over something. Heavy roped fabric fell over me, keeping me down. I just kept screaming.
The lights turned on. “What’s going on here?!” Paul yelled. I went abruptly silent. A younger boy and a girl exploded with laughter behind him.
I was caught—in a net? Yep, a fishing net. I couldn’t move.
“She got spooked!” Zack crowed amid gales of laughter.
“Who?” Paul shouted. “Emily?”
“No, not Emily,” the girl said, fizzing with hilarity.
I whimpered in my cramped position on the floor. Why did I come here again?
Paul strode over to me, lips tense.
“Hi...” I said, the idiot caught in a net with spider webbing all over her face. Oh, and let’s not forget the nerdy pajamas.
After helping me out of this mess, Paul brought me a tea and we trooped down to the basement to sit on the couch.
“I’m sorry about my little bro and his girlfriend,” he said for what felt like the tenth time now.
“I came into the garage without knocking. They were probably scared too.” I sipped my tea, feeling more ashamed with each sip I took.
“Zack’s never scared,” Paul said with a smile, sounding relieved that I wasn’t mad at him.
“He’s definitely good at what he’s doing. But maybe trapping people who go into his haunted house is a bit too much.”
Paul shook his head. “Kiki, why are you here?”
I put down my cup. “I got into Yale.”
His eyes lit up and he grabbed my hand, lifted me off the couch and twirled me around. “That’s incredible!”
I laughed. Then it truly sank in. I did it: I got into freaking Yale.
As he gently set me down, Paul observed, “You don’t seem happy about it though.”
I tried to neutralize my smile, only to realize that the corners of my mouth were drooping already.
“Kiki, what’s going on?”
A sob erupted from my throat. “I don’t want to go to Yale. It was my parents’ dream, not mine... Princeton accepted me right away. They didn’t make me wait and doubt myself. Princeton is where I belong.”
“Princeton is amazing too,” Paul said, stroking my arm.
“I want to be someone’s first choice, Paul.” He kept watching me patiently, so I wasn’t sure he got my gist. “I can’t wait any longer. I deserve to be the priority.”
He frowned. “You’re incredible, Kiki.”
I nodded. An unspoken conversation had happened between us. He couldn’t give me what I was looking for.