The First to Fall ⚢

𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞 • 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚

"Oh, you'll have to let me know what you think of the classes; that was my second choice!"

I've never seen Aspen so passionate about something, let alone school. I mean, she's always gotten the highest grades in class, of course, but she never really talked about her academics whenever she was at school. She never mentioned studying or test scores or any assignments we ever had, and yet she was top of the class every single time. She and I, that is.

I always thought people were her thing, but it's clear that she's truly a jack of many trades. I don't think I've heard any of her music before—probably because I'd die if she were better at the violin than me—but clearly, she's passionate enough about it to go to school for it. Maybe one day I'll be able to listen to what she's capable of. Knowing her, it's probably ridiculous. Ridiculously, disgustingly impressive.

"What about you, uh—" Theo turns to ask me, and I realize I haven't officially introduced myself yet.

"Cara," I help him out with a smile and an understanding nod. "I'm a film production major."

"Oh, like Ambrose? I guess that's how you guys met too, huh?"

I nod and Ambrose walks back into the room with four serving plates lining his arms. "Y'all talking shit in here?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Aspen jokes as Ambrose sets the plates down on the table without dropping a single one.

"How did you just do that?" I ask him, amazed.

"Ambrose used to be a server in one of those fancy restaurants where the waiters go around singing and dancing," Theo points out as Ambrose nods in approval; it seems like they might be as close as Norah and Opal are, seeing how comfortable they are with each other.

"You were a theatre kid in high school, weren't you?" Aspen asks with a faux judgmental tone. Or at least it better be faux, otherwise, she'd be a hypocrite. The girl played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet as a freshman doing theatre for the first time. I can't recall any other shows she was in, but since I went to see that one, I can remember her in that Shakespearean dress perfectly.

"You caught me," Ambrose says over his shoulder as he heads back into the kitchen to grab more food. I glance at the spread he's brought out so far: taco shells, ground beef, lettuce, cheese. When he comes back out with more dishes, I watch as he sets down some diced tomatoes, sour cream, beans, and salsa, and suddenly I am feeling extra hungry.

"This all looks so good," I tell him when he finally takes a seat between me and Theo. He smiles shyly and thanks me under his breath, reaching for a taco shell.

"So did you guys know each other before this year?" Aspen asks as she also digs into the food. I wait for the path to be a little clearer before I reach to start assembling my tacos.

Ambrose nods, keeping his gaze locked on the taco toppings. "It's kind of funny, actually. We—"

"Oh, no, don't tell them that yet," Theo complains, worry flashing across his broad eyebrows.

"Come on, it's not as bad as you think," Ambrose glances over at his friend.

Theo rolls his eyes. "Okay, fine."

"Okay, well," Ambrose continues, "We met our freshman year of high school after Theo moved from New Hampshire, but we didn't really get along at first."

"Wait, really?" I ask.

Ambrose nods. "I mean, look at him. He's a nerd."

Theo just stops what he's doing and looks over at his friend through his Harry Potter glasses in exasperation.