Vivacious college student Alicia Whittaker wants to see the world, even if it means leaving her beloved Winter Grove behind. She has her eye on the European Exchange program for the next semester, but she has yet to break the news to her best friend...
¡Ay! Esta imagen no sigue nuestras pautas de contenido. Para continuar la publicación, intente quitarla o subir otra.
Alicia
By the look of it, everyone in town had signed up for the Winter Grove Games. The town square had been cleared of booths and was now densely packed with people. Alicia and Sterling were waiting beneath the massive tree that twinkled overhead in green. The Brightons would be here soon.
"I'm sorry," Alicia said, looking up at her friend. He was looking even grumpier than usual. "I really am."
"You can keep saying it," Sterling grumbled, "but it's not going to change the fact that we're already here."
Alicia sighed. "I know, and it's my fault. I'm really, really..."
"Sorry," Sterling finished for her, letting out a breath that curled out in clouds. "I know."
He closed his eyes for a minute as though he was trying to master himself before they snapped open again, and he rounded on her.
"What were you even thinking, Alicia? One second you're mocking this whole thing, the next you're volunteering for it!"
"I don't even know," Alicia said with a wince. "Zeke was being such a jerk, and I just wanted to get back at him, punish him, and—"
Sterling's sour facade fell away. "And yet we're the ones being punished."
"Yeah," Alicia said. "It was stupid, I know. I'm really..."
Sterling raised his gloved hand to stop her. "Don't you dare say it."
"Fine," Alicia said, finally cracking a smile. "You could leave, you know."
Sterling eyed her. "You could too."
But Alicia just shook her head. "No I can't."
She had gotten herself into this mess. The least she could do was see it through.
"And neither can I," Sterling said. "Celeste would be disappointed."
"If you really didn't want to stay, she would understand," Alicia offered.
"Exactly," Sterling said with a knowing smile. "She would understand, because she's good like that, and that's exactly why I don't want to disappoint her—"
From afar, as though she had been summoned, Celeste's voice rang out. "ALICIA! STERLING!"
Alicia and Sterling looked over.
Celeste, her parents, and Zeke were headed their way. Celeste rushed forward to hug Alicia and pull Sterling into a quick kiss. Alicia hadn't had a chance to say it, but she agreed with Sterling. She didn't want to disappoint Celeste either.
As her parents and Zeke caught up, Alicia noticed that Zeke's eyes had gone flat and looked detached from the whole thing.
