Veronica wound up following Summer to the computer lab, hanging on to every word as Summer rambled excitedly about her Defenders Alliance internship application.
"Too bad no one got a video of me getting struck by lightning," Summer said as she sat down at a computer. "That would have been cool."
Veronica took a seat next to her and inched her chair as close as she dared. "Well, next time there's a storm, I'd be happy to film for you."
Summer laughed. "Thanks." She opened the internet browser and began typing.
"So, when will you hear back from them?"
"Early May," Summer replied. "Then I'd get to spend July and August living at the dorms near their facility."
That sent a rush of—disappointment?—through Veronica. Don't be stupid, she thought. She'd known this was coming.
"Are you and Sam going back to your family this summer?" Summer asked.
Veronica sighed. "Not sure yet. I miss them, but we need to make sure people won't come after us."
"Yeah. That has me worried, too," Summer said. "You have a younger brother, right? Simon?"
Veronica nodded.
"How old is he?"
"Twelve." Veronica leaned forward a little farther to peer at the internship application portal as it loaded. "Your younger sister's in elementary school too, right?"
"Yeah, Jenny's six." Summer scrolled down a page full of carefully written paragraphs and attached video files. "Well, looks like everything's ready to go." The cursor hovered over the submit button.
Summer took a deep breath and clicked it.
"You nervous?" Veronica asked.
"Very." Summer grinned. "But it's nice being nervous about something that isn't life-threatening, for once." She closed the browser and rose to her feet.
"Well, regardless of whether you get it, we should celebrate," Veronica said as she stood up, hating the way her heart insisted on pounding a little too hard in her chest.
"I was thinking the same thing," Summer replied. "I dunno, maybe we could all go get ice cream later this week."
The two headed for the door.
"We should go to the beach one of these days," Veronica said. "I mean, we are on the coast." Her family rarely made the trip to the ocean. With no telling what the future might hold, she'd like to take advantage of its proximity while she had the chance.
"Oh, good idea!" Summer exclaimed. "Yeah, let's do a beach day." She paused. "Hey, would you want to go with me to get lunch tomorrow? I saw a sandwich place near the pier that looked good. I've been wanting to try it for weeks."
Veronica hesitated. "Just you and me?"
Summer gave her a quick glance and a grin. "Yeah. If you want."
"Yeah," Veronica replied, unable to stop a smile from spreading across her face. "I'd love to."