“I can relate,” Hannah says, pulling me from my thoughts.“Who are you? Where do you see yourself in five years—”
“Hopefully still alive,” I answer, making both of us laugh.
“I know, right? In five years, if I’m lucky, I’ll have just graduated from the school I sent this application to.”
After taking a sip of her Snickerdoodle Latte, Hannah shuffles our drinks. I welcome the distraction, not wanting to dwell on something so heavy. While the Cardamom and Cinnamon Latte is bold, the Snickerdoodle is sweet and reminds me of the cookies my grandma makes around Christmas.
“I think I’m going to hold on to this,” I admit, pulling Hannah’s latte close.
“Good, because this one is way better,” Hannah says, sipping some foam off the top. “But back to my original question. Essays aside, where are you applying?”
I run down the list, “Ohio State, Kenyon College, Temple University, Princeton, and University of Pittsburgh. How about you?”
Hannah’s eyes light up. “Pomona, OhioUniversity, Oberlin, and University of Pittsburgh.”
She stares at me, and instead of addressing the obvious, I say, “You’re not allowed to go to Pomona. I’m going to call them and tell them your application is a joke.”
“Why would you do that?” she asks, laughing.
“Because it’s too far away!”
“Fine, then instead of going to school far away, why don’t we both go to Pitt? We can be roommates,” she says, probably only half kidding.
“You would love that, wouldn’t you.”
Hannah pauses, tilting her head back as if she’s considering my question. “Maybe not roommates, but if we end up at the same college, that would be pretty amazing.”
“Seriously?” I ask, though the idea starts to click into place.
We’re already both applying to the same school, and Pitt is a real contender for me if I get in. Before, the idea of us going to the same college felt like a far-fetched dream. But what if it happens?
“Seriously,” Hannah says, doubling down. “What, you don’t want to go to the same school as me?”
“I didn’t realize it was a real possibility,” I admit, both to her and to myself.
She nods, understanding, and brushes her foot up my leg underneath the table. A year from now, we could be sitting just like this in the dining hall, talking about our classes, picking out what clubs we’re going to join, whispering over Pitt’s famous shoestring fries.
“Look, I haven’t even submitted my applications yet and I’mhoping to land at least a small field hockey scholarship somewhere. Pitt isn’t a big field hockey school, and I might not even get in—”
“I’m sure you could get in with your grades,” I say, not wanting to backpedal so soon.
“Possibly,” Hannah relents. “I’m just saying, as exciting as the idea of us going to the same school is, there’s no reason to get our hopes up yet.”
“Right,” I say, though it’s too late.
Chapter Twenty-One
I turn and wave goodbye to my mom after I knock on Rowena’s door. When she drives away, I realize how strange, almost anxiously naked, it feels to be here—to show up—without Hannah. But that anxiety is dashed when the door opens and Hannah is looking at me, smiling.
“Hey,” I say, stepping past her.
“Hey,” she says. Her voice is quiet and gets swept away by the laughter coming from the kitchen.
I know my way from last time and round the island, setting the extra baking sheets I brought with me down on an empty spot among the gathered supplies.
I see an apple-cider candle lit on the counter, and when I stand next to Hannah across from the other girls, I catch the scent of chai wafting off the steam rising from the ocean-print mug in front of her.
Rowena picks up her pen and opens her laptop. “Now that we are all here, let’s get down to business. Olivia and Hailey have a great idea.”