Best-Case Scenario

Chapter Seven

I beat Finn to Pete's and park my bike against the wall. I don't recognize anyone here. Most of the kids are underclassmen or middle school couples trying to find some independence away from their parents, leaning against the brick wall behind the shop trying to navigate the early years of puberty. I walk the opposite direction the edge of a field and sit at a round table with a mint green umbrella, sitting away from the setting sun, and wait.

All day I fought off nerves and ignored Kali's texts of 'good luck' and 'tell me everything even the gross stuff'. I tried to focus on homework but all I wanted to do was fast forward time. I slipped out of the door with a quick 'going to meet Finn, bye!' to my mom, and rushed to the car before she could respond.

A blue Corolla pulls into the tiny parking lot and Finn gets out. He smiles when I catch his eye and my stomach does a few somersaults when I stand up to meet him. I walk past the group against the wall who have all looked to see who's arriving and crunch across the gravel to meet him.

Finn's face is lit up by the fluorescents as he gazes up at the sign. "I missed this place so much. There was nothing like it in Greensborough."

"There were no small ice cream shops in Greensborough?" I repeat.

"Well there was," he says. "But none that did the daily flavors."

We get in line and I order a gingersnap lemon cookie scoop on a cone from the girl at the counter. She winks at me when I order and nods to Finn. I take my cone without responding to the glance and Finn steps up. I catch the drips of ice cream with my tongue as Finn follows me, cone in hand. I eye it.

"You missed this place so much that you order chocolate?"

"Hey!" he says taking a huge lick and earning a chocolate mustache. "I'm going to work my way through the menu and the chocolate is good here. I wanted to start with my favorite."

We sit down and let a comfortable silence fall around us while we focus on eating our ice cream. The sun is casting a few remaining rays, illuminating the grass in the field. I watch a few of the freshmen chase each other with globs of ice cream and one girl get it smeared in her hair. I do not miss that.

Finn is pointed to the group too. "I'm nervous about college but I wouldn't go back to ninth grade. No way."

He leaves an opening to ask about him moving away again but I ask about his plans for college instead. I take a bit of my ice cream so I can't react if the news is bad.

"I'm not sure, yet," he says. "I'm applying to my mom's college so I can get the tuition break but I'm also looking at Ithaca College."

Ithaca is far away but I have hopes for a college about forty-five minutes away from there. I swallow my mouthful of ice cream.

"What do you want to do?"

He tells me about his plans of going in as biology major and focusing in genetics. Same Finn as always. He had wanted to be a scientist since I've known him. Finn asks about me when he finishes up.

"I'm not sure still," I admit. "I'm thinking maybe Psychology? I like helping people so I can see where that takes me. There's a school about four hours away that I really like. I went there this summer with Kali and it's small but it seems right."

"You and Kali are still best of friends then?"

"Could you not tell?"

He puts his napkin down and scrunches up his nose for a second. "I want to know where I stand. That's all. I missed so much and I don't know anything anymore. I know that's my fault, but I can tell things are different. Between you two, I mean. I just don't know why."