As promised, Anna’s mom arrived early the next morning, and her knock at the door startled Liv from a deep, contented sleep. Anna hustled out of her bedroom, dressed and ready. She hurried through an introduction while Liv sat snuggled up under her covers in her couch-bed. She had made a motion to stand up for a proper handshake, but Anna’s mom insisted she stay in bed.
Anna hastily showed her mom around their apartment, and less than five minutes later, Anna declared they were leaving. She and Liv had decided during the previous night’s taxi ride home that Anna should take her mom out shopping and for high tea at Selfridges to soften her up a bit.
Liv hoped everything would be okay—she couldn’t imagine the pressure Anna must be feeling. The phone calls and arguments had really taken their toll on her. Liv hoped Anna and her mom could sort things out so Anna could enjoy the rest of her summer guilt-free.
Though she would never admit it to Anna, Liv did sort of envy her roommate’s parents’ involvement in her life. Liv’s dad was incredible, but she sometimes wished he paid more attention to what she was doing. She wouldn’t even mind if he got a little more angry when she screwed up. He was often so wrapped up in his photography that Liv sometimes wondered if he noticed she was growing up. She only had one year left at home before she went off to college.
But now that she’d seen Anna’s situation, she was beginning to realize that her dad’s lack of involvement in decisions about her life was probably just his way of letting her know he supported her. He never said it, but maybe his silence was his way of encouraging her to make her own choices. Hmmm, she thought. Interesting trick.
Pulling herself out of bed, Liv realized she had the whole day to herself. Rebecca was in the shower, and seemed to be getting ready to go out. So Liv happily lazed around the apartment—under the careful watch of Hell Dog—before deciding how best to spend the day.
She was still surviving almost exclusively on Green Room leftovers, and she felt like she deserved a tasty lunch at one of the neighborhood pubs. She could hole away in a dark corner and work on ideas for the VJ for a Day competition. Things had been so hectic at work that she and Anna had had almost no time to think about their audition. They still had a month before the competition, but Liv knew how crazy things were going to get around the office with the Josh Cameron concert coming up.
Around noon she wandered out into the rainy early afternoon and into a pub just a few blocks from her flat. She was instantly comforted by the warm, dark interior, and she spotted a small open table in the back corner. The cozy restaurant made her feel very literary and Shakespeare-esque—she hoped the environment would inspire great ideas for the audition.
As she passed through the dark room, Liv’s stomach dropped. Sitting in one of the deep red booths along the side wall was a way-too-familiar blond head. Rebecca, she groaned inwardly.
Rebecca spotted Liv just as Liv was deciding whether she could make a quick getaway, or if she had to stop and say hello. She realized that running off wasn’t the most adult thing to do, but she didn’t know if she could handle spending her lunch with Rebecca. Maybe I’ll get lucky and Rebecca will be with someone, Liv mused. Maybe she doesn’t want to see me any more than I want to see her.
Just as quickly as she had hoped Rebecca wasn’t alone, Liv took it back. Because Rebecca was very definitely having lunch with someone… and that someone was Colin. Sure, Liv had vowed that she and Colin were just friends—and she was dating Josh Cameron, International Superstar—but she still cringed when she saw them together.
“Oh,” Liv blurted out. “Hi, Rebecca. Hi, Colin.”
“Li-uhv,” Rebecca purred coldly. “How marvelous to see you here.” Is she joking? Liv thought, her stomach churning.
Colin shot Rebecca a look, and said quickly, “Liv, join us.”
Now, Liv could think of nothing she would rather not do at that moment than join Rebecca and Colin for lunch. But she could see no escape.
“So, what are you guys up to today?” Liv asked, though she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.
“We’re just—,” Colin began, but Rebecca quickly cut him off.
“Oh, Li-uhv, Colin is just so sweet,” she said, leaning in conspiratorially toward Liv. “He’s taking me all around London today, showing me all of the sights. Isn’t that just the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?” She beamed across the table at Colin as Liv willed herself not to puke.
Although she was being totally unreasonable, Liv just couldn’t stop herself from feeling pangs of jealousy. For some dumb reason, she thought Colin’s tour around London had been for her alone. She now realized just how silly that assumption was.
What’s wrong with you, Liv? Did you think Colin might be interested in you even though he knows about you and Josh Cameron, and he’s clearly dating Rebecca? Did you think he was going to wait around for you?
“Yeah,” Liv said, after a moment’s silence. “That’s really sweet, Rebecca.” She glanced at Colin, who was focusing on the table in front of him.
“Are you alone today, Liv?” Rebecca asked with a smirk. “Where’s Josh Cameron?”
All right, Liv thought bitterly. Is that question really necessary? Out loud, she said, “Oh, I’m not sure. You know how it is—preparing for his concert and everything. He’s a busy guy.” Lame, Liv. Totally lame. Liv had tried to keep the details of her relationship quiet, but her close friends knew she was “hanging out” with an International Superstar. Rebecca, however, was convinced Liv was making it all up.
“Yeah, Ah definitely know how it is. The concert is going to be fab-u-lous, by the way,” Rebecca said with an air of superiority. Liv thought she noticed Colin shoot Rebecca a weird look across the table, but she couldn’t be sure.
After a moment of awkward silence, Colin spoke. “We should probably get going, yeah?”
“Right,” Rebecca said cheerfully. “Big day. Liv, you should definitely try the shepherd’s pie. Ah tried some of Colin’s and it was absolutely dee-lish.”
Liv muttered something and hastily said good-bye. As Colin and Rebecca headed for the door, she noticed Colin lean over and mutter something quietly to Rebecca. Rebecca frowned, then turned to look back at Liv. She broke into a huge pageant grin and waved. Liv managed a thin smile, then slid further into the booth.
“Urghhhhhh.”
Liv looked up from her book as the door slammed. “Didn’t go so well?” she asked, as Anna threw herself onto the couch.
“You could say that,” Anna said, clunking her head against the back of the couch.
Liv folded down the corner on her page and tossed her book on the floor. “Details, please. If you want to share.”
“Yeah, I’ll share. I think I need to.” Anna stood up and went to the fridge. She returned a moment later with two glasses of black currant juice and a packet of biscuits. “Let’s just say, she isn’t happy with me.”
“Did high tea help?” Liv asked, smiling.
“Uh-huh,” Anna mumbled, tearing open the cookies. “That was a good idea—she totally loved it. But she’s still really upset with me. She says I broke our agreement.”
“Yikes.”
“I mean, I did say if she gave me this summer, I’d get back on track this fall. But I agreed to that when I didn’t think there was really a chance I would be putting off college for a few years. But, Liv, I just can’t do it.” Anna had tears welling up in her eyes. Liv set her glass on the floor and leaned forward to give her roommate a hug.
Anna continued. “I don’t know what I am going to do. I know I’ll go to school—there’s even a good chance I’ll apply to med school—and that’s part of the reason I feel like I have to take a couple years to explore now.”
“What did your mom say to all that?” Liv asked.
“It was the first time I’d ever really mentioned any of this to her, so I think it came as a surprise. She just assumed I wanted everything she wanted. But I want to work at Music Mix! Not forever, but for a little while.…” Anna smiled weakly.
“I know you do.” Liv didn’t really know what to say. So she just sat and waited for Anna to continue.
“I know it’s unlikely that I’ll get a job from Simon Brown at the end of the summer, but I need to try,” Anna said resolutely. “And if that doesn’t work out, then I’ll figure something else out. It feels so good not to have a plan—I know that sounds silly, but my whole life has been completely planned out, and I love that it could be a blank slate for the next few years.”
Liv nodded. Everything Anna was saying made complete sense. But she couldn’t stop thinking that the situation Anna was dealing with was the complete opposite of the one she would be dealing with in a year. She’d gotten so little pressure, and had so few ideas of what she was going to do, that college seemed like the only option for her. She was looking forward to the structure.
Anna guzzled the rest of her juice. “You know, even though today was awful and painful and really, really unpleasant, I’m glad I had a chance to talk to her about it. I think that she might sort of get it. Even though she’s upset, I’m sort of hoping that on some level she understands what I’ve been going through. It’s possible she might ease up for a while. At least until application season comes around again,” Anna broke off, laughing.
Liv was happy to see Anna’s mood brightening. “So you think you guys are good now?”
“Not good. But maybe better. I understand where she’s coming from, and she understands that I need to do what I’m going to do, and forcing me to do something else isn’t going to accomplish much.” Anna grinned. “Even though I’m stubborn, I’m not stupid.… She knows I’ll make the ‘right’ choices”—she made little quotes in the air—“eventually.”
“You will definitely make the right choices,” Liv said. “You have up until now, so I don’t think there’s much risk of that.”
Anna stood up and turned on some music. “Now we just need to focus on getting me a job at Music Mix so I’m not homeless and penniless at the end of the summer,” she laughed. “How was your day, dear?”
Liv groaned. “Not as terrible as yours, but definitely not good.”
“Why?” Anna asked. “What happened?”
Liv quickly told Anna about her run-in with Colin and Rebecca. “It was just so awkward,” she finished.
“You are totally into him,” Anna said simply.
“What? No.”
“I don’t know—that’s what it sounds like to me.”
“That’s crazy.” Liv shook her head. “What about Josh Cameron? And what about the fact that Colin is dating Rebecca? There’s something really wrong with him if he’s attracted to her.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Anna grinned. As Liv reached over to swat her roommate with a pillow, the door to their apartment flew open and Rebecca floated in.
“Hi, girls,” she said, winking. The look on Rebecca’s face told Liv everything she needed to know. And it was then—Josh Cameron and Rebecca aside—that Liv realized Anna may have been more than a little bit right.