Chapter
11

CJ grabbed the books she needed for first period and tossed the rest of her stuff in her locker. As she closed the door, she actually felt relieved to be at school. It meant the absolute worst vacation of her life was behind her.

It was also the first day since getting home that CJ was actually feeling better. They’d managed to call their families from the phone in the motel room, and Katrina’s dad had hopped into his SUV to come pick them up. By the time he’d gotten to them the next morning, they all had severe colds, and Katrina had developed frostbite in two of her fingers. They spent the majority of the trip home coughing, sneezing, sniffling, and asking Katrina’s dad to stop for cold medicine.

CJ’s cold had turned into the flu, so she’d spent the rest of winter break in bed. She had heard from Leo regularly, but there was no word from Alex or Katrina.

“May I carry your books for you, Madame?” Leo asked in a terrible British accent as he bowed.

CJ snorted. “I’m good. Thanks though.” She didn’t feel like joking around when she was still worried about their friends. “Have you heard from Katrina or Alex?”

Leo shrugged. “No, but I assume they worked stuff out, right?”

“Maybe,” she said. “Nothing like crashing a car, getting stranded on a mountain and hit by an avalanche, and nearly freezing to death to make your relationship problems seem small.”

CJ certainly felt that way about her own college worries. Though she still hadn’t heard back from any schools she’d applied to, she knew there was plenty of time for acceptance letters to roll in. And no matter what happened, at least she wasn’t buried under six feet of snow in the middle of the wilderness.

“Well, knowing the two of them, I’m sure we’ll get an update eventually.”

CJ spotted Katrina walking down the hall toward them. “Or we can just ask right now. Hey!” she called, waving.

Katrina came over to them. “How are you guys feeling?”

“Better,” CJ said.

“I’m no longer constantly dripping with sweat, so that’s good,” Leo replied. “How are you?”

Katrina held her hand up, revealing two of her fingers held together in bandages. “It still stings, and the doctors said it’ll be another week or so before they stop hurting. Other than that, I’m fine.”

“How’s Alex?” Leo asked.

“He’s good,” Katrina said vaguely. “I think he was planning on coming in today, but I haven’t heard from him in a couple days.”

“Oh, so you have been talking . . .”

She rolled her eyes. “Subtle, Leo. But really, the last thing we talked about was that stupid van. I guess after the plows managed to clear the roads on the mountain, his parents were able to pick up the van. Not that they’ll be able to use it for a while.”

They nodded.

“Seriously, though,” CJ said. “What happened?”

Katrina shrugged. “We talked a lot after we both started feeling better. I told Alex I’m going to go to NYU and that he should go to UCLA. It’s where he really wants to go, and I want him to go there too.”

There was a brief pause.

“And are you two . . .” Leo trailed off.

“We’re through. We figured if even the idea of doing the long-distance thing put that much of a strain on our relationship, we probably shouldn’t be in one. But,” she added, “we’re not mad at each other anymore. We’ll always be friends—long-distance friends—and that’s a lot easier.”

“Oh,” CJ said. “I’m sorry.”

Katrina waved it away. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t working. We both knew that. Now, we’re happy and moving on.” She glanced at a clock on the hallway wall. “American Lit is on the other side of the building, so I’ve got to go, but I’ll catch you two at lunch?”

“Yeah,” CJ said. “See you then.”

Katrina walked off.

“Huh,” Leo said. “Well, that’s probably for the best.”

“Yeah. I’m glad they’re done arguing about it and we can all move on.”

He turned to her with a teasing grin. “So, same trip next year?”

CJ’s eyes narrowed, but she smiled. “Let’s go to the beach next year—without another couple.”