On New Year’s Eve, it snowed. Flakes dotted Eve’s curls as Eve and Nessa hopped out of Nessa’s dad’s car.
“Are you ready to see him if he comes?” Nessa asked her.
“I think so.” Eve gazed up at the sky. “I love how purply orange the sky gets when the snow falls at night.”
“It’s nice.” Back to business. “Are you gonna forgive him, because he knew not what he did?”
Eve laughed.
Another car pulled up, and Lara and Erin tapped on the windows from inside Erin’s parents’ car.
Erin came down the ramp with a noisemaker in her mouth and a party hat.
“She’s been blowing that thing nonstop. Please help me,” Lara deadpanned. Lara wore a white flower headpiece in her hair.
“You’re the classiest person I know,” Nessa told her, nodding to the flower.
“And you’re the cutest,” Lara said, taking Nessa’s hand and twirling her around.
“Is you-know-who coming?” Lara asked as they all headed into the building together.
“I think so,” Nessa answered.
“His apology was really nice,” Erin told them. “I milked it for all it was worth. He felt really bad.”
“Yeah, he wrote me an actual letter,” Lara said. “In the mail. I liked the whole pigeon-carrier feel to it.”
Nessa laughed.
They spotted the right entrance.
“Guys!” they heard a voice call out from a few yards away.
Amina bounded toward them. “Wow! The snow!” she said, clearly still a bit nervous around them. Weather talk always meant someone was nervous.
“Want a noisemaker?” Erin held one out.
“Ooh, yes, please.” Amina took it.
“Don’t forget me!” Nessa put out her palm.
And as Sophie came on the intercom to say, “Guys? Is it you?” they all blew into the speaker, so loudly that probably the whole neighborhood could hear them.