One

I’ve always loved summer, but I could already tell this year’s was going to be more awesome than the others. After spending almost every weekday afternoon since October tutoring kids with my friends on the Ace Squad, my friends and I had finally raised enough money to go to Starscape, the summer art camp of our dreams.

Everything was coming together!

Even though we technically didn’t have to keep teaching kids after we made the payment deadline, we didn’t want to leave anyone hanging. Plus, Starscape was in NYC, so we were going to need a lot more money if we wanted to have fun during our trip. Even after we were all set, my friends and I continued teaching kids in the library. Today I was helping—or trying to help—a fifth grader named Kylie with her homework.

Kylie was new to the Ace Squad, and aside from the few times I’d seen her at my church, I’d never really interacted much with her. All I knew was she always wore black and was super quiet. Even today, when I was trying to guide her through her worksheet about famous American inventors, she barely said anything. Mostly, she just nodded or shook her head.

“Do you remember who invented the telephone?” I asked.

Kylie shook her head.

“I’ll give you a hint. There’s a type of cracker in his name.”

“Alexander Graham Bell?” Kylie asked quietly.

“Yeah!”

Kylie nodded but didn’t say anything else.

It was going to be a long session.

At the table next to me, my mom flipped through the Korean newspaper. When we first started tutoring, it was just my friends and me and the students. But after our first month, our parents decided we should have an adult chaperone for every session, just in case things got too hectic. And today was Mom’s turn. Whenever she was at the library with us, she usually just sat there and read the newspaper. And then, when we finished tutoring, my mom and I dropped my friends off at their houses before heading back home. It was pretty nice.

Toward the end of my session, I got a text from Paul that said, Hey I’m gonna swing by the library later today. Can we meet up after you finish teaching?

Before I could hide my phone, Kylie saw the notification and asked, “Ooh, is that your boyfriend?”

That was the most she’d said all session!

Mom didn’t look over our way, but I could tell by her suddenly stiff posture that she was eavesdropping on us.

My heartbeat sped up. I flipped my phone upside down. What could Paul possibly want to meet about right now?

“Not really,” I said as calmly as I could. “Sorry, let’s go back to work.”

It took all my willpower to focus on helping Kylie with her worksheet. But even then, I couldn’t stop thinking about how Paul and I had been dating for a few months now. I was confused about what was going on between us two, since neither of us had even said the words “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” yet. But today… What if today was the day Paul wanted to meet up so he could finally ask me to be his girlfriend?

When the session was over and all our students had gone home, my friends and I regrouped at one of the library tables. Carolina Garcia, Zeina Hassan, Emma Chen, and I didn’t all start out as friends, but we were as thick as thieves now. It was one of the best things about being a part of the Ace Squad.

“Hey, did you guys get the welcome packet from Starscape yet?” asked Zeina. “There’s a couple of things we have to fill out together, like the roommate selection form.”

Carolina groaned. “I still haven’t gotten it yet. Or at least, I hope I haven’t. Everyone’s been so busy after Elisa was born, so it might be in the house somewhere.”

Elisa was Carolina’s new baby sister. Ever since Elisa was born, Carolina has been coming to school looking disheveled and wearing funny outfits like mismatched shoes and pants that were way too big for her. It made me wonder if things were also this crazy with my little brother Tommy. Since I was only four when he was born, I didn’t remember much.

I hoped that, for Carolina, Starscape would be a nice escape from her chaotic household.

“We should all room together!” I exclaimed. I couldn’t imagine going all the way to NYC without staying with my friends.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we can room with more than one person,” said Zeina. “The packet we got said each room can only fit two people.”

“In that case, how about I room with Emma, and Zeina rooms with Gigi?” Carolina asked. “Since Emma’s more my friend than anyone else’s. Hopefully our rooms will be close to each other.”

“Yeah, hopefully!” Zeina said. “Let’s hope we get our picks, period. It says on the bottom of the form that roommate selections aren’t guaranteed.”

We all groaned.

“You mean we might have to live with total strangers?” Emma complained. “That would really suck.”

I bit my lip. Even the slightest possibility that I could be separated from my friends made me anxious. The camp was at NYU this year, which was all over New York City. And NYC was huge! I wasn’t sure whether I could navigate all that without my friends.

If only my aunt Yeji replied to my messages, then I’d be able to spend time with someone I know no matter what. My aunt Yeji, or Yeji-imo, as I called her in Korean, was my mom’s little sister. She was a super-famous artist who was living my dream life in NYC. She’d left me on “seen” several months ago in October, when I first DMed her that I’d gotten into Starscape. But still, I wanted to meet up with her while I was in town.

She may have been related to my mom, but she and my mom were completely different. I loved Mom, but she wasn’t cool like her sister. Even though Mom and Dad were supportive of my art now, they weren’t always. And I got the sense that they still didn’t truly understand why I wanted to become an artist. I hoped Yeji could at least understand my passion for drawing and making comics. If I could meet up with her, that is.

Maybe she just got busy with all her travels and I would get a reply from her when she returned back home! It seemed unlikely, but I didn’t want to completely lose hope.

After we finished our meeting, I got another text from Paul, this time saying that he’d arrived at the library.

I’d been so caught up with everything I had going on with my friends that I’d forgotten to reply to him! In a panic, I grabbed my things as quickly as I could.

“Hey, I have to meet with Paul before we head back home. He just got here,” I said, talking to both my mom and my friends. “I’ll be back in a few minutes!”

“Ooh, off to kiss your boyfriend?” Emma teased.

Carolina elbowed her.

“Ow!” Emma cried out.

“They’re not official yet!” Carolina hissed. “And Gigi’s mom is right there.”

“Oh yeah, my bad!” Emma said apologetically.

We all nervously glanced at Mom, who had her eyebrows raised. I groaned. She and I were probably going to “have a talk” later. Even though, technically, Paul and I weren’t boyfriend/girlfriend. Yet. Although maybe that would all change today.

I could feel everyone’s eyes on me as I walked out of the library.

I pulled my shoulders back and took a deep breath. Okay, so I still had to figure out some things.