I didn't want to look too desperate and overeager by e-mailing Vladi too soon, but it was all I could think about. During lunch, I even wrote down what I might say to him on paper napkins at all the restaurants we went to. I wanted to come across cool and funny, but I wasn't sure how to do that. Besides, English wasn't his first language, since he came to the US from Russia as a little kid, so he might not understand my jokes anyway. I wished he would e-mail me first, but the chances of that happening weren't great.
To: VY0062@us.com
From: Albright@alphamail.com
Subject: From Landry
Hi Vladi,
How are you? How's your vacation going? Did you get to open any presents?
No, that stunk. I asked too many questions, and I sounded like a kid.
To: VY0062@us.com
From: Albright@alphamail.com
Subject: From Landry
Hey,
What's up? How ya doin'?
That was just wrong. Okay, how could someone come across sophisticated and amazing — in other words, not be me. I decided to e-mail Ashanti, since she knew about stuff like that because she had a boyfriend. I just hoped she checked her e-mail at her grandparents’ house.
To: TI22@alphamail.com
From: Albright@alphamail.com
Subject: HELP!
Hi Ashanti,
How's your vacation going? Did you get to open any of your presents early? I'm having a great time here. My dad and I went out, and the city looks so amazing lit up at night. I'm trying to come up with something to write to Vladi (Mr. Hotness). Any suggestions?
Have a great Christmas,
Landry
Ashanti wrote me back that night.
To: Albright@alphamail.com
From: TI22@alphamail.com
Subject: Don't panic
Hey,
I'm glad you're having a good time. How are your parents getting along? I'm having fun here, but my little cousin is driving me nuts. She got in my makeup today. :(
So you're going to write Vladi, huh? I think you should just write him what you wrote to me…well, minus the part about him being hot. Did you get to open any of your presents yet? I haven't gotten to open a thing.
Have a terrific Christmas,
Ashanti
I started my e-mail to Vladi again.
To: VY0062@us.com
From: Albright@alphamail.com
Subject: from Landry
Hi Vladi,
How's your vacation going? Did you get to open any of your presents early? I'm having a great time here. My dad and I went out, and the city looks so amazing lit up at night. What have you been doing?
Have a great Christmas,
Landry
I hit Send and then panicked. What if he thought I was a total dork? Maybe Carey was at his house reading it, and they were laughing at me?
"Vladi, this kid is such a loser," Carey would say. "Why did you ever e-mail her in the first place?"
"I was bored, and it seemed like fun to make a fool out of her. Now let's go make out, Carey," he'd say.
I checked and rechecked my e-mail a thousand times that evening, but he never wrote back. And I knew he wasn't going anywhere for Christmas, so why wasn't he checking his e-mail? Maybe because it was too difficult for him to read while he was kissing Carey Sumners. Ugh! I had to wipe that image out of my mind. I mean, what did she have that I didn't? That is, besides thick, wavy, dark hair and an amazing figure. And all anyone ever said about me was that I was tall. It had hurt my feelings when I overheard girls at school say the only reason I had gotten as far as I did in the American Ingénue competition was due to my height. Sure, models had to be tall, but would it have killed someone to say, "Hey Landry, you looked really nice and confident up on that runway?"
I got ready for bed and then stopped to check my social media page one more time and that's when I saw it — another picture of Peyton, India, and Devon hanging out. They were sitting on the couch with their heads scrunched close together and laughing. It was a cute picture, but then I saw the caption: So glad we could all be together for the holidays. Love these guys soooo much! Best friends forever. #Alltogether #Threemusketeers #BestFriendsForever #ThreeBestFriends #ThreesCompany.
My heart sank. It was India's caption and anyone who read it would think what a close-knit group of friends and not realize anyone was missing from that photo. Sure, I was in another state, so naturally I couldn't be there for it, but the way India wrote that made me feel so left out. I mean, what did she mean by the "Three's Company" hashtag? And sometimes people tagged friends who weren't there in pictures and added, "Wish you were here," but there was no mention of a fourth member of the group.
"Ready for bed, hon?" Mom asked coming into my room.
"Yeah, just signing off."
"Okay, sleep well."
I got into bed and hoped I was reading into things, but the knot in my stomach wouldn't go away.