Page 18 of Heat Advisory

Twenty minutes later, my meal was finished, and there was still no response from Jay. Unless something terrible had happened, it was looking more and more like I had been stood up.

It took everything I had not to cry once I made it out to my car. The man I had dreamed about since high school had finally asked me out on a date, and then he’d stood me up.

My phone chimed with a new text, and I whipped it out so fast I almost hit myself in the face.

My heart raced as I tapped on the screen to see Jay’s name—only it wasn’t. It was Iris’s name instead.

Iris:

Call me as soon as your “date” is done so you can tell me all about it. I’m working from home today and Hector is at the office, so you can call me anytime! But also, take your time with him. Enjoy it!

My heart pinched. I was both sad that it wasn’t Jay texting me and also wounded with pride that I was going to have to tell my sister what happened, but I wasn’t ready to talk to her about it yet. I decided that instead of just going home right away, I would distract myself by running some errands, maybe treat myself to a new book at the bookstore, and then go home and eat a pint of ice cream for dinner.

I sent her a text to give her a quick update.

Me:

It didn’t go exactly as planned. I’m okay, but I’ve got a few things I need to do. I’ll call you later, I promise.

6

“I know there’s something wrong with my cactus. I just can’t quite put my finger on it.”

—It’s science

Cora

Twelve Years Ago

My family and my best friend Morgan were the only ones who knew that I had been held back in school. When we were younger, our father had neglected to make sure Hazel and I always went to school. This resulted in homework not being turned in, reports not being completed, and tests not being taken.

When Hazel and I moved in with the O’Haras, our case worker had us tested before we went to our new school. While I’d passed, barely, Mom and Auntie were worried. Starting high school in a new place was already an intense situation. Plus, we had the trauma of being uprooted and placed with a new family on the other side of the state. They didn’t want me struggling with schoolwork, adding another layer of stress. They sat me down and walked me through the pros and cons together until we figured out what made the most sense.

Thankfully, my birthday was in the summer, so most kids just thought I was really old for my grade and didn’t realize I had been held back.

This meant Jay and I were actually only about six months apart in age.

Morgan swore to me that she never told anyone my secret, but there were times it was a bit awkward—at least for me—when I would be tutoring Jay and realized I could potentially have been in his classes, had I stayed in my original grade.

I often thought about what it would be like to sit next to him in class—better yet, behind him, so that I could stare at him without him knowing.

“Cora.”

Startled, I shook my head. “What?”

Jay just smiled at me, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “I asked if you’re more of a cat person or a dog person.”

“Oh.”

At least this was an easy question.

“Both. I like all animals, really, but if I had to pick one, I would say cats. They’re easier to handle if you can’t be home all the time. I would feel less guilty if I had to work late or something.”

“That makes sense.” He smiled at me as he often did whenever he learned something about me. We usually didn’t talk about particularly deep topics, but he always seemed so interested in every answer I gave.

“What about you?” I asked in return.

“Definitely a dog, but I would also feel guilty about never being home enough to give it the attention it needed. I’m probably more suited for, like, a fish or something, or whatever animal you don’t really have to pay a lot of attention to.”