Chapter 2

It was 7 p.m. when the bus pulled into the station.

I dragged my suitcase to the homestay I had booked in advance.

The owner, Tom Smith, checked the computer for a long while, then looked up at me and said, “Um, your reservation got canceled this afternoon.”

I froze for a moment. “Canceled?”

“Yeah. Someone from your group said the plans changed, and you guys weren’t coming here anymore.”

I opened the group chat.

The last message was still the photo of Edmund at the salt lake this afternoon.

No one had mentioned that the plans had changed.

I called Eleanor.

She didn’t answer until my second call.

It was loud on her end. I could vaguely hear Edmund playing a drinking game with someone.

“You’ve reached the homestay?”

“Yeah. Where are you guys?”

“We’re at the next city over,” she said casually.

“We ran into some tourists this afternoon who said there’s a music festival there tonight, so we changed plans last minute.”

“Nobody bothered to tell me?” I gripped the handle of my suitcase.

She paused for a couple of seconds and said, “Did nobody tell you?”

Then, I heard Faye’s voice in the background. “I thought Lily told him.”

Lily immediately shot back, “I thought Eleanor told him.”

The three of them burst out laughing on the other end of the line.

This was not something new.

During our sophomore year, on New Year’s Eve, they changed restaurants at the last minute.

I stayed at the previously booked restaurant for forty minutes.

In the end, all they told me was that they thought I knew.

That time, I lost my temper, and they cajoled me with a meal.

After that, whenever it happened again, I stopped bothering to ask.

Eleanor said, “Just find yourself a place to stay tonight. We’ll come pick you up at 9 a.m.”

“Okay,” I said before hanging up.

Tom asked, “Will you and your friends still be staying here?”

I shook my head. “Do you have any other rooms for just one person?”

“Everything nearby is pretty much booked up today.”

In the end, I found a small motel in the old town.

There was no elevator, so I had to haul my suitcase up to the fourth floor.

The handle left a red mark across the web of my hand.

Just as I got into the room, a text popped up in the group chat.

Edmund posted a photo of a table full of barbecue.

[Too bad Everett isn’t here.]

Faye replied, [We’ll make it up to him tomorrow.]

Lily chimed in, [He’s not picky. He’ll eat anything.]

Eleanor sent a laughing-crying emoji.

I glanced at it, tossed my phone onto the table, and went to take a shower.

Right before bed, Eleanor finally sent me a text.

[Meet us at the front of the motel at 9 a.m. Don’t sleep in.]

I replied, [Okay.]

The next day at 8:40 a.m., I checked out.

At 9 a.m., no one showed up.

By 9:30 a.m., no one had shown up yet.

I sat on top of my suitcase and waited until 10:07 a.m.

Then, I called Eleanor.

She sounded as if she had just woken up.

“What’s up?”

“Weren’t you guys coming at 9 a.m.?”

There was a brief silence on the other end.

“Oh, we forgot.” She yawned.

“Edmund’s stomach was acting up last night. We were up until almost 3 a.m.”

“How’s he doing now?” I asked out of habit.

“Much better.”

After a pause, she added, “Oh, by the way, we’re not coming to pick you up.

“The place we’re going later is closer to our side. Just grab a ride over. We’d waste two extra hours driving there and back.”

Edmund spoke up from the side.

“Maybe we should just go pick him up. He’s been waiting forever.”

Faye said, “You’re just starting to feel better. Don’t put yourself through all that back-and-forth driving.”

Lily chimed in, “Everett can get here on his own.”

I stared at the traffic light across the street.

“Okay.”

Eleanor paused for a moment, then asked, “Are you upset?”

“No.”

“Alright then. Call us when you get here.”

The call ended.

I sat back down on my suitcase.

This time, I did not send my location to the group chat again.