Chapter 2

Cody continued with a smile, "I only look after Serena because of you, so stop overthinking everything. You like meat, and we like seafood. Since you're allergic to seafood, isn't it better if we just eat separately?

"Seriously though, cut back on that greasy barbecue. It looks like you've gained weight again."

Before leaving, he fished out a box of medicine and a bag of roasted chestnuts from his bag.

"Hangover pills. Make sure she takes them, or she'll have a pounding headache tomorrow. And I got these roasted chestnuts on my way back. Eat up and get some sleep."

…

Early the next morning, my academic advisor, Aimee Griffith, texted me. "You put so much work into your study abroad applications. Are you sure you want to pull out now?"

My fingers hovered over the screen, unable to bring myself to type "yes".

Just then, Irene's voice cut through the room. "Serena, hurry up, or we're gonna be late!"

By the time we got to the lecture hall, Cody had already saved us two seats. He waved at me but called out Irene's name instead, "Irene, over here!"

She naturally slid into the middle seat between us.

On the desk sat the breakfast he'd picked up—boiled corn, hard-boiled eggs, and soy milk.

There was a set for each of us. It was the exact "stay-slim" breakfast Irene always loved.

But my favorites were donuts, hash browns, and milkshakes.

During class, the two of them dove right into a lively debate on the professor's lecture.

One second they were arguing until their faces turned red, and the next they were finishing each other's sentences like mind readers.

I couldn't follow the specialized jargon they were throwing around, so I asked them to explain it to me.

Irene just smiled and patted my head. That was the exact same gesture Cody always used on me.

"Silly, I told you not to take this class with us!"

Cody chuckled along. "Even if we explained it, you probably wouldn't get it anyway."

I stared at them and went quiet.

Before class ended, the professor assigned our final group project. We had to work in pairs, and we could choose our own partners.

My fingers tightened around my pen. A gut feeling warned me that I was about to get abandoned again.

Sure enough, a second later, Cody said, "Irene, let's team up."

My body froze, and the pen slipped right out of my hand, hitting the floor with a loud clatter.

Hearing the noise, Cody turned back to look at me. "You're upset again?"

He let out a tired sigh. "Look, Serena, you know how it is. Irene and I both need to protect our GPAs. You're struggling in this class and can't even follow our discussions. Whoever you pair with will just get dragged down."

Irene glanced at me with a flicker of awkwardness, then leaned down to pick up my pen. "Don't take it personally, Serena, but Cody's right.

"You're paying your own way to study abroad anyway, so a lower GPA doesn't really matter for you. Just find anyone and coast by with a passing grade. Cody and I can't afford to do that. Sorry if I'm being too blunt. Please don't be mad."

I forced a tight smile onto my face. "You guys are right."

Relieved that I hadn't made a scene, they immediately dove back into brainstorming their project strategy and dividing up the workload.

I watched the slight furrow in Cody's brows as he concentrated.

My mind drifted back to freshman year.

Back then, he'd sign up for elective classes he hated just to be near me, and he'd always ask to be my group partner before anyone else could.

When did everything start to change?

Cody and I had been childhood friends for 12 years, and he was always the one pursuing me.

It wasn't until college, when I became close friends with Irene, that things shifted. After her bad breakup, I felt sorry for her and invited her out for barbecue to cheer her up.

From that day on, we became a trio.

At first, we still went to my favorite barbecue joint.

Cody used to complain about it. "Why do you have to bring her along every time we go on a date?"

I'd tug on his sleeve, playing sweet. "Just this once! Next time it'll be just the two of us, I promise."

Gradually, though, our hangout spots shifted entirely to her favorite seafood restaurant.

I kept telling myself that since Cody had pursued me for so long and compromised so much in the past, and since Irene was going through a rough patch, I should be understanding.

I even took allergy meds just so I could sit through seafood dinners with them.

Now, it hit me all at once. Without even realizing it, I had gone from being at the center of our trio to being pushed to the sidelines.

At that thought, I opened my phone and replied to Ms. Griffith.

"Ms. Griffith, I'm sure. Please cancel my study abroad application."