Mistakes Were Made(75)
She’d begged off because she already had spring break plans.
Two nights in Boston, paid for by United Aerospace Laboratories. They were flying her out to interview for what was basically her dream job.
She’d had to lie, just a little, in the phone interview, about grad school. A company in Boston wasn’t gonna hire someone who wanted to go to California at the end of the summer. So Cassie had played up her application to MIT. It wasn’t lying, really—she had applied to MIT. Lately, it didn’t even feel like the worst option.
Caltech was just so far.
She’d been away from Acacia for the first three years of college. More than two hours away.
At college, Cassie had never expected to be homesick. She didn’t even like her hometown. She went back during breaks only to see the Webbs—hadn’t spent a single night in her mom’s trailer since she’d headed off for Keckley. Somehow, two months into freshman year, she missed Acacia so much she’d called her crying, just to hear her voice. Acacia had shown up on campus that weekend—a spur of the moment surprise to make Cassie feel better.
They couldn’t do that if Cassie went to Caltech.
Cassie would be happy. She’d love what she was studying, and she’d make other friends eventually, probably. But she wouldn’t be able to get in a car and drive to Acacia in a day. That knowledge made her second-guess what she’d thought was her dream since she was a kid.
It didn’t hurt that she knew, if she got this UAL job, they’d help pay for her to go to MIT.
And maybe it helped that Erin was near Boston, too.
Cassie hadn’t told anyone except Professor Upton about the second interview. She hadn’t even told anyone about the phone interview—it had been right after Parker, like, snapped at her or whatever. They hadn’t been talking, and still weren’t, and she and Acacia had been both awkwardly talking about Parker and actively avoiding talking about Parker, so the interview hadn’t come up.
Not that Cassie would’ve said anything, anyway. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. If people knew she wanted it and she didn’t get it, that’d be so much worse than not getting it without everyone knowing she’d failed.
There was an a cappella concert the weekend before spring break. Cassie almost wished she didn’t want to go. It’d be easier if she didn’t want to support Parker, if she didn’t miss her. But she did, and so she went, sitting in the front row with Acacia and determinedly not thinking about the last concert.
When it was over, Parker met them in the audience, beaming and laughing. She hurled herself into Acacia’s arms and latched on to Cassie next. Her body went stiff halfway through the hug. Cassie let her go gently. Parker, face flushed, ducked her head, then looked up at Cassie.
“I’m glad you came.”
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Cassie said. “You were great.”
“You were!” Acacia said, preventing the awkward silence that would’ve undoubtedly come next. “You fucking killed it. And now we’re gonna go fucking kill the after-party.”
A cappella parties, it turned out, were messy. And loud, because everyone sang all the fucking time. But it was fun, too. Cassie spent most of the night on a couch pressed tight between Parker and Acacia, and even though Parker spent more time singing than talking to her, it was great. They took about twenty selfies together and drank too much, until Parker and Acacia disappeared to the bathroom, leaving Cassie to stake their claim on the couch. She stretched herself across it and scrolled through the pictures they had taken.
They all looked good in all of them, thank you very much, but she found her favorite—they were laughing over something Cassie couldn’t even remember anymore, none of them looking at the camera, Acacia almost falling off the couch, Parker’s nose pressed against Cassie’s cheek. She hadn’t sent Erin a picture today, so she sent her this.
Erin [11:58 PM]
My favorite girls!
Cassie felt warm as she slipped her phone into her pocket. The couch was so soft. Her eyes slipped closed. Members of the Sky High Notes were belting Olivia Rodrigo songs, but still, Cassie almost fell asleep before the other two got back.
It was a great way to start spring break, and it just got better from there. Three days later, in Cassie’s humble opinion, she’d nailed the interview. She’d worn a black jumpsuit with a red fabric belt and red flats—professional and as femme as she was willing to go.
“I’m glad you’re in closed-toed shoes,” Joel, the head of the lab, told her. “Means I can take you on a proper tour.”
That’s right: it wasn’t just an interview. It was a lab tour and so many introductions Cassie had already forgotten names and they even took her to lunch. That had to mean something, right? And yet, when she’d asked when she might hear from them, Joel had only said “Soon,” with an enigmatic smile. It’d been the low point of an otherwise excellent six-hour interview process.
The day had been long enough that when Cassie got back to her hotel in the late afternoon, even buzzing from the interview, she lay down for a quick nap, which turned into a not-so-quick nap. At least she woke up refreshed instead of wondering what year it was.
She was still in the hotel bed, passively scrolling Yelp reviews on her phone when it rang. It was the UAL number. Cassie gave herself time to take a breath, then answered.