Red(48)

I don’t care.

The lyrics were just right for her state of mind. “Hey, do you think you could burn me a copy of this?” she asked.

“Sure, no problem. I’ll burn you the whole album.”

Jonathan took the ramp onto the highway and sped past the you are now leaving the red zone sign. As they accelerated, the wind whipped through the car and peeled tendrils loose from Felicity’s complicated updo. There was no point in fixing it—she wasn’t going back to prom—so she pulled out all the pins and let her hair fall loose around her shoulders. “What was the arts program like?” she shouted over the rush of the air.

“It was amazing. Six weeks of pure awesome. We had class every morning in our own discipline, like music or dance or visual art or whatever, and then the afternoon was our studio time. I did a lot of my Art Institute portfolio there. You should have seen the supply room—it was like paint heaven. And there was a huge darkroom and digital printing labs and a big sculpture studio. You would have loved it. And every night, we’d share our work and talk about it. It was …” Jonathan shook his head. “It’s hard to even describe it. I had so many new ideas all the time, it felt like my brain was going to explode.”

Felicity had never experienced anything like that, but now that she knew it was possible, she longed for it. “That sounds unbelievable.”

“You could go,” Jonathan said. “You should. It’s called Tanglewilde. It’s too late to apply for this year, but you should go next summer. Your stuff is definitely good enough to get you in.”

Even though she knew she could never afford it, Jonathan’s words ignited a warm glow deep in Felicity’s center. “You think so?”

“Oh, for sure.”

When Jonathan put his blinker on and took the exit for the next town, a sleepy little place called Caldner, Felicity could no longer contain her curiosity. “Where are we going?” she asked. “What’s in Caldner?”

“You’ll see. We’re almost there.”

She was growing more intrigued by the minute. In addition to wondering about their destination, she was fascinated by this new Jonathan. It seemed that slipping on a tux was all it took to transform him from Awkward School Jonathan to Confident SuperJonathan.

They turned onto a street lined with dark shuttered storefronts. It ended in a cul-de-sac, and Jonathan pulled the truck into the last parking space before the curve. “We’re here,” he said.

They were parked in front of the Caldner Public Library. The breeze carried strains of muffled music and laughter, but Felicity couldn’t find their source. “Umm … where are we, exactly?”

Jonathan hopped out of the car and came around to the passenger side. “Come on, you’re gonna like this. I promise.”

Felicity opened the door and slid out of the pickup amid a rustle of petticoats. The evening air had grown cool, and she realized she had left her wrap on a chair at the back of the gym. She shivered a little and hugged herself.

“Are you cold?” Jonathan asked. “Do you want my jacket?”

She smiled. “I’ll be okay. Thanks, though.”

“No, really, it’s fine. You can have it.” Jonathan shrugged out of his tux jacket and draped it gently around her shoulders. It was warm from his body and fit her much better than Brent’s broad-shouldered one would have. She snuggled into it gratefully.

“Come on, it’s this way.” Jonathan led her around to the back of the library, where she spotted a turquoise house with a huge, flood-lit sign reading fry me to the moon. People sat at brightly painted picnic tables all over the lawn, lit by strings of novelty lights shaped like jalape?o peppers and flamingos. Light poured from the windows, revealing an explosion of color and activity inside, and the air was full of the mouthwatering scent of french fries. Felicity hadn’t eaten much of her dinner, but until that moment, she hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

They walked across the lawn and up the weathered stairs, which listed to the left and felt as if they might collapse any second. When Jonathan pushed open the screen door, the smell of fries intensified, but the décor was so overwhelming that Felicity barely noticed. Neon-pink and lime-green shelves lined the walls, all of them crowded with Pez dispensers and action figures. The tables were draped in plastic shower curtains printed with cupcakes, sea creatures, and maps of the New York City subway system. In one corner, a five-foot-tall Lego sculpture of a carton of fries sat on a glittery pink throne. Colored lightbulbs dangled from the ceiling, a sky full of schizophrenic stars.

Felicity instantly fell head over heels in love with it all.

“I hope you like french fries,” Jonathan said. He pointed at the wooden menu on the wall, which was hand-painted with lists of french fry varieties, dipping sauces, and milk shake flavors. If Felicity had been a cartoon character, her pupils would have turned into little hearts and started spinning.

There was another couple standing at the counter, and Felicity and Jonathan got in line behind them. The girl had a bright red ponytail, but Felicity didn’t recognize her from school. Just as she was wondering why someone with hair so red would choose to live just outside of Scarletville, a tiny blonde wearing an apron hurried out from behind the counter and threw her arms around the redhead. “Oh my god, Sienna, you finally did it!” she squealed. “That color looks amazing on you!”