“Fine.”

“Did I hear you practicing earlier?”

“The improvement is amazing,” Mom answers for me. “I’m not saying she should start booking recitals anytime soon, but we might want to look at getting back into the Conservatory before school starts.”

“I’m right here,” I say irritably. “And I’m nowhere near good enough to even think about the Conservatory at this point.”

“You’re wrong,” Mom says. “And you’re going to be a senior this year. We need to start making some decisions about Juilliard or continuing with the Conservatory program once you graduate.”

“I have been making some decisions,” I say, although that’s a complete lie. “I’ve been thinking about applying to Cal and maybe UC San Diego.” I’ve pulled those two schools completely out of thin air, but I get a feeling of satisfaction from just saying them out loud.

“To do what? Neither of those schools has a music program worthy of your talent.” Mom puts her fork down on her plate; the pretense of actually eating is over. “We’ve talked about Juilliard since you were a little—”

I cut her off before she can say any more. “Mom, face it—Juilliard is completely off the table, and so is the Conservatory. I was thinking I should look into something else. History maybe, or English lit.”

“Why? So you can waste your gift teaching?”

“Is that so bad? I teach music now. What’s the difference?”

Mom starts to speak again, but Dad puts his hand on her arm. To my total surprise, she shuts up. “What your mother is trying to say is that it isn’t time to give up yet. Applications are still six months away, and a lot can happen in that time.”

A knock at the door saves me from having to try to explain myself again. “I’ll get it,” I say, tossing my napkin on the table. Maybe I should bring Kat up in order to take the heat off me.

I’m totally unprepared to see Drew at the front door. “What are you doing here?” I quickly step out onto the porch and close the door behind me. I try hard not to notice that the vintage Doors shirt he’s wearing is just tight enough to show off the muscles in his chest.

“You didn’t give me your phone number last night,” he says. “So I had to come over and see you in person.”

“How did you know where I live?”

“I heard Kat tell Francesca once,” he says.

I should have known that no random fact would go unnoticed. Or be forgotten. I lean against the door frame. “I agreed to one dinner,” I remind him.

“And I appreciate that,” he says. “This is an invitation, not an order. There’s someone I want you to meet, but it’s going to take longer than an hour.”

“Who?”

“It’s a surprise.” The corners of his eyes crinkle up as he smiles.

I hesitate. An hour-long dinner is one thing, but this sounds suspiciously like a date.

Drew’s face turns serious, but his eyes focus on mine. “If you don’t want to see me again after this, then I’ll go. I’ll leave you alone. I promise. But you don’t want to miss this.”

I look at Drew and then down at the ground. I’ve spent so much time running away from him, but now I’m wondering why. What else do I have to lose? “Okay,” I finally agree. “When?”

“Friday. Eight o’clock.” He glances toward the window, and I know that Mom and Dad are watching. “Can I pick you up?”

“I’ll meet you.” By now, that kind of answer is almost a reflex.

“Cole, let me pick you up,” he says, a hint of exasperation in his voice. “I have a car, and it’s easier.” He hesitates, and I don’t fill the gap left by his silence. “The minute you want to come home, I’ll take you. I promise.”

“Friday. Eight o’clock,” I confirm and slip back through the door, my heart pounding for no good reason.

“Who was that?” Mom and Dad are standing by the door when I walk back in.

“God, you scared me! What were you doing? Spying?”

“Nice try. Who was that?” Mom repeats.

“Just a friend. He used to work with Kat. At the store.”

“What’s he doing hanging around here?” Dad asks, his lips set into a thin line that tells me he’s more upset than he’s letting on. He glances toward the window. “How old is he, anyway?”

I bite my lip. They’re not going to like the answer, but it doesn’t really matter after all. “Twenty.”

Mom crosses her arms in front of her chest, and I know immediately this is not a good answer. “He’s a man! Nobody that age has any business hanging around you. You’re just a child, for God’s sake!”

“Child! Seriously? I’m almost seventeen!” I shout back. It’s not like I want to go out with Drew, but this kind of treatment is really getting to me. If they only knew what I’ve experienced in the past couple of months, how much I remember about being an adult, they wouldn’t treat me this way. But of course, I can never tell them. “Who I hang around with is none of your business.”

“After what your sister pulled, it’s completely, one-hundred-percent my business.”

My frustration boils over. I knew this would happen. “Just because Kat got out of here early doesn’t mean you have to punish me for it!” I glance up at the clock and reach for my bag. So much for happy family meals. “I have to go.”

Dad steps into the hallway, blocking the door. “Where? I meant what I said. I don’t want you seeing that guy. I’ll get the police involved if I have to.”

I walk up to Dad, trying hard not to cry. He’s always been the one on my side, but now he’s just parroting her talk. “If you do, then you’re going to have an empty house a lot sooner than you think.” He can’t meet my eyes, so I reach around him to open the door. Mom starts to say something else, but I close the door behind me before I have to listen to her.

“Have you been practicing?” Janine asks, taking a bite of her salad as we walk toward the Faculty Glade behind her office.