Documentary by A.J. Sand Read Free Book Online Page A

waiting for a particular, resistant tone from her mother that she disliked. If it came out, which it did rarely, only a limited amount of persuading could undo it. She had only heard it two other times before: 1) wh en she got invited to Kent Barkley’s middle school co-ed sleepover and 2) after her request to stay out overnight at a hotel with her high school boyfriend following prom.
    “I suppose. And it is for your future.”
    “Really?” Dylan and Taylor said in unison.
    “She gets to go, just like that?” Taylor asked with mild spite.
    “Well…yes, I guess so. Yes.” The words seemed to have come out faster than her mother had processed them, but once the full statement had landed, she was okay with it. “Yes but, Dylan, can we have a bigger family discussion about it? With your dad?”
    Dylan pumped her fist in triumph. He was the easy one. “Okay, Mom. Thanks. Definitely. Tell Daddy I love him,” Dylan said as another buzz went off in her ear. Maybe that one was really the email she wanted.
    “Really? She just gets to go? You said no to Candice’s party, Mom,” Taylor said, growing more disgruntled. “Her house is ten minutes away—”
    “Love you, kiddo. Be safe. Let us know how it goes.”
    “Love you, Mom. Love you, Tay.”
    “Love you back, Dildo.”
    “Taylor Price—”
    Dylan hung up, laughing softly. When she lowered the phone, she saw that the number of emails in her inbox had increased. Her cowardly decision was to wait until she was back in her room before finding out what the new ones were. She would know about the job one way or the other pretty soon, so she could put it off for another few minutes. She jogged to stay warm and was thrilled for the blast of sun on her shoulders when the clouds passed.
    Dylan’s heart was racing when she walked into her room. City Apartments was the coveted tw o-bedroom apartment-styled dorm that provided the best of both worlds. She and Grace had more personal privacy than a dorm room—more space to stay out of each other’s way, and the college had provided all the furniture—but the camaraderie and social life of the building still resembled the dormitories she had lived in previously. This was the first year she hadn’t been on a dorm committee, and people who lived in City Apartments and who remembered her participation in other dorms were always lauding her for the social and group events she had put together back then. She had decided not to participate this year to focus on school.
    Entering her private room, she pressed her back against the door. Her stomach bubbled uncomfortably; the sudden pain was gripping. Dylan opened her email inbox and sucked in a breath when she saw the unread message from Nina Sanchez. Dylan reassured herself that the “uninterview” with Kai had gone spectacularly well. Best-case scenario, she had the job. Worst-case scenario, she was in a tie with someone else and there would be a gladiator-style fight to the death. She held her breath when she read the email, her stomach tightening more with each word. She read it over and over, until the intelligible language turned to Gobbledygook. Then, she bawled.
     
    Professor Jordan offered Dylan a supportive smile at nearly every pause she took in her lecture, but Dylan was already trying her best to nurse the disappointment of not getting the job back to hopefulness for something bigger. So maybe it wouldn’t be in Hawaii and on a music tour, but it was one job and it was replaceable (hopefully), right? She would have the chance at another opportunity, even if it turned out to be just an internship. D.C. was a great place of possibilities and the location would work for over the holiday break, but deep down, she knew getting over the trip wasn’t going to be the hardest part. Kai was nice and far more down to earth than she had imagined. She couldn’t stop thinking about him.
    Also, she was still haunted by Nina’s email to her. Although you exhibited exceptional