One Moment in Time by Lauren Barnholdt

composing an email to Genevieve.
    Finally I pull my phone out and surreptitiously type away, letting Genevieve know that I appreciate her decision and that I understand that my application was late, but that it was through no fault of my own, and that I don’t think it’s fair that people who are underqualified got in over me. (I decide to leave out the part about the media being interested in the story, because honestly I don’t want to threaten her right away. If she gives me crap after this, then maybe I’ll go there.)
    I proofread the email, then hit send.
    I take in a deep breath. There’s a definite satisfaction that comes after you’ve done a task. I wish I’d made a to-do list and put “email Genevieve” on it. Then I could cross it right off.
    My phone rings then. Could Genevieve be calling already? I’m very good with the written word, but I didn’t realize I was that good! Oh. It’s not Genevieve. It’s Neal. Probably calling with an updated argument on why I shouldn’t send my parents a video of me opening up my nonexistent acceptance letter.
    â€œHello?”
    â€œHey,” he says. “What are you doing?”
    â€œLying on the beach, listening to the waves, relaxing . . . What are you doing?”
    â€œNothing, really.” Pause.
    â€œOkay.” He still doesn’t say anything. “Well, are you calling for a reason?”
    â€œOf course I’m calling for a reason, Quinn. We just talked an hour ago. Why would I be calling you back already if I didn’t have a reason?”
    â€œOkay, so then what is it?” Seriously, you’d think for someone who has higher-than-average verbal skills, he’d be a little better at communicating.
    â€œSo something bad happened.” Wow. I guess higher-than-average verbal skills don’t leave time for beating around the bush.
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œLike I went to get your acceptance letter, and it’s gone.”
    â€œWhat do you mean it’s gone ?” From next to me, Paige looks up from her magazine and gives me a quizzical look.I roll my eyes and mouth “my crazy brother,” then get up and move away from her so she won’t be able to overhear my conversation. I really do not want Paige finding out I got a letter from Stanford. Or Celia for that matter, even if she is passed out on her towel.
    â€œTell Neal I said hi!” Paige calls after me. “Tell him I miss him!” Paige has a huge crush on my brother, for reasons that are not completely clear to any sane person. Supposedly a lot of girls think my brother is a hottie. Which is another pitfall of having an older brother—your friends think they should be able to date him, which is ridiculous. I don’t want my friends dating my brother. That’s disturbing.
    â€œIs that Paige?” my brother asks. “Tell her I said hi back.” My brother’s not even remotely interested in Paige—he just likes the fact that she’s interested in him, so he flirts with her constantly. Typical jerky guy.
    I walk a few more yards down the beach.
    â€œHe says hi back,” I say to the ocean.
    â€œWhat did she say?” he asks.
    â€œShe said she wants to have five babies with you,” I say. “She said she’s going to stop taking her birth control pills right now, that she’s going to—”
    â€œPaige is on the pill?” Neal asks.
    â€œNeal!” I say. “Can you please focus here? What do you mean, my letter is gone?”
    â€œWell, I got the mail, right? And I put it on the table inthe foyer. Then after I talked to you, I went back to get it, but it was gone.”
    â€œAll the mail was gone ?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œSo someone moved it,” I say. “Go find it.”
    â€œYeah, Mom moved it into the kitchen,” he says. “But when I looked through the pile there, the letter wasn’t in