What Happens Abroad by Jen McConnel

in Italy and let some hottie be my sugar daddy.”
    Joelle and I laughed. “Well,” Joelle said, “I know I’m going home. I’m transferring to State in the fall, and I’m ready to move out of my parents’ house.”
    I thought about school. “I’m an art major,” I finally said, “but I lost my scholarship just before I came to Europe.”
    â€œOh, that sucks!”
    I nodded. “Yeah. But I mean, I could always get loans. That’s how I’m paying for this trip, actually,” I admitted.
    Joelle nodded. “Loans are worth it, if you really want your degree.”
    I turned to Sarah. “What about going to school? Is that something you’ve thought about?”
    She shrugged, looking down. “Not really. My dad”—she paused—“he always said I was too stupid.” Sarah swallowed nervously.
    â€œYou’re not stupid. Look, I know I haven’t known you that long, but you’re great, Sarah. You could totally do anything you want.”
    Joelle nodded, leaning forward. “Camie’s right. You’ve got a chance to reinvent yourself without your dad around to stop you. Take it!”
    Sarah looked at us curiously. “What do you mean?”
    Joelle spread her arms wide, almost knocking over her glass of water. “You’re young, you’re vibrant, and you’re here in Europe with the money you saved up from babysitting. Daddy isn’t here to tell you what to do, and that’s something you should take advantage of.”
    Sarah sat up a little taller. “You think I should go to school?”
    â€œIf that’s what you want. But you could do other things too . . . even nanny again!” I offered.
    Sarah looked thoughtful. “I did enjoy it . . . most of the time.”
    The waiter appeared with our food, cutting the conversation short. After he’d gone, I smiled. “I guess none of us have to figure it out right now!”
    Joelle nodded. “Right now, we just need to figure out where we’re going to put all this food.”
    Sarah stared at the heaping plate in front of her and groaned. “God, I’m going to be so fat by the end of this trip.”
    â€œYou aren’t fat,” Joelle and I spoke in unison, and all three of us burst out laughing. Joelle lifted her water glass, and Sarah and I followed suit.
    â€œHere’s to travel!”
    We clinked, laughing, and I pushed aside my worries about what I’d do when this trip was over. It wasn’t over yet, I reminded myself as I dug into my food. I didn’t have to make any decisions just yet.
    Walking back to the apartment with our arms linked, we started singing “That’s amore!” The people we passed probably thought we were drunk, but for once, I didn’t care. It was fun to forget about everything for a little while, and I really was having a good time with Joelle and Sarah.
    A couple of blocks before we got home, Sarah hopped up onto the smooth white marble surrounding a fountain decorated with leaping fish and swirling carvings. She tugged on our hands, and after a minute, Joelle followed her up. Laughing, I stayed on the ground.
    â€œWhat are you doing?”
    Sarah twirled carefully on the wet stone. “Enjoying myself. What are
you
doing, Camie?”
    â€œCome on, Camie, the water’s fine!” Joelle laughed.
    â€œI don’t want to find out how the water is!”
    Sarah leaned forward. “It won’t kill you to have a little fun.”
    She was right. Trying to ignore the stares of the people on the street around us, I scrambled up onto the fountain beside the girls. Sarah flung her arm across my shoulders, and I giggled self-consciously. “Everyone’s staring.”
    â€œSo what?” Sarah dropped her hands and did a little shimmy with her hips. “When will you ever have the chance to dance on a fountain in Italy?”
    â€œTo