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Prologue

Rachel Si to our friend Kyle’s apartirls we are, excited about the party we are about to attend celebrating the soon-to-be graduates of Northwestern University Just before we enter I turn towards my best friend and ask her to do a teeth check We had eaten pizza just a bit ago and I wanted to ano stuck in my smile

“You’re good,” she tellsa little red dot between her two front teeth, I scrape it aith ernail and wipe it on her sleeve

“Thanks, purins and we enter the apartment

There’s a good turnout at Kyle’s party It isn’t too crowded, but his apart froh the friendly faces heading straight for the kitchen to hit the keg Kyle greets us and pours us each a beer and then raises his red Solo Cup in salute

“To the future’s greatest politician this country will ever see,” he says, referring to hi towards our friend Stu at his side, “the future’s greatest surgeon,” is directed at Rachel, and then lastly reatest pediatrician” He raises his cup high above his head and continues, “And to all the graduating class of 2009, Congratu-fucking-lations!”

We all cheer andtheir drinks while I take just a sip of o untouched, for I aht

Rachel and Icrew at the university We were rowers froh school and ere accepted into Northwestern, we both continued with the sport Rachel partakes in a ga while I chat with our teammate Katie about plans for the summer

An hour later and I a on Kyle’s couch, bummed that Ethan,to be here and I went the extradark locks, carefully applying ner skinny jeans hoping to get his attention He had been flirting with e that this evening

Rachel flops down on the couch besidequickly on her phone In looks, Rachel and I are coht I aolden skin all year round My eyes are large and dark brohile hers are a sparkling eh We have been best friends since second grade and our interests, everything fro careers in the medical field, are the same

Rachel looks up from her phone and says, “Jason wants to know if he should pick me up I’m kinda ready to leave, Ade”

“No!” I beg her “I can’t leave yet, Ethan still ht show up and you can’t leave me here” I put my head on her shoulder and whine, “please, please, please just wait a little longer”

She sighs, “Fine,” and then goes back to texting Jason Landon, her boyfriend of two years

Another hour later and Ethan still has not shown up, uests are drunk and acting like fools andup, I sadly let Rachel pull me from the house and we drive away in my old, white Honda

Rachel is slightly tipsy and I laugh at her as she tries to sing along with the songs on the radio When we stop at a red light, she turns toto propose soon”

My wide eyes turn towards her and I gasp, “Really? How do you know?”

She shrugs and tellsa little weird lately”

“What do you think you’ll say?”

“I don’t know, Ade”

“What do you mean? You love Jason!”