Just Rose

Chapter Twenty-Five

I kept expecting an "I-told-you-so" to come from Josh or Sarah, but it never did.  Instead, we all watched the first Harry Potter movie and made Steven a birthday cake. Multiple cakes, in fact. We kept accidentally destroying them. Luckily Julie wasn't home.

Around cake number three, Kiana had to leave to go to her dance rehearsal. "She's been going to a lot of those lately," I commented as Max walked her out to her car.

"Well, yeah. Juilliard can do that to you," Sarah pointed out.

"Juilliard?" I asked. "Is that a school?"

"You're lucky Kiana wasn't here to hear you ask that," Josh said, dipping his finger in the cake batter.

"It's only, like, the best school for artsy people in the country," Sarah said, slapping his hand away. "Josh, that's gross."

"What are we talking about?" Max asked, walking back into the kitchen.

"Juilliard," I told him.

Max frowned. "Oh."

"Isn't it the best school for artistic people in the country?" I asked.

"Debatably, yes. It might be better if it wasn't on the other side of the country," Max said.

"It's not like you were going to marry the girl," Sarah told him. "You can go to your fun little West Coast schools and she can go to her New York school and you can part ways as friends."

"Juilliard is a big deal," Josh agreed. "You should be happy for-"

"I am happy for her. Juilliard is a great thing. It's really great for her that she's gotten this far in the process. But... what about if she actually gets accepted?" Max asked.

"You mean, what about when she actually gets accepted. She's getting in, I swear," Josh said.

"It's not exactly something you have control over. All I'm saying is that it's putting a time constraint on us dating, and it's not the best feeling. I wish she would at least tour some West coast schools. Lots of them have fantastic arts programs. She doesn't need to go all the way to-"

"But it's Juilliard, Max. It could change her life."

Max sighed. "I know. I'm just going to miss her."

"It's been crazy how busy she is," Sarah commented, shifting the topic away from relationships. "I haven't gotten to do anything with her since the beginning of January other than this afternoon and dress shopping a week or two ago."

"She keeps telling me she's busy with her cars. What kind of car?" Josh asked, sitting on the counter.

"Don't let Julie walk in and see you on the counter," Sarah warned.

I took a seat on a kitchen chair, listening about Kiana's life that I'd apparently been completely unaware of over the past month and a half.

"Competitions, auditions, rehearsals, and stuff," Max explained. "C-A-R-S. Cars."

The oven beeped, signaling that it was fully preheated. "We should probably put the cake in the oven," I suggested, trying to ignore the growing pit in my stomach at realizing how much I'd been missing out on in my friends' lives.

"How much are you all willing to bet the cake survives- or doesn't survive- this time around?" Sarah asked.

"I say 27 cents it makes it," Josh said, placing a quarter and two pennies onto the counter.

Sarah sucked in a breath. "Oh, that's intense," she said, trying not to laugh. "Rose?"

"I'll pass," I said slowly.