Chapter 24: Thursday Open Mic

On Thursday morning, I deleted my second account.

I did it at a table in the dining hall, with Sage across from me.

A bowl of cereal was going soft between us.

The account had no name and no picture.

It had a list of four hundred and twelve little hearts, and every one of them was Preston's.

"Are you sure?" Sage asked.

"Watch."

I pressed the button.

The screen asked me whether I wanted to lose everything, and I said yes.

It took no time at all.

The account was gone, and nothing about me felt different, except that my chest was a little lighter.

"That's it?" Sage said.

"That's it."

"No speech?"

"I gave the speech. It was pretty good." I put my phone face down. "Eat your cereal."

Sage ate her cereal.

"Preston withdrew from the college," she said, after a moment. "Brooks heard. Preston's dad flew him home on Monday."

"Okay."

"You're not going to say anything?"

"I'm going to go to class," I said. "And tonight I'm going to sing."

The Larkin Room was nearly empty at seven.

It was an ordinary Thursday.

The gold stars had been taken down, and the camera was gone.

The old dining hall looked like itself again, with the long scarred tables pushed against the walls.

About thirty people sat in folding chairs.

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