Her parents agreed to enroll her in public school, though they warned she may have to repeat her sophomore year, but Kimmie would take the necessary tests to see if she could get into Stuyvesant or Bronx Science for next year, two of the most competitive public schools in the city. She remembered hearing from Dustin how much he loved his time at Stuyvesant, and though she wasn’t sure if she was as smart as Dustin, she wanted to try.

She had thought about Dustin nonstop on her sleepless red-eye flight back East. She couldn’t get it out of her head, hearing his father tell Nicholas how Dustin had given up his own college tuition for his brother’s rehabilitation. She doubted Lolly would have done the same for her, and she knew the old Kimmie might not have done it, either. Kimmie wished she could go back in time and ask Dustin more about his relationship with his brother, and while she was at it, ask him more about what it was like to be adopted. On appearances alone it seemed like Dustin had a good life because he was smart and already poised for success after getting into the college of his choice, and sure, his parents were divorced, but so were everyone’s, though it must have been hard for him to be one of the only black members of his temple. But she knew why she didn’t ask any of these questions: she had been selfish, only caring about stupid things like parties and if the wrong boy was going to text her.

Kimmie couldn’t believe all that had happened during her month away: Alexander’s car accident, dead horses, and broken hearts. But instead of feeling like she had missed out, she was happy she had been away, which furthered her resolve to walk away from all this rich-kid private-school nonsense. If public school was good enough for Natalia and Dustin, then it was good enough for her.

At the end of their meeting, when her new school principal, Mr. Kriesky, said he’d see her tomorrow, Kimmie was shocked. She’d assumed she’d have to start that very day. He told her public school was a little more relaxed and that he thought it’d be better if she started fresh in the morning. When he said, “Go out and get a Mister Softee, spring has sprung!” Kimmie smiled, knowing she’d made the right decision about school.