Afterward, her mother went off to take an Orangetheory class and asked Kimmie if she wanted to join her. Kimmie declined, wanting to go to Central Park and enjoy her last day of freedom before starting another new school. Her mother looked relieved at her answer, and Kimmie knew it was because her mother wasn’t comfortable with the “new Kimmie” yet. She almost called her mom out on it but decided to let it go. Sure, she was more empowered and in touch with her anger these days, but it’s not like she wanted to turn into a total bitch. As hardcore and badass as Natalia was, she was also incredibly thoughtful. Before Kimmie left, Natalia had shoplifted herself a pair of cheap gold hoop earrings from Walmart and had also snagged a pair for Kimmie. Kimmie touched her purloined earring and thought of her friend.

Natalia had loved the leather jacket that Kimmie left as a present for her, and Kimmie had several pictures of Natalia wearing it. It looked better on her, but Kimmie always knew it would. They had texted back and forth several times a day for the first day or so after her return, but suddenly the texts dwindled in number, and three days later their long-distance friendship had fallen into radio silence. Kimmie briefly wondered if this was a bad sign but decided to be positive, thinking instead that Natalia and Nicholas were busy planning their new careers as Insta influencers. During Kimmie’s farewell dinner, Nick revealed the couple’s new plan, where Natalia would be featured in cool hair-coloring videos for anyone interested in obtaining the alternative rocker chick look. Nick planned to direct and shoot the videos in their apartment and knew a lot about filmmaking from his extensive reading about famous directors. Apparently, the idea was hatched by Nick after he watched Natalia dye Kimmie’s hair that first night they all hung out. Later in bed, he told her that not only was she wildly charismatic (she was), but she was also a natural born instructor, which he’d noticed as she explained her technique in a clear and concise step-by-step manner to Kimmie.