BooksBarbecue
Back Counting Down with You Save as PDF
Chapters (64)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. Dedication
  6. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  7. Part 1
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. Part 2
  28. 20
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. Part 3
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. 49
  59. 50
  60. 51
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. 54
  64. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I roll my eyes and tug his wrist. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

I pack up my things, and we head to the sweet shop. I get chocolate chip ice cream this time and when Ace says we should take a short break, I tentatively agree.

“So when do your parents get back?” Ace asks. “They’re out of the country, right?”

The question feels personal, even though it’s hardly revealing of anything. I think the best way to help Ace might be to be his friend, so I decide to answer instead of deflecting.

“Yeah,” I say, toying with my spoon. “They’re visiting family in Bangladesh. They come back April 1st.”

“That’s almost a whole month away,” he says, raising his eyebrows. “What are you going to do with your newfound freedom? Attend parties every night? Go to a rave? Rob a library?”

He’s teasing me. I know he’s teasing me, but it hits home that I would never even attempt any of those things, because even when they’re gone, my parents are still with me.

I sigh more deeply than I intend. “Probably not.”

“You should do something fun,” Ace says, poking me with the end of his plastic spoon. “Who knows when you’ll get another chance.”

“Ace, let’s not do this,” I say, suddenly tired. There are certain things I will never be able to do, and I’m not in the mood to explain our cultural differences to him. The last thing I need is for a white boy to try to fix any of my problems. There’s nothing he can do—and there’s nothing I want him to do. “This isn’t... Let’s get back to studying.”

Ace stares at me for a long beat of silence. “I didn’t mean to overstep,” he says quietly. “Teach away, Ahmed.”

My lips curve upward, and the tension in him eases, a smile flitting past his own lips.

By the end of our session, I feel like we’re genuinely making progress. Ace actually asks me a question about The Scarlet Letter, which is a huge victory.

I leave the shop with a hopeful light in my heart. Maybe this studying thing will go smoothly, after all.

12

T-MINUS 23 DAYS

As soon as I walk into the cafeteria Friday morning, my friends pounce. I yelp in alarm, trying to slip out from between them. “What is wrong with you?”

“Tell us everything,” Cora says, clutching my arm. There’s a wild look in her eye that is all-too-familiar and frightening. When Nandini had a boyfriend sophomore year, this was the same behavior Cora exhibited. It’s extremely alarming that she’s acting the same way right now.

“There’s nothing to tell!” I look at Nandini pleadingly, but she shakes her head. “I told you everything last night.”