“Yeah, but Ma and Baba let him do whatever he wants,” I say under my breath, tossing a few oranges into our shopping cart as we turn from the fruit aisle.

Dadu pats my shoulder in understanding. “Boys have it so much easier, don’t they?”

I snort, thinking of all the times Samir has gotten away with doing things I can’t even contemplate. “That’s an understatement.”

Dadu would know. She grew up with five older brothers. The sheer thought is horrifying.

“Hey, how about this, Myra—when we’re done here, we can go to that bookshop you like and I’ll buy you a book for coming with me to the grocery store. They might even have nicer candles there. What do you think?”

“Really?” I ask, something like lightning zinging through me. “Dadu, you’re the best.”

She smiles and gives me a one-armed hug before getting distracted by an assortment of mixed vegetables.

I pull out my phone with the intention of Snapchatting Nandini and Cora about how awesome my grandma is, but then remember the predicament I’m in when I see all my missed notifications.

Ugh. Ace might not be excelling in his studies, but he’s definitely excelling at giving me a headache.

T-MINUS 21 DAYS

Sunday morning brings a horde of Samir’s friends to my house.

I leave my room at noon to grab breakfast but falter halfway down the stairs when I catch sight of several teenage boys in my living room, playing Wii Bowling.

I’m kind of hungry, but to pass through, I’d have to walk over their various belongings littered on the floor and make small talk.

I already dislike dealing with groups of strangers, and one consisting of excitable freshmen is arguably my worst nightmare. I don’t even have a bra on. It’s not worth it.

I try to catch Samir’s eye as I hover on the staircase, hoping to tell him to hurry up and get his friends out of the living room, but he’s too busy laughing as he shows one of them something on his phone.

Great. I discreetly go back upstairs and busy myself doing homework while I wait for them to leave. I force myself to ignore the sound of bowling pins falling over and over downstairs. I’m in the middle of attempting to finish my precalc assignment when I get a text from a number I don’t recognize.

don’t be mad @ me, I’ll explain tmrw.

I frown at my phone. who’s this???

In response, I receive a picture of a shirtless Ace and nearly break my phone when I throw it halfway across the room. I must be losing my mind.

There’s absolutely no way Ace Clyde is texting me shirtless selfies right now. There’s no way this is my life.