Houston, Orlando, Birmingham, San Francisco… my heart dropped as I scanned the list of impossibly faraway cities. I froze at the bottom. The very last audition date: Washington, DC, Saturday, February 1, 3:30 PM. Not this Saturday but the next. I looked up driving directions from Colleen’s house to the Washington Ballet Theater, where they were holding the auditions. About two hours. It would take some doing to convince my parents to let me drive all that way, but I’d explain why I had to.

I flew downstairs. My parents were in the kitchen talking, but they went quiet when I came in. “Can I talk to you guys?” I asked.

“Okay,” Dad said crisply.

“I’m sorry I left earlier. I was upset about some things I still don’t want to talk about, but I’m sorry I left.” Mom opened her mouth, but I held out my hand. “Wait. Please, there’s something else.”

I told them about the situation with Colleen. Their faces lit up when I said her name, turned worried when I got to the appendectomy, cautious when I talked about the ABT audition, and thoroughly confused when I said I wanted to drive her to DC two weeks from now.

“Sweetie,” Dad said after a beat. “We could take Colleen. One of us should be able to do it that Saturday.”

“I know.” Tears stung my eyes, because it was true. Even if my parents were mad at me, they’d still drive the friend I hadn’t talked to in months to an audition two hours away. “I know you guys would. And I love you for that. But I have to do it. I’ve been a really horrible friend, and I need to make it up to her, and this would be a start.”

Mom sighed and looked at Dad. After what felt like forever, the two of them nodded.

“Really?” I practically squealed. Their eyes turned soft as they looked at me. Like they were proud. Then Dad headed to Mom’s study. “I’m printing out directions. I don’t trust the apps.”

“Thank you!” I yelled as I ran upstairs to my phone.

I’m picking you up at 10am on Feb. 1st for the ABT audition in DC. For the first time in forever, I tapped Send.

Now it was my turn to watch the three dots blink, blink, and disappear. I waited. After all the waiting I’d made her do, this was nothing. If she never responded, I would understand. Even if she said You can drive me to the audition but I won’t talk to you, I would take that.

My phone buzzed. Ok, she said.