His Best Friend's Sister

Chapter 16

The day Alexander received a scholarship to St. Mikes was a day of mixed emotions.

My mom bought a small supermarket cake for him with the word "congratulations" written in icing. She told him how proud she was of him and he gleamed with pride as he snapped pictures of his acceptance letter to all of his friends. I think I was the only one who could detect the deep sense of relief he felt, as well. I congratulated him cordially and our mom forced us to hug. I couldn't stop thinking about how far St. Mikes was. It was out of province, a five-hour drive away. If his friends left town too, I dreaded the thought that mom and I wouldn't be enough to warrant a visit back home from Alexander. I feared now more than ever that Alexander and I would enter into our adult lives as strangers.

Ricky rang the doorbell not even twenty minutes after Alexander sent out the news. They embraced before quickly pulling away and doing a handshake, instead.

Alexander led Ricky toward the living room, and with his back turned to us, Ricky caressed my cheek as he passed me. I smiled into his touch.

My mom brought Ricky a slice of cake on a plate before saying, "Are you going to choose St. Mikes too, honey?"

"Mom, Ricky hasn't gotten his official letter yet" Alexander admonished.

My mom was transfixed at this statement, and I knew instantly from the look on her face, that Ada had told her at the Christmas party.

"Ricky, your mom told me you had received early acceptance to St. Mikes?"

"Nope," Alexander shook his head confidently. "Must have been a misunderstanding."

Ricky was looking down at his socks and I could see his tanned complexion turning darker.

"Um, Alex," he began. "I did actually get early acceptance into St. Mikes. I wanted to wait until you got acceptance, too before I said anything."

I was proud of Ricky for how truthfully and plainly he had told him. Yet I wondered if he would tell him about the two other scholarships, and the scout.

Alexander was dumbfounded, and also seemed slightly embarrassed. His cheeks had turned pink and he scratched the top of his head.

My mom took note of the atmosphere and quickly added, "That was very considerate of you, Ricky. Now it's water under the bridge."

Both boys nodded at her words. I knew Alexander was only taking this news well because he had his own St. Mikes acceptance letter grasped firmly in his hands. I was sure Ricky knew it, too.

"Alright, well," Alexander shuffled in his seat on the couch. "There's nothing left to do but accept. Do you want to do it at the same time?"

"Do what?" Ricky asked distractedly.

"Accept St. Mikes. We can do it online."

Ricky suddenly appeared as though he was back in the moment.

"Uh, no."

"What do you mean, no?" Alexander half-laughed. "The deadline to accept is next week, what are you waiting for?"

"I'm just not sold on St. Mikes. It's so far from home, and..."

"It's not like you have other options," Alexander said in his unsentimental and straightforward kind of way. "St. Mikes is an awesome school."

"It is, but..."

"Okay so let's send in an acceptance."

Ricky let out a manic sounding laugh. "Alex! I do have other options."