90 Days of Different Read online

  Copyright © 2017 Eric Walters

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Walters, Eric, 1957–, author

  90 days of different / Eric Walters.

  Issued in print and electronic formats.

  ISBN 978-1-4598-1673-2 (hardcover).—ISBN 978-1-4598-1674-9 (pdf).—ISBN 978-1-4598-1675-6 (epub)

  I. Title. II. Title: Ninety days of different.

  PS8595.A598A619 2017 jC813'.54 C2017-900827-7

  C2017-900828-5

  First published in the United States, 2017

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2017933026

  Summary: In this novel for teens, Sophie graduates from high school, her boyfriend breaks up with her because she’s boring, and her best friend challenges her to try ninety different things.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

  Cover images by iStock.com and Shutterstock.com

  Design by Rachel Page

  Author photo by Sofia Kinachtchouk

  ORCA BOOK PUBLISHERS

  www.orcabook.com

  20 19 18 17 • 4 3 2 1

  I’d like to thank and acknowledge my daughter, Christina Arseneau for her assistance with all matters involving social media, going through the first draft, keeping me ‘up to date’ and arranging for all of Sophie’s social media platforms.

  CONTENTS

  DAY 1

  DAY 2

  DAY 3

  DAY 5

  DAY 6

  DAY 7

  DAY 9

  DAY 11

  DAY 15

  DAY 17

  DAY 19

  DAY 20

  DAY 23

  DAY 25

  DAY 26

  DAY 29

  DAY 30

  DAY 33

  DAY 35

  DAY 37

  DAY 38

  DAY 39

  DAY 40

  DAY 41

  DAY 43

  DAY 44

  DAY 45

  DAY 47

  DAY 49

  DAY 50

  DAY 51

  DAY 52

  DAY 54

  DAY 56

  DAY 57

  DAY 58

  DAY 59

  DAY 60

  DAY 61

  DAY 63

  DAY 64

  DAY 66

  DAY 68

  DAY 69

  DAY 70

  DAY 71

  DAY 73

  DAY 75

  DAY 77

  DAY 79

  DAY 80

  DAY 81

  DAY 83

  DAY 87

  DAY 88

  DAY 90

  DAY 91

  DAY 1

  My senior year. It was over. Finished.

  “Sophie, we’re done!” Ella yelled as she wrapped her arms around me in a big hug.

  “It feels good,” I said.

  “Then smile!”

  I smiled and hugged her back. I was glad to be finished, and I was looking forward to the summer, but transitions—even good ones—made me uneasy.

  Around us, the hall was filled with an excited sea of students. High fives, hugs and tears and screams, papers tossed into the air showering down, and not a teacher in sight to mark the last bell on the last day of school.

  “It’s official, we’re high school graduates!” Ella exclaimed.

  “You make it sound like this was a surprise.”

  “Not a surprise but still spectacular! High school is done, and summer awaits us!”

  Ella had been my best friend from seventh grade on. She always spoke in rapid bursts, usually ending in an exclamation mark. It was one of her best features. And one of her most annoying ones. Not that I’d ever let her know I felt that way.

  “Hey, Soph, hey, Ella,” Luke said as he joined us.

  I threw an arm around him. He’d been my boyfriend for part of my junior year and through the entire senior year. Ella didn’t like him and wasn’t afraid to say that to me—or to him. She didn’t care what he thought of her. She was fearless about things like that. Again, both refreshing and at times annoying.

  “Can we talk?” Luke asked me.

  “Sure.”

  “Privately.”

  I looked at Ella. “Hey, no worries,” she said. “I’m always willing to go someplace where Luke is not.”

  “Charming, as always,” Luke said.

  “Not trying, as always.” Ella walked away and joined in the celebration around us.

  Luke took me by the hand and led me into an empty classroom, closing the door behind us. I could still hear the celebration outside.

  “I’m not sure how to say this,” Luke said.

  “What are you trying to do, break up with me?” I joked.

  And then I saw the look on his face, and I stopped smiling.

  “You’re breaking up with me?”

  He nodded. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a while, but there just wasn’t—”

  “You’ve wanted to break up with me for a while?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks, but I was waiting for the right time,” he said.

  “And you thought this was it?”

  “Maybe there isn’t a good time, but I ran out of time.”

  “But I don’t understand. Why do you want to break up with me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Of course you know. Is there somebody else?” I demanded.

  “No, of course not!”

  “You’re not going to give me that old it’s not you, it’s me line, are you?”

  “Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s definitely you.”

  “What?”

  “It’s you. It’s definitely you.”

  I felt like I’d been kicked in the stomach.

  “Look, Sophie, you’re smart and nice and really good-looking and—”

  “Sounds like three great reasons to break up with me.”

  “You’re not making this easy.”

  “I’m not trying to make it easy. Just tell me why.”

  He went to take my hand, and I shook it away.

  “Just tell me.”

  “It’s just that I feel like I’ve spent the last year—”

  “Last fourteen months.”

  “Last fourteen months,” he said and shook his head. “Thanks so much for correcting me on that too.”

  “Are you breaking up with me because I correct you sometimes?” I asked.

  “First off, you correct me all the time, and second, that isn’t the reason.”

  “Then what is?”

  “It’s just that it’s like you’re much older than eighteen.”

  “So I’m mature.”

  “It’s less like you’re mature and more like you’re old,” he said.

  “You’re three weeks older than me,” I pointed out.

  “But it’s like you’re a lot older. Thirty years older.”

  “Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

  “Am I? I can always predict exactly what you’re going to do.”

  “So yo
u want unpredictable, do you?” I reached over and with both hands mussed up his precious hair.

  “Stop that!” he said as he jumped backward and tried to straighten his hair.

  He seemed more upset about his hair than about breaking up with me. Ella had always said that Luke would never care for anybody as much as he cared for his hair, and it looked like she was right about that. And maybe lots of other things about him.

  “I bet you didn’t see that coming,” I said angrily.

  He laughed. “Maybe not, but I bet you didn’t see this coming.”

  I hadn’t. I always needed to know what was coming up, what was happening next. I hated being surprised, and this was more than that—it was a shock.

  “Look, Sophie, it’s just that I want to have some fun.”

  “And I’m not fun?”

  “Sophie, you never want to try anything new, or different, or exciting, or dangerous. You’re just, well, so predictable that you’re boring.”

  “If I’m so boring, why didn’t you break up with me months ago?”

  “At first I didn’t want to interfere with the prom.”

  “I think we both could have found somebody else to go with,” I said.

  “Then there were final exams.”

  “So you were too busy studying to break up with me?” I asked.

  “You were too busy studying. You were always studying.”

  “And you thought I cared more about school than you?” Was that it? He felt like he was in second place?

  “No, of course not. I knew you had to keep up your marks to maintain your scholarship offers.”

  “So you didn’t break up with me then because you were being considerate of my marks staying up?” I asked. “Am I supposed to believe you were doing me a favor by staying with me?”

  He shrugged. “You did ace them. You are going on a full scholarship.”

  I had already accepted an academic scholarship, but I’d have received less money if my marks had gone down. Even without that consideration, though, I’d wanted—needed—to have top marks.

  “Wait. Exams were over three weeks ago, so what stopped you from telling me then?”

  He looked embarrassed. “I guess I didn’t want to face you every day after that.”

  “Am I that scary?”

  Luke nodded. “Yeah, you are.”

  I hadn’t expected that as an answer.

  “Then how are you going to face me next year? We’re going to the same college, unless you’re so afraid of me that you applied to go someplace else.”

  “Here we shared two classes, and our lockers were only three spots apart. At college there are twenty-five thousand students, and the campus is huge. We might never even see each other.”

  “Something to look forward to.”

  “Look, Soph, let’s not make this any harder. There’s no point in talking anymore. I’m going out with my friends to celebrate.”

  “I’m glad you can celebrate breaking up with me.”

  “I’m going to celebrate the end of school. I’m free—I guess in more ways than one. Have yourself a good summer.”

  Luke turned and walked out, closing the door behind him. I could still hear the celebration going on in the hallway. It wasn’t just his friends out there but also mine. What would I say to them? What would they think? How could I face them?

  The door started to open. Was he coming back to tell me he’d changed his mind? No, it was Ella. One look told me she already knew. She came over and gave me a big hug.

  “You’re better off without him.”

  I worked hard not to cry. I didn’t want to lose control—I didn’t want to let it or him get to me.

  “What do you say we get out of here and get some ice cream?” she asked.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “You really do think ice cream is the answer to everything, don’t you?”

  “I don’t think. I know.”

  We slipped through the crowd without having to say much to anybody. Everybody seemed to know already what had happened. I was trending. Luke was probably posting photos of his freedom celebration on Instagram. I was only on Facebook, and I never looked at it. Ella would report back soon enough about how this was playing out on all the social media.

  It was a relief driving away from the school. It was like I was leaving behind a bad memory. Is that what Luke had done? Had he managed to wreck my memories of high school?

  “You know I never liked him,” Ella said.

  “You always made that clear.”

  “Remember, any guy who has that many hair-care products is not somebody a girl should want to be with. Guys like him should come with a warning label. Beware—danger of over-involvement with my hair, unable to become involved in a meaningful relationship with another person.”

  “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be encouraged or upset that he likes his hair better than he liked me,” I said.

  “Don’t take it personally. I’m positive he likes his hair more than he likes his friends or family. That boy never saw a mirror he didn’t look into.”

  More than once I’d caught him glancing at his reflection in windows and even adjusting the rearview mirror in the car to check out his hair. He did have nice hair. Nice everything.

  “You don’t have to feel embarrassed,” Ella said.

  “I’m not embarrassed.” There was no point in trying to lie to Ella. “Not much.”

  “You’re not the first person to be dumped.”

  “That sounds so bad. The dump. Where you put trash or things you don’t want. I guess that’s how he felt about me. He didn’t want me.”

  “This is harder for you than it would be for most people.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Come on, Soph, let’s not pretend. No one has ever dumped you before.”

  “I’ve had breakups.”

  “And you were always the one who did the breaking up. You were the breaker, not the breakee. Doesn’t feel so good from this end, right?”

  I knew full well that Ella’s last boyfriend had broken her heart. She’d taken it hard. I’d thought she was so negative about Luke because of how badly her relationship had ended. Really, though, she’d just been trying to protect me.

  We were friends. She protected me, and I protected her. In the early grades it was mostly me doing the protecting. Ella was wonderful, but she was, well, different, and that didn’t play out so well sometimes in middle school. High school could be mean, but middle school was meaner—especially for people like Ella, who said exactly what she was thinking without really thinking it through. She was getting better about that, but blurting was still part of her.

  I carefully looked both ways before I eased out of the parking lot and onto the road.

  “You’ve been insulated from some of this breakup stuff because you’re so beautiful,” Ella said.

  “I’m not beautiful.”

  “Yeah right.”

  “Well, you’re beautiful too.”

  “No I’m not.”

  “Yes you are! Don’t ever put yourself down like that!” I protested.

  “I’m not putting myself down. Luke isn’t the only one who looks in mirrors. I know exactly what I look like. I’m cute, perky and, on a good day, in the right light with the right makeup, actually very pretty.”

  “That’s right. You’re very pretty.”

  “Wait. A few minutes ago you thought I was beautiful,” she said.

  “I, um, of course you’re—”

  “Because pretty, even very pretty, is a major step down from beautiful,” she said. “From you.”

  My mind spun, struggling for something to say.

  “Soph, I know how people, males, react to me and how they react to you. When I’m by myself I get my share of looks. When we’re together I’m prepared to be a little less visible.”

&nbs
p; “I don’t even know what that means,” I said.

  “The guys are all looking at you so hard, they don’t notice that I’m there.”

  “That’s not what happens.”

  “It’s the truth, and I’m okay with that.” She laughed. “I guess I have to be. You’re my best friend, and it’s not like you can help it that you’re gorgeous. That’s probably part of the reason Luke waited until school was over to break it off.”

  “He said he didn’t want to distract me from my exams.”

  She laughed. “That would be considerate, and he’s not. He knew that if you two broke up while school was still on that you’d have won the break-up.”

  “Nobody wins in those things.”

  “Of course they do. The first person to be with somebody else after a breakup wins. Even one of his close friends would have chosen you over him. You always win.”

  “Not always.”

  “No, always. You always have somebody—and fast,” Ella said.

  “That almost sounds like an accusation.”

  “Not an accusation as much as a fact. We’ve been friends since the seventh grade. How many days were you without a boyfriend or a boy you knew you could have as your boyfriend anytime you wanted?”

  I was going to say something, but again there was no point in lying to somebody who knew all my secrets—even the ones I didn’t know myself.

  “That’s what you need to do differently this time,” Ella said. “Stay without a boyfriend for a while. It would be good for your soul.”

  “You make it sound like a religious experience.”

  “Maybe it is. Think of it as doing meditation or becoming a Buddhist.”

  “I think Buddhists can date.”

  “There are hundreds of millions of them, so I assume they do much more than just date,” Ella said. “But it would be a real Zen experience for you to be single for a while. Don’t be so desperate.”

  “I’m not desperate.”

  “It’s like you think people will think bad things about you if you don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “I didn’t know you thought I was that shallow,” I said.

  “You’re one of the deepest people I know. In fact, your problem is that you overthink everything. It’s no secret that you have trouble being spontaneous.”

  “So you think I’m too predictable.”

  “You’re very predictable,” she said.

  My head tingled. First Luke and then her.