There was another varsity basketball game tonight, and it would be a big one, the biggest one of the season. So the school was all riled up.

The basketball team was in their team sweats, and they crowded the hallways as they walked together to class.

Jesse was there, at the center. He was laughing with Will. He didn’t look my way.

When I got to math, it wasn’t long before I was called to Ms. Moreau’s office. We hadn’t met in a while, so I was surprised. After seeing how close our group had gotten, she’d kind of let us do our own thing.

I walked in, gently closing the door behind me. “Good morning, Ms. Moreau.”

“Ella, good morning, how are you?” She put down her pen and smiled up at me. “It’s so good to see you.”

I paused for a second, not knowing which greeting to respond to. “Uh, good morning, Ms. Moreau. I’m good, and you?” I sat down in front of her.

Her little cat figurine stared back at me like it always did. She loved cats. That much I could tell. Today, she was wearing little golden metal stars for earrings, the kind my kindergarten teacher used to give me.

They dangled as she spoke. “Glad to hear it. I’m well. Thank you.”

I blinked and pushed my glasses up my nose, waiting for her to go on, a small smile on my face.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know there was some kind of incident the other night at the ballgame?”

My ears felt hot as she waited for me to respond. “Oh. Um, no. Just a—a misunderstanding. It’s fine,” I said, trying to meet her eyes and convince her there was nothing to talk about.

Talking about peers and self-esteem and confidence and balancing schoolwork with friends, that was all fine, but she didn’t know about Jesse. And it wasn’t something I really wanted to discuss right now.

She nodded slowly and trained her eyes on me. They felt like laser beams.

“Okay. Just wanted to make sure. You know you can always talk to me.”

I nodded.

“About anything,” she said. It sounded like a question.

I nodded again. “Thanks, Ms. Moreau. But like I said, there’s not much to talk about. I’m fine.”

She finally smiled, seeming convinced, and I exhaled.

“Good. How are the other girls?”

I lit up, and her laser beam eyes didn’t feel as harsh anymore. “They’re great. We’re closer than ever,” I said. “Including Tori.”

The sly look on her face told me this was what she really wanted to talk about. She did want to make sure I was okay, but she was also wondering about Tori.

“I’m pleased to hear it,” she said, winking. “I had a feeling you all would come together eventually.”

I thought about that. I wanted to ask her how she knew that, but it felt like one of those questions that didn’t really have an answer.

She scribbled on a Post-It note and handed it to me. It was my pass back to class. “Tell them all I said hi.”

I stood up and gave her one last look. Her eyes twinkled, and I smiled. “Thank you, Ms. Moreau.”

The rest of the day went much like the day before.

The staring had pretty much died down, except in chemistry.

Will made some dumb comment about the idea of Jesse and me when he strolled in with Jesse. I was already at my desk.

“Cut it out, man,” Jesse said, without looking in my direction.

Will kept laughing but didn’t say anything else.

I copied the homework from the board, pretending I hadn’t heard any of his taunting. There would be a test in here soon, and hopefully, it would go better than my history test had this morning.

At the end of class, we had the chance to get a head start on our study packets with a partner if we wanted.

Jesse and his friends immediately formed a small circle and got started. They probably didn’t have a lot of time for homework with the game tonight and all the practices they had.

Rey came right over, dragging her desk toward me. “Mind if we work together?” she asked, taking a seat.

I smiled. “Let’s do it.”

She opened up her packet. “Good, because I get nothing beyond page one.”

I caught Jesse’s eyes one more time, but he looked at his packet again, picking up his pencil and writing something down.

Rey and I got to work. I found my notes, wishing I didn’t have to endure sitting feet from Jesse every day for the rest of the semester.

When the school day was over, relief swept over me, and I made my way down the hall to my locker. The sound of locker doors slamming shut and students talking filled the hallways. Most people were already heading to the gym for the big game. It wouldn’t start for another hour or so, but most of the students were going to hang out there until then.

On my way to the bus to head home for a long night of studying, I ran into Harper, Rey, and Lena.

“Are you guys headed to the game?” I asked.

“Yeah, aren’t you?” Lena asked.

Harper came to stand by me. “Didn’t you see our messages last night? We talked about it at lunch.”

I stared at my feet. “Yeah, but I guess I’m just not up for it after all. Sorry.”

They all looked great. Rey had a goth vibe going on. She was dressed in black from head to toe. She was small, though, like a pixie, even with the outfit. Lena wore her red soccer hoodie plus some really nice skinny jeans and sneakers. Harper’s girlie style stood out against theirs. A dark red dress outlined her hourglass shape along with her black pantyhose. The waves in her long, blonde hair topped off the look.

My own clothes weren’t right at all. I wasn’t wearing school colors or anything. Plus, my hair was just blah.

Harper said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to come.”

She meant it was okay if I couldn’t face Jesse just yet.

I shook my head. “It’s not him. I just don’t feel like going. I have lots of homework to catch up on. But you guys have fun.”

Rey hugged her journal to her chest. “It won’t be as fun without you there.”

I smiled at her. “Well, try to have fun without me. I’ll be fine. I need the study time.”

I kept walking, not waiting for them to say anything else. Being alone for a few hours was all I wanted.

“Bye,” Lena called.

I spun around and waved. Rey and Harper waved back as they turned a corner.

I made my way to the bus, got on, and rested my head against the window. The engine roared to life. I closed my eyes as we left the school.

When I got home, the house was silent and still.

This was my favorite thing ever. No Sophia, no Lindsay or Courtney.

Just me.

I made myself a sandwich, leaving my backpack on the sofa, not needing to worry that Sophia would pitch a fit. She wouldn’t be home for at least a few more hours, so I intended to make the most out of my alone time.

I wanted to practice coding for a while, after I got some studying done.

When I finished eating, I grabbed my backpack and headed upstairs.

I put it down at the foot of my bed and lay there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling, Jesse at the forefront of my mind.

Did he care that we weren’t friends anymore?

Did he miss me?

Was he flunking out of math without me?

That last question made me smile.

I missed walking him through a tough geometry problem. The moment the lightbulb in his head turned on always gave me a small thrill after he’d been struggling for what seemed like forever.

My eyes traveled to the cardboard moving boxes in the corner. They comprised what was left of my old life, including some of my dad’s old things. After he died, I snuck a few of his belongings up here to keep.

I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, and brought the boxes over to my bed one at a time. It had been forever since I’d gone through this stuff, not since I had been in middle school, a few months after my dad had died.

There were only two boxes, so it didn’t take long to go through them.

I pulled out some of my baby stuff. There was a tiny pink hat from when I was born plus the hospital bracelet. It barely fit in the palm of my hand now. I set those things aside. There were also some pictures, actual photographs, of my mom and dad before they had me. They were the only pictures I had of my mom.

I put those aside, too, and moved on. There was a small, pink stuffed bunny. I thought my grandma had given that to me. I’d slept with it until I was four or five. Fluffy Bunny. That was what I’d called it.

I hugged it one more time, taking in its smell, and set it aside too. There wasn’t much else in here except some old baby clothes and shoes. I moved on to the other box.

This one had some of my dad’s old stuff, too, including one of his favorite sweaters. It was forest green and worn thin now, but it was just as precious to me. I’d snuck it from his closet after his funeral. Sophia had been getting ready to donate everything, but I’d had the chance to grab this little piece of him.

I hugged it. If I closed my eyes, I could still faintly smell him. The scent was like pinecones on a cold winter day.

There were a bunch of papers in here. Lots of drawings and paintings from when I was little. My first soccer jersey and cleats. I hadn’t played in years. Not since before he’d died. Soccer just wasn’t my thing.

At first, he’d looked disappointed because he used to play soccer, too, but once he found out I had a knack for computers, he’d been thrilled. The natural talent for soccer should have been in my Puerto Rican blood, but he’d joke that my lack of athletic ability probably came from my mom.

His old laptop was at the bottom of the box.

I took it out. It was heavy. It weighed as much as my geometry textbook. And it was just as thick too. Sophia had been ready to sell it back then. It had been the only time I’d stood up to her. She had been about ready to explode when I refused to hand it over to her, but I had clutched it like my life depended on it.

“Little brat,” she’d muttered when she’d finally walked away. She’d slammed the attic door and thundered downstairs to tell the potential buyer she couldn’t part with it after all.

I pushed the button to turn it on, but nothing happened. I wondered where the power cord was. Maybe it still worked. It hadn’t occurred to me before to try to turn it on, maybe see what my dad had been working on before he died. He’d told me a little bit about it. He’d been designing some new software, and the trip he’d been on had something to do with it.

He’d been really excited about it, saying it was big.

I rummaged around in the box, not seeing anything.

Deflated, I picked it up to put it back in the box. I had to get studying anyway. Maybe I could find an old power cord on eBay later. I just had to see what was on it. It was the only other thing that remained of my dad.

The sleeve for it was still at the bottom of the box. It should go in there, I thought, to keep the dust out of the ports. I picked up the sleeve and opened it to find a few sheets of paper folded in half inside.

I set the computer and sleeve down on my bed and unfolded the papers slowly.

What was this? Maybe paperwork from his old job?

I read the title at the top.

Last Will and Testament.