“No. No. J! J! I need white! Not black! White”

Alex glances around, throwing the bottle of black back into the pin and picking up a bottle of white. “I knew that.”

He hands the white over to me, looking into my basket. “All right, we’ve got white, white, more white, yellow, blue, and dark brown. What else do you need?”

“Red and...now that you mention it...black.”

Alex scowls, but faithfully gets a bottle of red and black. “What will it be?”

“It’s supposed to show that true love knows no certain shape and form.”

Alex kind of laughs. “What did you get so deep? Shit, you sound like Gwen.”

I am fervently resisting the urge to say, “Probably because I AM Gwen, dumbass.”

I instead bite my lip and head for the counter. “Her work always had a meaning to it.”

Alex thinks about my comment thoughtfully. “Yeah. She even said that the portrait of me in the nude had a meaning.”

I smile a little at the memory. For months I had begged him to pose for me, so I could capture beauty on canvas. In a drunken state, he agreed. It had been quite the experience, very funny yet tender. It was one of my more beautiful works.

“Everything has a meaning.”

I pay for my paint, and we are about to get into the car until we hear a voice call out, “AJ! Nick!”

Holy shit. I turn and see Becca, my best friend Becca, walking over to us.

Memories come rushing at me like a train. Images of chemistry class, of nights at each other’s house, of late-night munchfests spent prank calling Alex and the Boys. Feelings are awakened, and I remember how she used to let me cry on her shoulder after a bad breakup. How she always ignored the people who taunted me with the word “Freak!” in high school.

How she had cried so hard when I died.

“Becca, hi!” Alex reaches her and hugs her, kissing her cheek. She smiles a little and turns to me. I hug her as well. “Hi, Becca.”

“Hi. I see you’ve been shopping.”

“Yeah. I needed some paint.”

“Ah.” A flicker of sadness comes across Becca’s face, and I know why. “Do you know what you’re gonna paint?”

“Yeah. I have a picture in my mind.”

“Good.”

Silence falls, and Becca’s eyes remain on me, her gaze never faltering. It is curiously unsettling.

“Are we still on for tomorrow?”

I have no clue what is to happen, but Alex answers for me. “Yeah. We’re there.”

Where are we going? I haven’t the slight idea. I search Nick’s memories, but nothing strikes out. Damn it, Nick, what have you agreed to?

“Good. I’ll pick you guys up at noon. I’ve got to go, I’ve got class.”

“Go get your edjamacation. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Alex hugs her, then I hug her. Her eyes never leave my face, and she smiles. “I’ll see you guys later.”

She gets into her car and drives off. I am left in a state of confusion as Alex drives us back. Where the fuck are we going tomorrow?