The After Girls by Leah Konen Page B

for a moment. Then he looked back to Jake. He seemed surprised. He knew all of her friends, after all. He pretty much knew everyone in this room. “Ben,” he said, reaching out to shake Jake’s hand. “Ella’s
boyfriend.
” He said it as if it were a fact that couldn’t be contested. She’d have introduced him that way if he’d only given her a chance. “I didn’t know Astrid had family here.”
    “She didn’t,” Jake said, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m in music school in Chicago. But it doesn’t start back until August. I was just going to spend the summer with my parents in West Virginia, but … well, you know.”
    Ben nodded. “Cool.” And then he just stood there. No,
I’m sorry about your cousin. How’s it going so far?
Instead, he turned away from Jake and looked right at Ella. “We’re going to get another round,” he said, nodding over to Carter and the crew. “You want me to get you anything?”
    “Jake just got me one,” she said, motioning to the beer in front of her.
    “Alright then,” Ben said. “I’ll leave you alone.”
    “What are you talking about?” she asked, but he just turned back to the bar to order more. Ella sighed and took a sip of her beer. He was the one who’d barely paid attention to her all night and now he was the one who was mad. She turned towards Jake, who was politely looking at the stage, pretending not to notice.
    She racked her brain for something to say that wasn’t about Astrid. “Music school,” she finally stammered. “You never said anything about Chicago.”
    “You didn’t ask.”
    “I know. I just figured — ”
    “ — that I work at the 7-Eleven and live at home like a true West Virginian?”
    Ella laughed, looking at his thick glasses. She couldn’t explain to him that that’s about the last thing she’d thought. “No,” she said. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know you were older. I told you, Astrid never told me about you.”
    “I’m barely older,” he said. “A and I were only a year apart. I graduated last year.”
    Ella nodded. “Music school in Chicago. You must be a proper music snob then.”
    “Card carrying,” he said with a smile.
    “So you’re one of those kids who ‘goes to shows.’” She made the fake air quotes and then took another sip.
    “May I remind you that you invited me to a show. Perhaps you’re one of those kids as well.”
    “I go to Sydney’s,” she said.
    “Pretty sure that counts.”
    “Maybe,” she said. “I’ve never been much of a music person. I leave that to her.”
    “Oh come on, everyone’s a music person. Who do you like?”
    Ella raked through her musical repertoire, trying to find something that would sound at least mildly impressive. “The China Dolls,” she said, remembering a band that had come up on the Internet once that was decidedly not top-forty.
    “Nice,” he said. “Not a music person and the first band you name is like one of my favorites. You like The Black Rabbits?” he asked.
    “Uhh …”
    “They sound a lot like The China Dolls, but I like them better. They’re actually from North Carolina.” He smiled.
    She smiled back. “How did you decide on music?” she asked. It felt good to carry on a conversation. Like normal things could happen — even now.
    Jake shrugged. “I’m pretty good at math so I figured I could be an accountant and hate my life or compose music and probably be dirt-poor but maybe be a little happy … so long as I can eat,” he added. “It’s the thing I like. It’s hard to say no to that.”
    Ella nodded, taking another sip.
    “Do you know what you want to study next year?” he asked.
    Her heart beat faster, anxiously. No, she didn’t know. And she didn’t want to think about it. She’d been thrilled about college a few weeks ago, and now she dreaded it. She almost wished she weren’t going at all.
    Ella had been convinced they’d all be together — she and Astrid both applied to State, the university down