DFAbril

Meanwhile, Kelly and Stacy quietly agreed to tune out Kylie's complaints. Mostly because pretending not to hear her was easier than dealing with it. That, and Stacy had been acting weird the entire trip. Nobody knew why.

The truth is, she'd been fighting with Wendyl. Again.

She doesn't even know what she supposedly did wrong this time, but she apologized anyway. She couldn't bring herself to tell the others—it was the fifth time they'd broken up this year, and she really wasn't in the mood for another "we told you so."

Kelly, on the other hand, noticed immediately. She didn't push, but she stayed close, kept Stacy distracted with random conversations, made her laugh whenever she could, and even bought her an ice cream with what little money she had left. One night, while Kylie and Erica were busy arguing for what felt like the hundredth time, Kelly finally asked what had happened. The two ended up staying awake until sunrise talking, venting, and collectively deciding that men are exhausting.

Kylie, of course, complained the next morning that nobody had helped her with anything. The nerve.

A few days before heading home, the girls unexpectedly ran into Cara and her friends at the beach. Talia spotted them first and awkwardly locked eyes with Stacy from across the sand. Neither group actually wanted to say hi... but pretending they hadn't seen each other would've been even weirder.

As it turns out, Chloe, Cara, Talia, and Twyla had booked the exact same beach, during the exact same week. Ridiculous coincidence. Then again, it was the only week Twyla could get off from working at her parents' café. They're ridiculously strict.

The eight girls exchanged an awkward greeting before going their separate ways.

Talia couldn't help but notice that Cara and Twyla had been practically glued to each other since the trip started, though she wisely kept that observation to herself. Twyla had been unbelievably anxious about traveling, checking and rechecking everything at least a hundred times while imagining every possible disaster that could happen. Cara spent most of the trip helping her relax, whether it was listening to music together or sketching on the beach.

Cara was also weirdly proud of her latest purchase. A street vendor had been selling guinea pig T-shirts, and Chloe absolutely lost it over one that said "Pigzilla." Cara bought it immediately and hadn't taken it off since. She even bought the same shirt for Twyla.

Twyla still hasn't worn hers.

By the time the vacation was over, Stacy realized she really needed the break. When they got back home, Marjorine greeted them by excitedly promising that next year her parents would finally let her come along.

Kelly didn't have the heart to tell her that, by next summer, they'd probably all be living in different states, busy with college.

She just smiled.