When I checked my college applications, I discovered that my seatmate had changed my first choice from the Ivy League to the most remote community college he could find.

I called him in a panic. He answered with a breezy "oh."

“My girlfriend got jealous. She can't handle the idea of you and me going to college in the same city.”

“Her grades aren't great, so community college is all she can get into. Having some girl 'bro' of mine heading off to the Ivy League makes her feel insecure.”

“Bro, for the sake of my happiness, you're just gonna have to take one for the team.”

The line went dead.

I looked down at the skirt I was wearing.

I was a girl. Who the hell wanted to be his "bro"?

He wanted to trade my future for his happiness?

I let out a cold laugh, pulled up the application portal, and changed my first choice to Graystone University's Nuclear Physics program. The exact one he'd applied to.

That program only admitted one student from our city each year.

And my SAT scores were thirty points higher than his.

……

With less than a minute left before the deadline, I hit submit.

Darrell Dickerson called again, still sounding like he didn't have a care in the world.

“Hey Driscoll, Dorothy's threatening to break up with me. My hands are tied here.”

“Besides, the deadline's already passed. You couldn't change it back even if you wanted to. Just think of it as doing your buddy a favor.”

“And honestly, what's wrong with community college? You can always transfer to a four-year later. With your grades, it's not like it'll hold you back.”

I cut him off.

“Darrell. I'm a girl. Stop calling me 'bro.' Stop acting like we're buddies.”

“And while you're at it, tell your girlfriend I'm not your 'girl bro' or whatever she thinks I am. She can stop worrying.”

Darrell went quiet for a second, then laughed.

“Come on, Driscoll. We've been bros for two years. No need to get all weird about it now.”

My chest went tight with rage and my hands were shaking so badly I couldn't get a word out.

My last name is Driscoll. Full name, Mildred Driscoll.

Everyone in class called me "Millie" or just "Mildred."

Everyone except Darrell, who insisted on throwing his arm around my shoulders and calling me his bro.

Because he was convinced I had a crush on him.

To keep his girlfriend from getting jealous, and to make sure I "got the message," he'd decided to brand me as one of the guys.

I'd explained the truth more times than I could count.

I told him I wasn't interested, that the only thing I cared about in high school was studying.

He just grinned that punchable grin of his.

“You help me with my homework every single night during study hall. If that's not a crush, what is it?”

I exhaled through my teeth.

“The teacher assigned me to tutor you. Because your grades were slipping.”

He scoffed.

“Then why do you always sit on the sidelines watching me play basketball during gym?”

“My eyes were tired from reading. I was looking into the distance to relax. You just happened to be there.”

“Liar!” He jumped up and mimed a jump shot, smug as ever. “You just blinked. That means you're guilty.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“No, I……”

He put a finger to his lips and shushed me with a smile.

“Driscoll, you're not allowed to like me. I have a girlfriend.”

“But you're also not allowed to stop liking me. Otherwise you'll have to sit there staring at me every day, suffering in silence.”

I gave up. It wasn't worth explaining anymore.

As long as it didn't affect my grades, I wasn't going to waste another breath on it.

After graduation, I'd never have to see his face again.

What I never expected was that he'd spy on my login password, break into my account, and change my Ivy League application to a community college, all to keep his girlfriend happy.

There was no swallowing this one.

“If you're so worried about Dorothy getting jealous, why don't you give up Graystone and go to her community college instead? You two could be at the same school. Wouldn't that make her feel way more secure?”

“Ha?”

Darrell sounded like I'd just told him the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

“Me? Community college? Graystone's Nuclear Physics program is my dream! I'm going to be a defense engineer. Serve my country.”

“You know I only put down one school and didn't check the box for alternate placement. I'm going to Graystone. That's the only place I'll ever go.”

So he couldn't go to a community college, but I could?

He had dreams, and I didn't?

I was so angry I almost laughed.

“You seem awfully confident. Sure Graystone's going to accept you?”

Darrell let out a smug little chuckle.

“I scored second in the entire city on the SATs. If they don't take me, who would they take?”

I said nothing.

I had no intention of telling him I'd also applied to Graystone.

Just like he never told me he'd changed my college applications to a community college.

“Anyway, gotta go. Dorothy Butler made a rule that our phone calls can't last more than a minute, or she throws a fit.”

“Oh, hey, come downstairs. I'll buy you an ice cream cone as an apology.”

“Two bucks. Pretty generous, right?”

The corner of my mouth twitched.

“A two-dollar ice cream cone. I'm not worthy.”

“I'll pass. Wouldn't want your girlfriend getting jealous.”

“Oh?”

Darrell drew the word out, long and suggestive.

“Not coming? Sounds like a guilty conscience to me.”

“Scared you'll feel awkward around Dorothy? Or does it actually bother you?”

“You'd better come. Otherwise Dorothy's definitely going to think there's something going on between us.”

My expression went flat.

“Think whatever you want. It's got nothing to do with me.”

I was about to hang up when Darrell clicked his tongue.

“Dorothy and I are right downstairs from your place. We're buddies, aren't we? Then come down.”

“Or we can come up to you.”

I was silent for two seconds, then went downstairs.

Darrell had his arm around a girl in a cosplay outfit, the two of them standing next to the ice cream shop, sharing sips from the same cup of lemonade.

When he spotted me, he grinned and waved.

“Mildred! Over here!”

I walked over, and Darrell immediately launched into introductions for Dorothy.

“Babe, this is the buddy I told you about. Mildred.”

“She gave up the Ivy League for us and switched her applications to a community college.”

“Having a bro like Mildred in my life? I'm a lucky guy.”

Dorothy looked me up and down, head to toe.

Long hair past my shoulders, a black-and-white matching set with a short skirt, black leather flats, white scrunched socks.

Her face soured instantly, and she shot a glare at Darrell.

“She's dressed like that, and you call her your buddy?”

“Darrell, there's really nothing going on? Are you lying to me?”

Darrell grabbed her hand, scrambling to explain.

“Babe, I swear, she's just a bro to me. She's the one who likes me. What am I supposed to do about that?”

“Stop.”

I rolled my eyes and cut them off, loud enough for both of them to hear.

“I didn't come down here for your two-dollar ice cream cone. I came to set the record straight. I am not Darrell's buddy. At most, we sat next to each other in class.”

“He changed my college applications behind my back. I never gave up anything for your relationship. Are we clear?”

They both stared at me without a word.

I shrugged.

“I've said what I came to say. I'm leaving.”

The second I turned around, Darrell grabbed my arm and yanked me toward the wall.

His elbow slammed into my shoulder, driving me back against the bricks. Pain shot down my arm, sharp and numbing.

His face was ugly. He kept his voice low.

“You really had to blow my cover in front of Dorothy? Had to embarrass me like that?”

I rubbed my arm and stared back at him, cold.

“You had the nerve to do it but not the guts to own it?”

He blinked, then let out a sigh.

“Forget it. Can't reason with someone who's never been in a relationship.”

Then he looked me over with open disdain.

“You dolled yourself up all cute and innocent on purpose, didn't you? Trying to get under Dorothy's skin?”

I took a deep breath.

“Are you insane? This is how I always dress.”

“Usually is usually. Today is today!”

Darrell raked his fingers through his hair, agitated.

“Would it kill you to dress a little more like a tomboy? Stay in your lane as a buddy? You're putting me in an impossible position here, you know that?”

I honestly had no idea what to say to someone this shameless, someone who insisted on calling a girl his "bro."

So I just watched him with a flat expression, letting him put on his little show.

Which, of course, he took the wrong way.

He placed a hand on my shoulder, his tone heavy with fake sincerity.

“Bro, I'm gonna be straight with you. I really don't see you that way.”

“Even if you stripped naked and stood right in front of me, all I'd do is pick up your clothes for you.”

“So just stop wasting your time, okay?”

My fists clenched.

I held it in, kept holding it in, but I was a hair away from slapping him across the face.

Dorothy suddenly came over and looped her arm through mine, all sugary smiles.

“Hey Mildred, come on, don't be mad. This is all my fault.”

“Let's go, I'll treat you to some ice cream. Order whatever you want, my treat.”

Before I could even process what was happening, she'd dragged me to the front of the ice cream shop.

A guy in skin-tight skinny jeans with bleached blond hair stood there, one hand raking through his hair, sizing me up with a lazy smirk.

“So you're Mildred? You don't look like a tomboy to me.”

I turned to look at Darrell.

He was beaming.

“This is the boyfriend Dorothy found for you. Pretty good, right? You're welcome.”

I looked at the bleach-blond guy again.

My head was buzzing.

Darrell was still running his mouth across from me.

“You didn't date anyone all through high school. Your buddy here gets it. You just never met the right guy.”

“He's Dorothy's cousin, goes to vocational school. Looks, style, personality, the whole package.”

He let out a smug little laugh.

“Sure, he's not quite on my level, but he's more than good enough for you. So quit pining after me, yeah?”

“So? You like what you see?”

I was so furious I laughed.

“No, I do NOT like what I see!”

“And let me make this crystal clear! If I ever had feelings for you, Darrell Dickerson, may I go blind on the spot!”

Darrell froze.

Dorothy immediately panicked.

“No! You're not allowed to like my Darrell!”

The bleach-blond guy sucked his teeth, pinching his chin thoughtfully.

“Doesn't make sense. Never met a high school girl who didn't fall for me.”

Then something occurred to him, and he stared at Darrell in shock.

“Wait. She doesn't like guys?”

Darrell went rigid, immediately pulled Dorothy into his arms, and glared at me like I was a threat.

“Don't you touch Dorothy!”

I stood there, thunderstruck.

So in Darrell Dickerson's mind, I wasn't just after him, I was after his girlfriend too?

I was some kind of freak.

A deviant.

“The three of you don't share a single functioning brain cell between you!”

I couldn't be bothered with these people anymore and turned to leave.

I barely made it two steps before the bleach-blond guy caught up, shoved a two-dollar ice cream cone into my hand, and flashed a crooked grin.

“Impressed by my big spender move yet?”

“Your opinion doesn't matter. I've got my eye on you, so that makes you my girl.”

“Stick with me and you'll have all the ice cream you can eat. Forever.”

I was completely dumbfounded.

“Get out of my way!”

Dorothy looked genuinely baffled.

“Mildred, my cousin's basically a celebrity at his school. You're being way too picky.”

Darrell shook his head with open contempt.

“Buddy, the man drops two bucks on an ice cream cone without blinking. If I were you, I'd have jumped him already.”

I took a deep breath.

Then I shoved the ice cream cone straight into Darrell's face and ground it in.

“You're clearly delirious from the heat. Cool off!”

Dorothy stared at the cream smeared all over Darrell's face, flailing uselessly.

“Darrell, oh my God, what do we do, what do we do……”

The bleach-blond guy let out a pained sigh.

“If you weren't gonna eat it, you could've given it to me. What a waste!”

I rolled my eyes and put distance between us.

“Darrell, lose my number. We don't run in the same circles, and there's no point pretending we do.”