Team NYU? Cute… They All Secretly Joined Team Delilah Chapter 01

Team NYU? Cute… They All Secretly Joined Team Delilah Chapter 01

After the SAT, my twin brother, my childhood friend, and my best friend all started talking about applying to New York University.

“Jade, don’t fall behind! Don’t forget the bond the four of us share!”

“Team NYU, let’s go!”

I smiled and agreed, but on the day applications were due, all three of them suddenly became unreachable.

I made dozens of calls and sent hundreds of messages, but no one answered.

Then I came across the latest Instagram post from Delilah Chavez, a classmate on financial aid.

“Andrew, Nicolas, and Sue took me to see the bioluminescent waves! I’m so happy!”

I pulled out Andrew’s tablet.

The password was still my birthday.

When I unlocked it, I found a group chat I had never seen before, and there was a poll inside.

“Stay with Jade and go to NYU, or go to Columbia with Delilah Chavez?”

Option A: New York University.

Option B: Columbia University.

In the end, every single vote went to Option B.

Nicolas White wrote, “We’re the only close friends Delilah has. It would be awful for her to start college all alone.”

Sue Scott chimed in, “Exactly. We’ve been with Delilah for more than ten years. What’s another four?”

Even my own brother agreed.

He wrote, “NYU and Columbia are both in New York City anyway. Worst case, we can visit Jade at NYU every week.”

Tears splashed onto my screen.

If they were willing to leave me behind for her, then I would stop chasing after them.

Ten minutes before the application deadline, I submitted my application to UCLA, the school I had always wanted to attend.

From then on, an entire country could lie between us.

We never had to see each other again.

…

The confirmation that my application had gone through appeared with only one minute left before the deadline.

I stared at UCLA’s name on the screen, my fingers frozen for a long moment.

Then my phone suddenly vibrated.

It was Andrew.

I answered, and his voice was cheerful.

“Jade, did you finish your application?”

“Yeah. It’s done.”

He paused, then started coaxing me.

“Is our little princess upset?”

I said nothing.

“Nicolas, Sue, and I went out to buy you a graduation gift. We wanted to surprise you.”

“We put our phones on silent. We weren’t ignoring you on purpose.”

His voice softened.

“Come on, don’t make a fuss. We’ll be home soon, and we’ll make it up to you.”

Twenty minutes later, I heard the door unlock.

My brother, Andrew Schmidt, came in first with my favorite strawberry cake.

Nicolas White carried a wrapped gift box, and my best friend, Sue Scott, held a cup of boba.

They stood in the entryway smiling as naturally as they always had after upsetting me.

Andrew set the cake on the table and reached out to ruffle my hair.

I moved away.

His hand stopped in midair, and his brows drew together slightly.

Nicolas pushed the gift box toward me.

“Jade, quit looking so upset. It’s your graduation present. Open it.”

Sue leaned closer too.

“Exactly. We’re not seriously going to fight over something this small, are we?”

I looked at the three of them and suddenly asked, “Where did you really go today?”

Andrew smiled quickly.

“I told you. We went to buy your gift.”

I opened Instagram on my phone and held Delilah’s post in front of them.

In the photos, Andrew was carrying her shoes, Nicolas had draped his jacket over her shoulders, and Sue had her arm linked through Delilah’s.

The smiles on all three of their faces finally froze.

Then I opened the hidden group chat on Andrew’s tablet.

“Is this part of my surprise too?”

Sue’s eyes reddened first.

“Jade, don’t be like this. We didn’t mean to hide it from you.”

Nicolas lowered his voice.

“Delilah doesn’t have many friends. She’ll be scared going to Columbia all by herself.”

Andrew sighed, that familiar note of exasperation creeping into his voice.

“Jade, you’ve had us with you since you were little. Delilah is different. She’s alone.”

I stared at him.

After our parents died, he was the only family I had left.

Whenever nightmares woke me in the middle of the night, he would hold me and promise that he would always be there for me.

Now he was telling me someone else was too lonely to be left alone.

I asked, “So which school did you choose, NYU or Columbia?”

No one answered.

The answer was already right in front of me.

Nicolas looked away.

“They’re both in New York City. We can visit you at NYU every week.”

Sue hurried to add, “Exactly. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. Don’t make this into something bigger than it is.”

I gave a small laugh.

So my next four years, my life, and everything I had looked forward to could all be made up for with one weekly visit in their eyes.

Andrew seemed relieved when I stopped pressing them.

He pushed the cake closer.

“Fine. Since you already know, we won’t hide it anymore.”

“We’ve planned our graduation trip too. We’re going to Utah. Delilah said she’s never seen snowcapped mountains before.”

I looked up at him.

“You’ve already planned everything. Why even bother asking me?”

He paused.

“Of course we still have to ask you. You’re my sister.”

Sue pulled out her phone and showed me their travel itinerary.

Messages kept pouring into the group chat, lively and excited.

So the poll chat was not the only group they had without me.

There was a separate trip chat too.

And once again, I was not in it.

I tightened my grip on my phone.

Andrew’s gaze suddenly dropped to the necklace around my neck.

“By the way, Delilah really likes that necklace you’re wearing.”

My hand flew to the pendant at once.

Mom had put it around my neck herself before she died.

Four words were engraved on the back of the silver pendant.

May Jade Always Be Safe.

My voice turned cold.

“No.”

Andrew frowned.

“I wasn’t finished. I just want to lend it to her for a few days. She’ll give it back after the trip.”

“I’ll buy you a nicer one afterward.”

“There isn’t a nicer one.”

His expression darkened.

“Jade, stop being so unreasonable.”

I looked at him in silence.

The strawberry cake was still sitting on the table, the frosting slowly beginning to sag.

I never took a single bite.

My phone vibrated again.

It was a message from Sue.

“By the way, Jade, I can’t wear our matching best friend outfits with you to tomorrow’s class party.”

“Delilah and I bought the same dress, and I already promised I’d wear it with her.”