“Because, Bella, if I live life always playing it safe, then I won’t ever get very far. Literally or figuratively”
There’s an excited anticipation in the air when I wake up. I stretch lazily, dress, and head downstairs to see if Naftoli has left for the airport yet. He hasn’t, he’s slumped on the couch, his backpack between his legs, looking slightly green.
“Hey, Tuls, when you guys leaving?”
“Ten minutes.”
I peer at him. “You okay?”
“Mhhm.”
I squint. He’s obviously nervous about something. “Uh, do you kind of wish you knew the other guys going?”
Naftoli closes his eyes. “Nah, s’fine.”
I sit across from him and study the pitiful specimen in front of me. And then I remember a fact about Naftoli that I’d long forgotten.
“Flying! You hate flying!”
His eyes spring open and his ears turn bright red. “Nuh-uh!”
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