Adios to All the Drama
DIANA RODRIGUEZ WALLACH
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 6
Chapter 1
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my amazing agent, Jenoyne Adams, for all of her support with this series and for always calming my nerves. I’d like to thank Jenoyne’s wonderful team, specifically Can-dice Smith, Kelsey Adelson, and Taylor Martindale, for their always thoughtful edits.
Thank you to my editor, Kate Duffy. This series truly would not exist if it weren’t for her belief in Mariana! And thank you to Kate’s assistant, Megan Records, for making the publishing process smoother.
Thank you to everyone in Philadelphia who has reached out to help me promote this series, including: Gail Bower, Jennifer Rodriguez, Jenee Chizick, Bob Mulvihill, Philadelphia Academies, The Lutheran Settlement House, Barnes and Noble in Rittenhouse Square, Head House Books, Mixto Restaurant, and the many school districts in the Delaware Valley including my alma mater, Ridley.
A special thanks goes to all of my Ridley Girls. If I didn’t have such great lifelong friends from high school, it wouldn’t be so easy to write about those years.
Thanks to the Wallachs for showing such excitement for my work, and a very special thank-you to Paula for being a wonderful editor and mother-in-law.
Thank you to my siblings, Natalie and Lou, for talking up my books to every colleague you meet. I hope I can return the favor someday. And I’d like to give a special thank-you to my parents for everything they’ve given me, including my drive to pursue this career. Your support and love mean so much.
I’d especially like to thank my husband, Jordan, for all of the work he has done to help make this dream a reality. This includes everything from building my website, to calling reporters, to contacting school districts, to driving me to every bookstore in the Philadelphia area, to being my first editor, to being pleasantly patient while I’m in “writing mode,” and for simply believing in me with your whole heart. If it weren’t for your love and support, I would not have gotten as far as I have. I love you very much.
Chapter 1
He was arriving in less than a week. When I had left Alex standing on the side of the road in Utuado, waving at my car as it pulled away from my aunt Carmen and uncle Miguel’s home, I had truly thought I would never see him again. Sure, we had made plans to keep in touch via e-mail, but there’s a huge difference between a few electronic submissions and a half-semester face-to-face visit. Especially when his accommodations were two doors down on the left, next to the hall bath alongside Vince’s room.
“So does this mean you’re gonna start wearing makeup to breakfast?” Lilly asked as she helped me clear out the drawers in what would soon be Alex’s room.
“I barely wear makeup to school. I doubt I’ll start caking it on to eat Cheerios.” I tossed a bunch of my mom’s old sweaters into a plastic storage bin bound for the attic.
“But what if Alex is pouring the milk in your Cheerios?” Lilly raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I may have to brush my teeth…”
I grabbed my mom’s old cardigan and placed it neatly in another bin. Most of the extra closets in our house held my mom’s “overflow” wardrobe. She didn’t throw much away out of a belief that it would eventually come back into style—it was a holdover from her childhood growing up in the projects. When you go from Kmart to Chanel in less than thirty years, it’s hard to part with those Chanels even when they’re dated.
“I still can’t believe he’s up and moving here to be with you,” Lilly stated plainly.
“This has nothing to do with me. He’s visiting colleges.”
“Yeah, if you believe that….”
“I do!” I insisted, though even I could hear the defensive edge in my voice.
“He’s staying in a room down the hall from yours. Is that standard procedure for every kid who wants to tour universities in the greater Philadelphia area? Because if so, your parents need to up their rates….”
“I wouldn’t talk, Miss Freeloader.”
“Hey, my parents send money!” she tossed a lavender-scented sachet at me.
Lilly had moved here in September to seek a better education. Though her parents were justifiably nervous having their daughter live with distant relatives, Lilly had flawlessly adjusted almost immediately. She was one of the most popular freshmen in our school.
“I’m just saying if you didn’t move here from Puerto Rico, maybe Alex wouldn’t be so inspired to do the same. It could be you he misses.” I narrowed my eyes.
“Nice try, but I don’t think so.”
Lilly carefully lifted one of my mom’s formal handbags. Each elegant clutch, leather satchel, or logo-patterned purse was to be individually placed in the fabric dust bag it came in, then nestled into a cardboard box and labeled, then stacked into a plastic bin. Sometimes I thought my mom cared more about those purses than she did her own life.
“So are you guys just gonna pick up where you left off? Have a big smooch fest at the airport?” Lilly blew kisses at me.
“I don’t know,”