Free Great Call of China (S.A.S.S.) by Cynthea Liu Page B

for?”
    Cece grinned, then sat back, relieved that was settled. “So you have to let me do something in return. You name it.”
    “Anything?” Peter said.
    “Uh-huh.”
    Peter went through his backpack and pulled out a folder. “I think I have something.” He opened the folder and handed Cece a few sheets of typewritten paper. “These are essays for my film school application.”
    “Oh, yeah,” Cece said, remembering what Peter had said about them when they first met. This would be perfect.
    “There are three questions,” Peter said, “and I am very stuck.”
    Cece quickly scanned what Peter had written so far. The grammatical errors were everywhere, and many of the words he had chosen to express his thoughts were incorrect. In fact, it read so awkwardly she could hardly understand what Peter was writing about.
    “How is it?” Peter said nervously.
    “Um. . . when is this due?”
    Peter groaned. “A couple of months. It’s like a bad dream, right?”
    “You mean nightmare.”
    Peter threw his hands up. “You see? I give up.”
    Cece giggled. “Don’t worry, Peter. I can totally help.”
    “Are you sure?”
    Cece returned the papers back to the folder. “Hey, what is Xiao Mei for?”

Chapter Six

    After Cece finished her session with Peter, she returned to her room, where she found Jessica standing in front of her closet. Clothes were scattered all over her bed—minis, tank tops, glitter this, sparkly that. “Hey, Cece, are you coming with us tonight? Lisa, Will, Dreyfuss, and some others are going out.” Jessica changed into another top. “Invite your friend Kallyn, too.”
    Cece thought it over. It would be nice to see Will tonight, even if Jessica was draped all over him. “That sounds great.”
    A look of shock came over Jess’s face. “For real?”
    “Yeah. Why do you look so surprised?”
    “Well,” Jess said, “to tell you the truth, I was beginning to think studying was your favorite pastime.”
    “Yeah, but a girl also has to have some fun,” Cece said, thinking of Alison, who would be so proud of her.
    “Great! Go change and get Kallyn. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.”
    Cece left the room and made her way to Kallyn’s. She knocked, and a few seconds later, Kallyn answered. She said a quick hello and hurried back to her desk. She was already wearing monkey-print pajamas. “What’s up?” Kallyn typed at her laptop.
    “Just wanted to see if you’d like to go out with me, Jess, and a few others tonight.”
    “Yeah?” Kallyn kept typing. “Where?”
    “Actually, I don’t know,” Cece said.
    “Um... sounds good,” Kallyn said, “but I think I’ll stay here.”
    Cece laughed. “Kallyn, you’re not even listening. What are you doing?” She leaned over Kallyn’s shoulder and peeked at the screen. The message window read
     
    MISS YOU. MISS YOU MORE. MISS YOU MORE THAN MORE.
     
    “Oh, you’re IMing Ryan.”
    Kallyn quickly covered the screen. “Hey, don’t look, okay? It’s kinda personal.”
    Cece stepped back and smiled. “I can see that. You sure you don’t want to come?”
    “Sorry, Cece, but Ryan got up early to talk to me. It’s so hard with the time difference as it is. Maybe next time.”
    “All right. I’ll miss you tonight, but I suppose Ryan would miss you more.”
    “Very funny,” Kallyn said, without even bothering to look in her direction. “Have a great time!”
    Cece left and went back to her room to change.
    While she touched up her makeup, Jess let her know the dress for the evening would be casual, but she refused to tell Cece where they were going. She wanted it to be a “surprise.”
    Cece put on a simple tank and her cute new jeans that showed off her curves. Then she popped in the earrings she had bought at Macy’s. She inspected herself in the mirror. Perfect. They went to the lobby and met up with Lisa and the guys—Dreyfuss, Michael, and Will. Will looked amazing, dressed in a baby blue polo and a pair of vintage washed