Whoops. That was too loud.
“I mean—no, thank you,” I say, flushing. “I just—I don’t want to ruin my streak. It doesn’t count if you cheat.”
“How long’s your streak?”
I sit up a little straighter. “Three hundred and two days.”
“You’ve done it every day for, like, almost a year?”
“Yep! It’s become sort of a routine. Every morning, I get up and do Wordle with a cup of coffee.” I lean forward eagerly, planning to tell him about the hardest words I’ve run up against—then I notice his expression. It’s the same polite, glazed look I expect I have on my own face when I’m forced to listen to John and Dave talk about cars. I chuckle feebly and sit back in my chair. “It’s not that interesting, really.”
“No, it’s cool,” he says politely. Another silence falls between us. He fiddles with his empty glass. I watch a woman park her caracross the street. I’m trying to think of more questions to ask him, but honestly, I’ve completely run out.
Our waitress reappears and takes our empty plates. “Did you two want to see the dessert menu?”
Arjun and I glance at each other, and for the first time all night, I think we’re on exactly the same page.
“Just the bill, please,” I answer for both of us.
5
Five minutes and one awkward end-of-date hug later, I’m sitting alone in my car, glaring at my cell phone.
A, R, F, S.
F, R, A, S.
R, F, S, A.
What thehellis this word?
Exhaling in frustration, I put my phone away and pull out onto the back road that leads from Summerside to Waldon. I drive a couple of kilometers over the speed limit, keeping a wary eye out for wildlife on the side of the road. The important thing is not to panic. It’s 10:45 p.m. now. By 11:15 p.m., I’ll be back at home, and I can make a cup of chamomile tea and write down every possible combination of the remaining letters until I figure out this stupid—
BANG.
I yelp as my car shudders beneath me. I maneuver frantically off the road, pulling onto the slim gravel shoulder not a second before the whole car just goesdead, no lights, no engine noise, nothing. I frantically twist the key to turn it on again, but absolutely nothing happens.
I put the handbrake on and take the key out of the ignition, and then I just sit there in the sudden silence, my heart thumping loudly in my ears.
What justhappened?
I put the key in the ignition again, only to take it out immediately. What if I try to turn the car on and something bad happens, like the engine explodes? Is that a thing that engines can do? God, why haven’t I listened to some of the boring crap Dave and John have said about cars?
I rake my hand through my hair and then twist in my seat, taking in my surroundings. I’m completely alone. There isn’t a single other car in sight. There are deep, dark woods on either side of the road, and as I stare into the bit nearest me, I swear I see a dark figure moving between the trees. My mind floods with images of bears and coyotes and serial killers.
Okay, no.
This won’t do.
“You’re okay,” I tell myself firmly. “No need to panic.”
I grab my phone and look up “car towing service PEI” and thank the heavens, two twenty-four-hour towing businesses pop up. They’re both in Charlottetown, about an hour away, but the first website clearly says “Serving all of PEI since 1982.” I don’t know exactly where I am right now, but I know it falls within “all of PEI.”
I take a deep, steadying breath and click call.
Then I hang up again.
I’m just going to quickly look up how much a car tow costs, first.
