“Done,” Jack says, stretching, and I force myself to look anywhere other than where his shirt has ridden up, but I hate the uncertainty I find in his expression.
Jack’s so confident and carefree in every other aspect of his life but classwork, especially when he tries so hard to be good at it.
It’s not his fault. Dyslexia isn’t something he asked for, and I want to scream at everyone who has made him feel like he should be embarrassed for having a brain that works differently than what people have decided is normal.
“How do you feel about it?” I ask, trying to focus on more than the score because it’s just a practice exam. There’s still time, and this will give Jack an idea of what to study moving forward.
“I don’t know. I think I passed?”
He passes it to me and starts telling me about the freshman who showed up late to practice this morning while I compare the answers to the rubric I made. I’m not surprised when Jack says it’s not the first time it’s happened.
Jack was right about passing the test, but his score was in the seventies. Thankfully, he didn’t seem too upset by it since it was what he was expecting, but he couldn’t completely hide his disappointment.
“Do you want to keep studying, or should we call it a night?” I ask, and Jack groans.
“Do we have to?” he asks, but he’s saved by a knock on Jack’s door. “It’s open!”
Nate pokes his head in. “Hey, Coach sent a message he’s giving us tomorrow off, so we’re inviting some people over. You guys done studying?”
“Please say you’re done studying,” Ellie says, popping up behind him, and I blink, trying to figure out when she got here.
Jack looks at me with a cheeky smile. “I think my brain has absorbed as much as it’s going to tonight.”
Itdoessound like fun. “Okay, we can be done,” I agree, but I won’t be having anything other than water the rest of the night. Jack and I are supposed to skate in the morning, and there’s nothing worse than waking up hungover.
“Thank god.”
Ellie bounces, making me wonder how much sugar she’s had tonight. “It’s gonna be really fun. Sara’s already out at the bars, but I’m gonna text her to see if she’ll come over.”
Jack pauses, crossing his arms over his chest. “Wait, have you told Coop yet? He almost killed you and Dylan for how crazy Halloween was.”
Nate laughs, shaking his head. “See, I was kind of hoping you would tell him?”
“Nope, this was your idea. You get to tell him,” Jack says, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You guys are afraid of Coop?” I ask, and Nate’s face pales.
“You don’t understand. He has this stare that just cuts right through you, and it’s even worse when he’s disappointed instead of mad,” Nate says, and Jack nods.
“Can’t say it’s my favorite look to be on the receiving end of, so yeah, I don’t want to be the one to tell him we’re having another party a little over a week after the last one,” Jacksays, and Ellie rolls her eyes, giving me a look that resembles something along the lines of,Can you believe this?
“Oh my god, you guys are wusses. I’ll tell him,” she says, disappearing down the hall as fast as she appeared.
I agree with her—this is hilarious. Coop has been nothing but nice since I met him a couple of months ago, and sure, his height and size are a little intimidating at first, but he’s a good guy.
“For the record, I’m not afraid of Coop,” Jack says, and Nate scoffs.
“Okay, then why didn’t you want to tell Coop we’re having people over?” he asks, acting more smug than he should be considering he didn’t want to tell him either.
“Not we, you and Dylan are having people over,” Jack corrects, and Nate mumbles something under his breath as he walks out of the room.
“Coop isn’t scary,” I tease him, but he gives himself away when his ears turn bright red.
“Come on, let’s go downstairs,” Jack says, getting up from his chair, but instead of hopping off the bed, I stand up on the mattress. He gives me a weird look, tilting his head. “What are you doing?”
I motion for him to come closer, and Jack listens, moving toward me. Once he’s within reach, I rest my hands on his shoulders, turning him around.
“You’re being weird,” he says, and I climb onto his back. Jack being Jack, he immediately hooks his arms underneath my thighs to support me, and I smile widely.
