He smiles smugly. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to play Sudoku.”
“Only trying?”
“I’m not very good at it,” I admit.
“Can I see?”
I nod and push the puzzle and pencil across the table. “Stefan’s the one who’s good at maths.”
“Eh. All you’ve got to be able to do is count to ten and spot patterns. No maths required.” He eats a few mouthfuls of his Pot Noodle as he stares at the puzzle. Then he picks up the pencil and fills in a few numbers. “That should help.” He pushes it back to me.
I look at what he’s done, my jaw dropping. “What? How?”
He laughs. “I get the feeling everyone in this house thinks I’m dumb.”
I snap my mouth shut. “That’s not true.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s not.” I gesture to the puzzle. “I didn’t even know where to start. How did you figure it out?”
“Maybe I haven’t. Maybe I just guessed, and you’ll fail the whole puzzle because of me.”
I narrow my eyes. “Did you?”
“No. If those numbers aren’t right, I’ll give you a fiver.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
He waves at the puzzle. “Go on. Solve the rest.”
I concentrate on completing the puzzle while he carries on eating. Thanks to the start he’s given me, the rest of the numbers fall into place with surprising ease. Once I’ve completed the grid, I check the printed solution.
“Were they right?” Hendrix asks.
“Yes.”
He taps his fork against the edge of the plastic pot. “Then you owe me.”
“I didn’t agree to that.”
Hendrix carries on as if he didn’t hear me. “You like being marked and…” He raises his eyebrows.
“Isn’t it more fun for you to keep guessing?”
He waggles his fork at me. “Or maybe it’s more fun for you to tease me?”
I smile. “Maybe.”
“You know, you’re just as good at teasing people as I am. Only you look more innocent when you do it.”
I laugh. “I’m not innocent!” At least, that’s what I try to say, but it comes out as a slurry, garbled mess.
“Well, duh, I know that. But you come across that way because you keep your cards close to your chest most of the time. Whereas I play an open hand.”
I purse my lips and stare at him thoughtfully for a few seconds. I’m buying time to allow the cataplexy to pass, but also considering his words. “I’m not sure that’s true. About you, I mean. I think you’re just as guarded, but you’re less obvious about it.”
