“I do.”
“You wouldn’t be a gooseberry.”
“True. I’m not green and hairy.”
Emory tightens his grip on my hand as he cackles. He squeezes so tight I’m afraid he might break my fingers.
“Ouch.”
He lets go as though my skin burnt him. “Sorry.”
I hug him and kiss his hair. “Don’t be. I didn’t realise I was so funny.”
“Please come? I want you and Casey to be friends.”
“When you put it like that, how can I refuse?”
Grinning, Emory holds my hand, more gently this time, and we walk to the closest canteen.
Casey is already there, sitting at a table with two drinks. One looks like an iced coffee, and the other is dark green with bits in it.
“What the heck is that?” I ask as Emory and I sit.
“A smoothie. It’s got spinach, banana, apple, avocado, and milk in it,” Casey replies.
I curl my lip.
“I didn’t know you were coming, or I’d have got you a drink. I’ll get you one now. What do you want?” He stands.
I spread my fingers and push my palms towards the floor. “Sit. I’ll get it.”
I wander over to the counter and order a coffee. I watch Casey and Emory while I wait for the server to make it. They’re chatting. Emory is smiling, and his eyes are sparkling. He looks so happy.
“What did I miss?” I ask, joining them.
“We were swapping stories about our morning lectures,” Emory says.
“Ours was boring.” I yawn for effect. “I could barely keep my eyes open.”
“Oh? Is that why you spent the whole hour doodling on my notepad?”
Casey arches an eyebrow. “Doodling?”
“I was bored.”
Emory takes his notepad out of his bag and shows it to Casey.
Casey’s mouth twitches. His chin trembles. “Cute. I’ve got to admit. I did some doodling in my lecture too.” He dips his chin.
I wiggle my fingers in a ‘gimme’ gesture.
He rolls his eyes but gets his notebook out and gives it to me. His handwriting is messier than I was expecting—Emory’s is ridiculously neat. Not that I care about his lecture notes. His doodles consist of lots of lines, hatches, and spirals, which form hypnotic patterns down the margin.
“I listen better when I doodle,” Casey says, putting the notepad away.
“If only I could say the same. What was our lecture about again?”
“We’ll go over it later during our tutoring session,” Emory says.
