“Are you sure about that?”
“You want me to sabotage my boyfriend’s work? You think I would do that?”
“You won’t be sabotaging anything. Just do what you’ve been doing. Get him out of the lab, show him a good time. Keep him happy and entertained. Give other students a chance to compete.”
“You mean yourself.” Coop switched to wailing on his triceps. The anger building up in him fueled his workout.
“I never thought I had a chance at this position. If I got it, my parents would be thrilled. The shit about my grades would go away. It’s the best opportunity for a freshman robotics student at Browerton. Hell, in the Northeast.”
“If you want it, earn it.” Coop stared down Kelvin, which was the nicest way he would tell him to move along. Kelvin seemed to understand.
“I don’t have my wallet on me right now, but trust that I will make thisveryworth your while, like three hundred times worth your while.”
Coop clocked Kelvin’s punchable grin in the mirror. “Everyone is just a price tag to you, aren’t they?”
“Don’t go all altruistic on me, Coop. It’s not your style. That number would just be a signing bonus. You’d be crazy to turn down this payday.”
He hated the monetary power Kelvin exerted over him. He could benchpress the guy, yet he felt weak in his presence.
“Matty’s a smart guy. Really smart. If he doesn’t get this position, he can find another way in. It’s a speed bump for him and a windfall for you.”
Matty didn’t come with a price tag.
Coop put down his weights and puffed out his chest. “See you later, Kelvin.”
He left the weight room and walked past the row of treadmills. Whatever moral victory Coop had wasn’t worth a damn because he’d already succumbed to Kelvin’s wallet before. Kelvin stopped him on the staircase down to the locker rooms.
“Where is Matty right now?”
Coop shrugged as if he didn’t know, but they both knew.
“And where do you think he’ll be if he wins this competition?” Kelvin asked. “Research assistants start right away. It’s only going to get worse. I don’t think Professor Chertok has a social life. Matty locked himself away in the library just for regular classes. If he gets this research slot, you’ll never see him again.”
Coop gulped hard. His phone remained silent in his pocket, no new text messages or voicemails. He hated Kelvin more than anyone else in this moment, because maybe he was right.
But that was a risk he was willing to take.
“Fuck off, Kelvin.” Coop swung open the locker room door and hoped that it smacked the kid in his entitled face.
Chapter 22
Matty
The campus wasat its quietest in the early morning, quieter than the latest of nights. On his walk to the computer lab at seven a.m., Matty didn’t see anyone else out, not even groundskeepers. He could’ve been the star of an apocalyptic story.
Matty hoped Coop understood about the Zone. The Zone was propelling him to succeed. The reason people were unproductive was because they let distractions get in the way of solid work. Working was like sleeping. You had to give yourself some time and peace to fall into a deep sleep. The only way Matty was going to achieve breakthroughs on his algorithm was by getting into the deep sleep-like Zone of work. He kept his phone on airplane mode. The Zone carried Matty into another dimension that didn’t obey the normal rules of time. Hours flicked by in minutes.
Coop was ticked off when he visited Matty in the computer lab, but what did he expect? He knew what he was getting into from the first time he dragged Matty out to a party. It would all be worth it. In two weeks from Monday, Matty would show off his algorithm, blow away the competition, get the research slot, and get back to normal with Coop.
His footsteps echoed on the floor of the engineering building. He slowed as he heard a cranking sound coming from Professor Chertok’s robotics lab. He could hear it all the way down the hall.
He stopped just outside the entrance. The cranking got louder. He craned his neck to peek through the observation window. Professor Chertok sat on the floor, tinkering away at some bottom screws on Imelda.
“Good morning, professor.”
Professor Chertok looked up. His hair skewed in all directions and his glasses sat crookedly on his nose. He was deep inside the Zone and had to take a few seconds to come out of it.
“Matty. I’m surprised to see you here on a Sunday morning.”
