“Hey.” Maria interlocked fingers with Coop. Coop yawned.
“I’m Rodrigo.” He held out a hand to shake. Coop gave him a sloppy salute instead. His cocktail was much more bomb than sunshine.
As Maria canoodled against him and Rodrigo stared them down, it hit Coop just how miserable he was. He hated being here. He hated pretending.I just want to be a nerd who nerds with Matty.
“I think your boyfriend had a little too much to drink,” the guy said to Maria.
Coop rubbed his eyes furiously like a dream he was trying to awake from. “I can’t do this anymore. Maria, really? This guy? He’s wearing boat shoes for crissakes. Is he really worth this?”
“You have a problem, buddy? Maria, is this guy giving you a problem?”
“Yeah.” She looked between Coop and the guy (Rod-something?). A light flicked on in her eyes. “Actually, he’s right. What am I doing?”
“Maria, you don’t need to hang out with this creep. I think you should go, buddy.”
Coop puffed out a laugh.
“What’s so funny, buddy?”
“It’s funny that you think we’re buddies.”
The guy stepped forward, seriously thinking about starting something with Coop. Maria stood up and cut between them. “Rodrigo, it’s okay. He’s drunk. Let’s go, Coop. We’re leaving.”
“We are?”
“You are? With that guy?” Rodrigo asked.
“I am. With this guy. Because I just realized what a complete asshole you are.”
Maria stormed out of the party. Coop stumbled after her, knocking into a few people on the way. He found her on the sidewalk.
“I can’t believe you, Coop! What the hell was that in there?”
“I thought you left empowered. I’m confused.” Coop enjoyed the world spinning for him.
Maria searched for an answer, but came up short. She sat on the curb, head in hands.
“Who were you trying to impress in there? Your sorority sisters? That dickhead? They don’t care. All this effort, hiring me, it’s worthless. It’s just lies. It just puts you on this never-ending treadmill of more lies and always trying to prove yourself.”
Coop stared out at the moon. He had spent so many Friday nights in high school by himself, watching TV or going online, counting down the days until he could leave his hometown in the dust. But it felt like he never left. He could run, but he couldn’t hide from String Cheese.
By her shaking shoulders, it seemed like Maria might have been crying. Coop hung his head. He sat next to her, took his shirt, and wiped away her tears.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I just wish you could see what I see: this awesome gal who others would be lucky to have in their lives.” He rubbed her shoulders.
“You’re right,” she said through sniffles and runny makeup. “What was I thinking? I can’t believe I’m one of those idiot girls who fell for a guy who had no interest in her, besides hooking up.”
“We’re all idiot girls. The key is finding someone who’s impressed without you doing anything.”
Maria cracked a hairline smile. “Like you and your boyfriend?”
Coop didn’t respond. Instead of wallowing in the pain some more, he gave Maria a hug. They both needed the warmth. “It’s still early. Why don’t we order pizza and watch a movie. My treat.”
* * *
Two weeks later, Coop followed Lauren closely, watching wherever she pointed on the cash register. He didn’t understand how one machine whose only purpose was to take money and make change could have so many buttons. He had so much to learn. He adjusted the collar on his lime green polo shirt, which was tucked neatly into pressed khakis.
“Press 9 if you need to enter their card number manually.” Lauren pointed to the number 9 key on the touch screen, which Coop would’ve found insulting if it hadn’t taken him a few seconds to find it himself. “We’ve been having problems with our chip readers, so you’ll have to do this more often than not.”
