I read the paper with shaking hands. "Slay."
"Which means?"
"To do something really well. Like, 'you slayed that presentation.'" I take the axe, trying to remember his instructions. "It's drag culture originally, but mainstream now."
"Use it in a sentence while you throw."
I line up, feeling him watching. "Gavin slayed his psychology exam?" The axe goes wide, hitting the wall.
"Terrible sentence and terrible throw." But he's laughing. "Try again."
We fall into a rhythm. He reads a word, and I explain as I throw. He's genuinely interested, asking follow-up questions that make me ramble about queer linguistics and cultural appropriation.
"So 'yas' is just an enthusiastic yes?"
"More than that." I hit the outer ring this time. "It's about celebration. Affirmation. Like..." I search for an example. "When Ethan walks into a party in a fantastic outfit? That is a 'yas' moment."
"Tyler certainly thinks so. He almost swallows his tongue every time. But can you blame him?" Gavin lines up his shot. "Ethan always looks… what's the word? Snatched?"
"Exactly. Flawless. Put-together. Like he spent hours getting ready."
"Did you spend hours getting ready tonight?"
I fumble my axe. "What?"
"Just wondering if this Henley was a 'yas' moment or just luck." He throws and hits the inner ring. "Because you look snatched. Am I using that right?"
My face burns. "I—that's—you can't just?—"
"Oh, good, you're here!"
We both jump. Tyler's standing in the doorway with Ethan, and three other guys I vaguely recognize.
"What are you doing here?" Gavin asks, but he's smiling.
"Drew,” he gestures to one of the guys, “heard you talking about axe-throwing and thought it sounded fun." Tyler's already shedding his coat. "You mind?"
"Course not. Doc, you know everyone?"
I know Tyler and Ethan. Drew looks vaguely familiar, frat president, maybe? The other two are watching me with open curiosity.
"Rex," the bigger one offers. "And that's Jaren. We've heard a lot about you."
"You have?"
"Gavin won't shut up about how smart you are," Rex says cheerfully. "It's actually kind of annoying."
Gavin throws an axe at the target with perhaps more force than necessary. "Rex talks out of his ass. Ignore him."
"No, no, tell me more," I say, finding my voice. "What exactly does he say?"
"Oh, you know." Rex grins. "'Doc's so smart, Doc explains things so well, Doc has this way of?—'"
"Rex, I swear to god?—"
"'—making everything make sense.'" Rex dodges Gavin's half-hearted punch. "It's cute. He's got a little crush on teacher."
"I do not have a—" Gavin's face is red. "We're studying. He's helping me understand… stuff."
