Saylor: Your parents are nice people.Listen, I’ve gotta go.The annual movie marathon is about to start, and I’m on popcorn duty.Have a good night, Cash.
Me: Good night, Saylor.
Yep.That calculated risk hadn’t paid off.At.All.My parents’ words echoed in my head.
“You’re in love with her, son.”
“You can have it all, Cash.”
I just had to figure out how to convince my girl we could both have our dreams—and each other.
“That asshole!That complete fuckface!”Saylor fumed as she stomped down the stairs in front of the Film building where I was waiting for her.
“Hey, babe.What’s going on?”
She grabbed me by the elbow and dragged me up the sidewalk in the direction of the Union.Snowflakes fluttered through air so cold we could see our breaths.Saylor’s anger was so hot, I was surprised the snowflakes didn’t hiss into steam when they landed on her.
As she marched us along the sidewalk, she muttered unintelligible curses through her clenched teeth, and I decided the better part of valor was to wait her out.When we arrived at the Union, she skipped the cafeteria and her usual caffeine fix, instead dragging me through it to the lounge on the other side.Once she’d found a quiet spot on one of the love seats facing the floor-to-ceiling windows, she sucked in a deep breath and stared at me, rage turning her amber eyes almost black.
“Barnard Brown is bribing our classmates to trash my movie in critiques.He’s offering them paid internships with his dad’s company if they pan my movie, stop it from being considered for our annual senior awards.”The way she was wringing her gloves made me think they weren’t going to remain intact for long.
“How do you know?”
“One of my crew overheard a couple people talking about it in the bathroom during a break today.”
I wasn’t completely sure, but I thought I heard cloth tearing.
“Did he find out about the sexual harassment complaint you filed?”
Her hands stilled.“I don’t know.Every time I’ve checked with the dean’s office about it, they’ve assured me they’re still gathering evidence.”
“They interviewed me before Thanksgiving.I thought you knew.”
She deflated into the cushions.“I didn’t know.”Turning her head, she gazed at me through sad eyes.“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“They told me I couldn’t for the integrity of the investigation.”
“Or because someone in the dean’s office wants to cover Barry’s ass.”
Sliding my arm across the back of the cushions, I angled myself closer to her.“Is there any way you can find proof of the bribery?”
For a long minute, she stared out at the snow falling on the dead grass beyond the windows.Then she stopped wringing her gloves and sat up straighter, facing me.
“When I was stuck on his team last semester, he liked to use an app rather than just texting in a group chat like normal people.As soon as my purgatory with him was over, I deleted the app, but I bet I could get in again.”She pulled her phone out and typed out a text.“But if I open it, he might see that.”
“So—?”
“I just texted Esme.She was the makeup and special effects person on that movie.She’s now my makeup and special effects person because she’s awesome, and she despises Barry as much as I do.”Saylor stared at her phone as though willing her friend to respond.“She also kind of fears Barry’s possible connections.No doubt she kept the app active.”Saylor’s phone pinged, and she grinned.“Bingo.”She tapped in another text.
A minute later she was gripping her phone so hard I feared she might crush it Hulk-style or shatter it against the wall.Gently, I pried her fingers off it and looked at the screen.What I saw there made me want to throw Barry Brown through a wall.Instead, I screenshotted the text and handed her phone back to her.
“Do you want me to go with you to the dean’s office this time?I won’t say anything.I’ll just stand there and look menacing.”
After checking the time, she said, “The dean has office hours right now.”She sent another text.A second later, her phone pinged again.After checking the message, she stood and shoved her phone into the pocket of her jeans.“You have a few minutes?”
“For you, I have all day.”
“Dammit.You can’t say things like that to me in that voice when I need to keep my mad on.”
