Maybe he thinks he's the only guy smart enough to be here and he's only teaming up with me because each group needs at least three people.
Come on, Callum. Be normal and stop judging.
I shake my head and read the rest of the email.
We still have time before this is due, so we should probably meet to go over our parts before the lecture tomorrow in case we have any questions for the prof. Here's my number so we can coordinate that and anything else we need going forward. Feel free to hit me up.
I copy Ian’s number and enter it into my contacts app. Hovering my finger over his name, I debate messaging him first, so he has my number, too.
That’s a normal thing to do, right?
After tapping out a message, I shut my eyes and hit send.
Hi, this is Callum.
His typing indicator pops up almost instantly.
Ian Scott
Hey man!
Noticed the 603 area code. You get a new number after coming here?
Yes.
Ian Scott is typing…
And he stays typing for a while.
Oof. Touchy subject?
Not really. Just got a new one.
Oh lmao those periods at the end made me think I said something wrong
What? I switch to my browser and go to the search engine.
Are periods rude in text messages
Theyare. Darn it. I can't do anything right.
Sorry
dw man it's chill
I gotta head to practice. See you tmr
I don't text back, and instead, I spend the next two minutes searching up what his texting abbreviations mean.
And then look uphowto text and not accidentally insult theperson on the other end. The fact that I know how to work my new fifty-dollar phone is nothing short of a miracle, given that my old one still had a freaking keypad.
When I roll over, it's dark outside, and I realize I spent the better part of an hour researching how to be a normal nineteen-year-old.
God, that's bleak. I wish I was actually normal.
But I'm here now, so I sure as hell can try my best to learn, even if that means going against every gut feeling I have.
It’s snowing when I wake up, the kind that’s annoying and wet and slippery. Perfect.
