Oh. Okay, then.
What do you think of Tyler Hayes?
In what way?
I think about this for a few moments, and decide that it’s better to cut straight to the chase:
Have you heard the rumours about him?
Silence.
I wait, perching on the rim of the bath, my knees jiggling nervously.
Are you asking me this because you saw us out together?
Oh, she’s clever. Unlike me.
I want to know if you have any first-hand experience with his skills.
I press send without even considering what I’ve written. I’m risking everything, here, and I haven’t even won the damn tournament yet.
I knew she’d leave me hanging, like an utter dick. Why can’t I do anything right? What happened to the Kerry that we all know and love?
I sigh, stuffing my phone into my pocket. I can’t keep torturing myself like this. I’ve already said too much.
I open the bathroom door and find Skylar standing there.
“What were you doing?”
“You really want to know what I was doing in the bathroom?”
“You were in there for an hour!”
“Are you worried about me?”
She rolls her eyes, before turning and heading towards her bedroom. I start to follow her, but stop in the doorway; I’m still not sure how close she’ll let me get.
“How did the revision session go?”
She glares at me.
Today, she had her first lesson with the nerd that Jordan assigned to her, but I didn’t go and pick her up. My mother was already in town, so she collected her instead. I stayed here, helping my dad out in the fields. I’m still no good at any of it, but I tried.
“He’s weird. He makes me nervous.”
“Nervous? Why?”
“I don’t know. The way he looks at me. He stares a lot.”
“He stares at you?”
“Yeah, while I’m trying to work out those stupid Maths exercises he gives me. It makes me anxious.”
“Why don’t you tell him to stop?”
“Because he looks like he’s about to be sick with nerves every time I open my mouth.”
I laugh, amused.
