“You’re not majoring in drama?” he asked in surprise. “I figured that was a given, what with your years of singing lessons, theater camp, the scales you do every day—”
“Plays are fun,” I cut in, before he could recite my résumé back to me. “I’ll always do community theater or something. But just because you love something doesn’t mean it’s a good career choice. I like cooking, but I’m not becoming a chef. I like fashion, but I’m not designing anything.”
There was a slight rustle on his end—maybe he was lying on his bed too. “Ok, so what unsensible thing do you want to major in that your dad is using me as an example of sensibleness?”
“Nothing.” I knew I wasn’t making sense. “That’s the problem. I don’t have a major picked. My dad thinks I should be alawyer, but if I do choose that, I want to make sure it’s my idea, not something I’m doing becausehethinks I should.”
“You’re only seventeen,” he said. “You still have plenty of time to figure it out.”
I hadn’t realized how tense I was until I felt myself relax. He was right. I hadn’t even finished high school yet. There was still time. I stared at the ceiling, tracing patterns in the glow of the hallway light. “You never told me what you’re majoring in,” I reminded him.
Another pause. “I don’t know either. That’s the whole point of college general ed classes, isn’t it? You take a bunch of stuff, see what you like and what you never want to do again. Like writing essays on British literature. I’ve already checked off whatever career that leads to from my list.”
I tucked the blanket tighter under my chin. “If you don’t know what you’re majoring in, why was my dad so sure you’d pick something sensible?”
“Probably because I will,” he said, like it was obvious. “That’s the reasonable thing to do.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What?” he asked.
“I was just thinking how ironic it would be ifyouended up being the boyfriend my dad liked the best.”
Even though I couldn’t see Cooper, I could somehow see his smug smile. “It wouldn’t be ironic, it would be proof your dad has good taste.”
“Right. Good night, O Sensible One.”
“Good night,” he said. And I could still hear his smile hanging in the air between us.
I only saw Cooper in passing for the rest of the school week, but we kept up a steady stream of texts. Each morning whenI fed Mascot, I snapped a picture of the cat and sent it to him along with messages like,He’s warming up. I can tell!
It had become an inside joke. The cat still kept his distance and gave me haughty, half-lidded stares.
More and more people had heard that our trip to the principal’s office had turned into our parents dating, and nearly every acquaintance felt the need to share their opinion on that.
“Karma has a sense of humor.”
“Well, you’re playing a matchmaker inHello, Dolly!I guess you know how to bring couples together.”
A few girls sighed and said some version of, “It’s not fair. You won’t even appreciate being forced to spend time with Cooper.”
I was torn between being perplexed with this bump in popularity and wondering if Cooper was right about me craving attention because I enjoyed it. I was at least temporarily a little cooler by association.
c c c
On Friday night, I was once again parked in the front row of the bleachers with my dad and Cooper’s family to watch football.
“I’ll take footage of the game,” my father told me, “so you can use it for your new football reel. Have you started that?”
And now I was actually going to have to work on a new football reel because my dad was paying attention to whether I did or not.
“I haven’t had a chance yet,” I admitted. “I’ll work on it this weekend.”
And that was how Cooper could take up my entire weekend without even being in it.
The second football game didn’t seem nearly as tedious asthe first. I still only cared about the plays because they mattered to Cooper and his family, but there were advantages to watching him run around on the field in tight pants and shoulder pads. As they say in noir films, the guy was easy on the eyes. He had a rhythm and grace on the field, like nothing he did there took any effort.
Our team stayed ahead the whole time. I cheered as loudly as anybody during the last play when Cooper faked a throw and ran the ball in for a touchdown.
