You’d think obtaining a blank notebook wouldn’t be such a problem in a college, but it is. No one writes on paper these days. Everyone has a laptop and most students don’t carry a pen. I shouldn’t be this enraged given thatIdon’t own a pen either.
“I bet the dean or the professors could get you a notebook but they’re not here until Monday,” Chloe says, her voice rough after she convinced last night’s DJ to start a karaoke and screamed her vocal cords off singing “Highway to Hell”by AC/DC. “Other than the security and kitchen staff, no one’s on site at weekends.”
I poke the salad on my plate before tossing the fork aside, my appetite lost altogether.
Great. Looks like I can’t leave this place even if I find someone with a car. The dean said we need a permission slip... I can’t get one if no one’s around.
“Why don’t you type it out on your laptop?” Rachel suggests, pulling my tray closer to pick out the pomegranate seeds. “Does it have to be paper?”
I kept a diary in middle school and loved doodling in the margins and using different colors to highlight important thoughts. While I could do it on a laptop, I’d rather flick through real pages. Laptops aren’t as reliable. Batteries die, systems crash, viruses erase your hard drive.
“I’d rather write by hand if I can,” I admit.
“What are we talking about?” Jensen slides into a seat opposite mine, his eyes bloodshot from last night’s beers, skin waxy.
“Hey, you got a car, don’t you?” Chloe blabs before I can kick her in the shin.
I don’t want to owe Jensen any favors. As harmless as he seems, the fine hairs on the back of my neck raise whenever he’stoo close... and not in the exciting way they do when Nash is nearby.
“I do, why?” Jensen snatches a banana off his tray, peeling the skin with shaking hands.
“Hailey needs a ride. You got time to take her?”
I know she thinks she’s helping, but I’m not nearly desperate enough to lock myself in a car with Jensen.
“Don’t worry about it,” I mutter.
Too late. He’s already smiling from ear to ear.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.” He casts a long look around, leaning across the table as if to place his clammy palm over mine.
Before his fingers brush my skin, his smile slips and he jerks back, dropping the half-peeled banana.
“Actually, I can’t...” His chair scrapes the floor as he jumps to his feet, squirming in place. “Sorry, swee—Hailey. I can’t take you. I forgot I have a thing and I’m late. I’ll see you later.”
He scutters away, leaving me with two wrinkles between my brows. Chloe doesn’t look any less confused.
“That was weird,” she breathes.
“You’ve known the guy for ten years and you only now realize he’s weird?” Amari pipes in. “I could smell it on him the day he arrived.”
“You knew each other before Lakeside?” I question, peering over my shoulder.
I can’t see anything behind me that could have startled him while Chloe explains she and Jensen attended the same private schools for years.
Liquid heat pools in my belly and my heart skips a beat when I spot Nash by the coffee machine. His back is to me so I shamelessly scrutinize his every move as he pokes the buttons, shoving a paper cup under the nozzle.
“What are you staring at?” Chloe nudges my shoulder.
I spin around. “Just wondering who else might have a car and a free afternoon,” I lie, disgusted that I’m daydreaming about a guy who may or may not have threatened me last night.
Looks like I’m into broody, rude bad boys these days...
Great.
I change the topic and spend the next fifteen minutes listening to all the fun things people do around here during the weekend, my foot nervously bouncing against the floor.
“I’ll catch you guys later,” I say the minute they start discussing their evening plans.
