So, I was right, then—she didn’t take me seriously that night at Lane’s. I can’t be bothered to remind her of my plan, so I feed her a harmless lie instead.
“She left some stuff in my car.”
“Carrie booked a ride with a Campus Driver?” Becca bursts out laughing. “Yeah, that never happened. She would rather crawl over broken glass.”
“Her bike broke down and she was running late for class…”
“Oh, that makes sense. Somebody needs to throw that thing in a dumpster and set it on fire, it’s a tetanus shot waiting to happen.”
“Any idea where she is?” I press.
Becca frowns. “She messaged Friday night to say she was heading to her mom’s.”
“She live far?”
“No clue. Did you try going to our room? Maybe she’s back now.”
“What’s the dorm?”
She stabs at her phone, and a few seconds later, I have the building and room number.
“Let me message her and let her know you’re looking for her.”
“Just give me her number—keep it simple,” I try, as casually as I can.
“Eww, Don. No. That’s not how this works.” She eyeballs me. “Just give me her stuff, I’ll take it to her.”
“Yeah, fine, worst case I’ll do that,” I say, brushing her off.
We split up, and I head to the dorm of the obsessive reader herself to try my luck there.
Once again, the mission is a total failure—I knock, and knock, and knock. But the door stays firmly shut.
But then, as I’m wandering past a campus park, a messy bun catches my eye.
Gotcha!
I trot over to the picnic table she’s sitting at. She doesn’t notice me coming, and I stop in my tracks. Since that book club night, I’ve had plenty of time to get used to her vibe, and though I’m a little ways off from her now, something about her seems different. She looks tense. Tired, even. I shift on my feet, suddenly unsure.Come on, buddy. Quit overthinking.
Without saying a word, I settle myself across the table from her, letting out a contented sigh. I pull out a baseball cap, a water bottle, and my lunch bag, and I glance up at her. She’s resting her head on her hand, gazing off into the distance. Just as I’m about to speak, she sighs impatiently.
There she is.
I feel my muscles relax. “So! You—”
“Now’s not a good time, Donovan.”
My chest tightens for a second.She used my name.
“I don’t even know what’s weirder,” I start. “The fact you just spoke to me, or the fact you said my first name. I thought you might have forgotten it.”
“How could I possibly forget?” She glares at me.
She’s really not looking like herself today, and I’m wondering why she seems so freaked out. Is she sick? I push the idea away. Whatever it is, it’s got nothing to do with me.
The atmosphere is thick and heavy, and I can’t figure out how to break the ice.
“I didn’t see you around campus yesterday. You skip class?”
