This doesn’t clear anything up. “What does this have to do with me?”
“Delaney, have you not noticed a change in his appearance?Though it may be slight, he went to great lengths for outward improvement. Same goes for his mannerisms, which I daresay were quite appalling, but I digress.” A hint of a smile appears. “My criticism probably encouraged faster progress. You can only go on living like a dungeon rat for so long.”
He brings a spoonful of cereal to his mouth and watches me while he chews. Meanwhile, I let what he’s said percolate in my brain. A change in appearance. Sumner’s haircut. The new clothes, no more torn jeans and baggy sweaters. Temporarily changing his glasses so he could get the broken frames properly fixed instead of using duct tape. Isthiswhat William means? It must be. He’d organized his room and started holding open doors and offering to walk with me and kept me company when I was in pain and desperately didn’t want to be alone. All of this because he’d asked for William’s help.
Why would he do that?
William seems to find understanding in my expression. “He cares what you think,” he says encouragingly. “And I imagine he’d want to leave you with a good impression, considering he’s in love with you.”
Cross my heart, I will never get over the casual way William continues to routinely drop vital information.
“What?”The word comes out strangled. “Sumner is not in love with me.”
Because I was the one with the unreciprocated crush.Hewas the one who’d flinched when Jared asked if I liked him in frontof the entire common room. And yet, I’d kissed him only to receive bitter rejection with a side of humiliation. Heleftright after that, and I’ve carried a mix of hurt and anger for months, convincing myself he’d given me mixed signals throughout our entire friendship—if you could even call it that.
William’s brow furrows. “I believe he is.”
“I drive him crazy.”
“Delaney, I’ve known many jealous men. Look at me.”
He’s so dead serious. I wonder if he has experienced a single ounce of humility in his relatively short lifetime.
“I may not have wealth or status here, but I do find common courtesies go a long way. Perhaps it is something that has been lost in time, but it shouldn’t.” He straightens. “Sumner’s improved habits are the direct result of a desire to gain your affections, which arose once he believed we were courting. He’s told me as much.”
HetoldWilliam? My pulse trips inside my chest as I recall what he’d said last night.I wanted to impress you.
But if all this change was intentional, it only breaks my heart. Sumner’s spent his whole life jumping through hoops to try to be enough for people. I never thought that would include me.
I was so callous last night. Would anything I’d said change how he feels?
My thought spiral comes to a halt as my phone dings, a notification popping up on the screen. It’s an email from Mrs.Vidar-Tett.
Delaney,
Please forgive me for writing over break, but Salvon was eager to present his findings to you. I’ve attached them here. I’m also linking the University of Michigan’s online application in case you want to give the essay question a go. We can discuss more on Monday if you find it inspiring.
My best,
Mrs.Vidar-Tett
I open the attachment, adrenaline skating over my nerves. Tidy calculations decorate the page in neat rows alongside a handwritten note at the top:Don’t know if this helps, but I may have untangled a few things in regard to the internal acceleration limits.
Oh my god.
Heart in my throat, I leap to my feet. The motion rattles the table hard enough to make William stabilize two of his three cereal bowls. He glances at me through his lashes, eyes widening.
“You’re not going to believe this—”
“Try me, Carmichael, it’s been a hell of a year.”
I whirl toward the voice behind me, my gaze ensnaring on Sumner’s. He looks timid. Almost bashful, as if he’s not certain we’ve recalibrated to our regularly scheduled roasting after last night, but the tension wound around my ribs loosens as he passes me an apologetic smile.
He’s in love with you.
I’m flustered. I did not expect to feel this flustered the next time I saw him, but I regain a modicum of sense when my attention clings onto the calculations.
“We need to find Lionel,” I say, my excitement ringing clear. “I think we can finally finish this.”
