“Thanks,” he said.
“Eat,” Bryce said.
They sat on stools at the back of the bench. Gage inhaled half his sandwich, said something about Dan’s playlist submission being a human rights violation, and went to sign a sheet. Sage ate fast like he hadn’t eaten all day.
“How is it?” Bryce asked, nodding at the board.
“Stable so far,” Sage said. “We need it to hold for a five-minute run while the TA watches.”
“We’ll test right after we eat,” Gage said, wiping his hands. “I want this done.”
“Same,” Sage said.
They finished the sandwiches and split the chips. Bryce went to toss the trash and passed a bottle of water to Sage so he would have a drink. Sage twisted the cap and drank half of it before putting it down.
“Ready?” Gage asked.
“Yeah,” Sage said.
They stood. Sage checked the lead, then checked the meter, and nodded once. He tapped the key. The first LED lit. Then the next. The chain rolled clean to the tenth and held.
“Timer,” Gage said.
Sage set his phone. They watched it run. One minute. Two. Someone two benches down argued about resistor values. The TA started down the row. Three minutes. The fourth LED flickered, then stabilized. Sage didn’t breathe for two seconds and then did.
Five minutes. The timer buzzed. The TA stopped at their bench, checked the sequence, checked the wiring, and signed the sheet.
“Good,” she said. “Next group.”
Gage made a small fist and let it go. Sage didn’t fist pump, but his shoulders came down a notch. He powered the board off and unplugged the leads. Bryce felt tension slide out of the room in a way he could count.
“Proud of you,” Bryce said, low.
Sage gave him a look that told Bryce he’d heard his comment, and the soft smile Sage gave him confirmed it.
Gage pointed at Bryce. “Tell Dan if he says, ‘puffy lips’ again, I’m soldering his playlist into silence.”
“I already told him to cut it out,” Bryce said.
“Good.” Gage slung his bag on. “I’m going to the student center. Try not to trip the breaker while I’m gone.”
“Ha ha. Not funny,” Sage said.
Sage wiped the bench, checked that the iron was off, and logged the pass in the group sheet. Bryce watched his hands, thinking about how they’d felt on his body.
“You want to get out of here?” Bryce asked.
“Yeah,” Sage said. “I’m done.”
Outside, the wind was strong. They kept their heads down and their hands in their pockets. At the corner, a bike slid past too close, and the rider said, “Sorry” without looking back.
“You okay?” Bryce asked.
“I’m okay,” Sage said. “It worked.”
“You did good,” Bryce said.
They stopped at the small market for burgers and buns and put them in the basket.
