“We’re both legacies. Remember?”
“Huh. Maybe I should be glad he didn’t want to talk to me. Dad’s pretty successful. It might have been a possibility.”
He looks away. “What’s he do?”
“Sports agent.”
“I didn’t mean to make you embarrassed. My sisters-in-law tell me that I’m too blunt for the real world.”
“Nah, I like that. Give me blunt over bullshit.” I tap my fingers on the table. “You really don’t mind helping me with my coursework?”
“Not at all.”
“What’s in it for you?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “You’re probably the first person I’ve talked to since I got here that’s my age. And that I’m not paying to talk to me.”
The strange phrasing has me studying him. “You pay people to talk to you?”
“You know, like, servers?”
“Ohhh.” I snigger. “I thought you meant sex workers.”
“Yeah. Right. That’d be crazy. Anyway, I do share computer science with Pecan and he’s pretty cool. I saw you meeting up at Dopie's two days ago and realized you were buds. I recognized you from class too and…” He shrugs. “…figured you might talk to me.”
“That’s very candid of you.”
“Blunt(adjective). That’s me.”
“Yeah, for sure. But tell me if I’m taking up too much of your time?”
“Why would you be?”
“You don’t know how much I suck at this.”
He smirks. “Stick with me, kid, and I’ll get you through it.”
When he holds out his hand, I stare at it.
I go to fist-bump him and he makes to shake mine.
Then, I make to shake his and he goes to fist-bump me.
Laughing, I clasp his fist and shake that. “Here’s to talking me through it.”
When he sputters, I just chuckle.
This might,might, MIGHTmake my major fun…
SEVEN
DUKES’ TEXT CHAT
THREE WEEKS LATER
Alec: I’ve come up with a GREAT idea to spread the word about the upcoming season
Pecan: Do we have to do that? Aren’t the NHL ads enough? Everyone who likes hockey remembers that this is the time of the year the season starts lol
