“Does Izzy always make you do things you don’t want todo?”
I recall all the things she’s forced me into that have gotten me into trouble over the years. “Yep.” I grin.
“Izzy sounds fun.” He laughs. “I haven’t spoken to her in years, but I recognized her straightaway.”
“She’s an icon,” I say, smiling. “And she didn’t really make me come. We both needed some normality after…well, you know.”
Noah takes a second and his face softens. “I saw it on the news this morning. I’m sorry I joked about things last night. I didn’t realize what had happened or how bad it was. That must have been…I mean, I don’t even know.”
“It was horrible,” I say softly, looking down at the table. Tears prick at my eyes, surprising me, and I sniff hard, trying to keep them back. Guess I’m not seeing it that objectively after all.
“Yeah.” Noah’s quiet for a second and then surprises me by jumping up and changing the subject. “Come on, let’s get you some water. We can snoop on everyone else’s projects that way.”
“Okay,” I reply, puzzling over his sudden change in demeanor. Maybe he’s not good with feelings either and the sarcasm thing is a front.
We cross the room toward the water cooler, and I lower my voice as we pass Scarlett, who is cross-legged and barefoot on the tile floor, surrounded by a selection of broken beauty products. “Her idea sounds so interesting, don’t you think?”
“I don’t really know what she’s doing,” Noah admits. “I excused myself when she said the words ‘feminine rage’ to Ramona.” I make a show of raising my eyebrows at him and he splutters. “I mean, I’m all for, you know, feminism and…rage…” He trails off. “Fine, she scares the crap out of me, is that what you want to hear?”
I burst out laughing as Scarlett closes her eyes and starts to hum to herself softly. “Oh, yeah, she’s terrifying,” I say.
I grab a paper cup, trying not to think about last night as I fill it up. I remind myself it’s only water in this cup, but I still can’t seem to bring myself to drink it.
“What about this guy?” I point at the man I spotted yesterday, he of the tweed and fabulous mustache. “He doesn’t look like an amateur. I wonder why he’s here? Do you think he looks the part but really just draws stick figures?”
“Who, Bob?” I look at Noah in surprise. “What? I spoke to him this morning. He said he paints still lifes, so I guess fruit and flowers? Let’s go and have a look.”
Noah starts to cross the room in the least casual way ever, forcing a smile to tug at my lips. I follow him and he makes a choking sound as he passes Bob’s canvas. I hurry over to him.
“What is it?” I ask. He points at the canvas as he gasps for air between what I now recognize are fits of laughter. I edge closer to Bob and peer over his shoulder, but before I can clap a hand over my mouth, a loud snort escapes, sending Noah into hysterics. I rush back to him, trying not to slop water over the sides of my cup, and we race back toward the water cooler. “Oh my god,” I gasp, looking furtively back at Bob, who is wearing a disapproving frown. He definitely heard us. “Do naked people count as still life? Some of us are under eighteen!”
“No wonder he has it turned away from the rest of the room.” Noah laughs again, crushing his cup and throwing it into the recycling bin.
“Izzy needs to see this,” I say, the laughter subsiding but leaving a warm glow in the center of my chest. I hold on to it. “Though Bob should be prepared for some, erm, technical questions when she does.”
Noah starts to chuckle again, and I pour my untouched water down the sink, watching it swirl round the plughole. Just water. I’m grateful when a gentle tinkling sound fills the room, slowly getting louder until Ramona stops tapping her triangle.
“That’s your five-minute warning for today, folks. You can leave your projects at your stations if you need to. Just clean away anything you’ve used and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Noah nudges me and tips his head over at Bob, who is furtively draping a stained cloth over his painting.
“Oh, now he covers it.” I laugh, checking my watch. Three o’clock. “What are you doing after this?” I ask Noah before I can think it through. I realize I’m really enjoying his company.
“Oh, I don’t know.” He rubs the back of his neck and I swear he’s blushing a bit. “I’ll probably just go home. I still live in the same house as when we were kids. You?”
“No idea. We missed lunch to get here on time and I’m starving now,” I say honestly. It’s the first time I’ve thought about food since last night. “I’ll see what Izzy wants to do, but you could come, if you like?”
Noah nods and trails behind me as I approach her. She’s chatting to Ford and looking at his canvas, which is now a very pale yellow.
“Hey, guys.” She smiles at us. “How are your projects going?”
“I’m still in the research stages,” I say, lowering my voice as Bob walks past us with his bundle of brushes. “But wait until I tell you whatheachieved today.” Izzy furrows her brow, and I change the subject in case Bob hears us laughing at him again. “Later, I promise. I’ve just realized how starving I am, though. I don’t think we have any real food at home until the delivery Kim organized shows up later. Are you hungry?”
“I am, actually. We could have sandwiches on the quad? You want to join us, Ford?” Izzy asks. Ford shrugs in what I assume to be agreement.
“I can always eat,” he says before taking his brushes over to the sink. That’s Ford, a man of few words.
“Sounds good.” Scarlett’s breathy voice is suddenly next to me, and I glance around as she drops her Birkenstocks to the floor and slides them back on. “Are we all going?”
