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She didn’t answer until she made a small, “ah-ha” sound and slumped back into her seat with the bundle of flashcards she had given him in her hand. The paper cards brushed together as she shuffled through them until she stopped on one of them and read the words aloud. “What was the early style of writing attributed to the Sumerians?”
“What?”
“What was the early style of writing attributed to the Sumerians?” she repeated it louder, “You have Kheane for World History, right? She loves pop quizzes. Best to stay on your toes.”
He stuttered and looked frantically between her and the road as his unprepared brain tried to recall the answer. Hehadlooked at this card. Maybe two times—max. “Uh, capeform?”
“Cuneiform. Close,” she flicked to a new card before he could take a breath. “What tools did they use for writing?”
“Clay and a stick.” Nathan perked, hedidknow this one. He puffed his chest, feeling proud that he knew that one right off the bat.
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, hoping for a note of approval, but she only went to the next card. “What modern country is ancient Mesopotamia located in?”
He deflated. “Turkey?” He hated how unsure his voice sounded.
“Right.”
He huffed. “See, I have been studying these.”
“No. Turn right up here,” she pointed at the street ahead. “Your answer is wrong. It’s Iraq.”
His face scrunched in disappointment but followed her navigation.
Nathan was correct about fifty percent of the time as they drove. And Tully was great at multitasking. She seemed to know the route from her place to Stephanie’s, directing him while her eyes remained on the cards the whole time. Maybe that’s why she did so well in class too.
Nathan had a hard time focusing on something for more than three seconds most the time.
Tully finally put away the flashcards once they pulled to the curb outside of Stephanie’s house, a nice little single-story blue home about five minutes from the school, and Nathan felt like he could finally relax. He wasn’t sure what he and Tully would have talked about while they were stuck in a car together, but he didn’t think it would be rehearsing a potential pop quiz.
He parked the car and looked at the house, searching for a sign of the girl he’d met yesterday. “Do you think she knows we’re here?”
Tully reached across his chest and pressed down on his horn. He jumped in surprise as the loud beep rang through the chill morning air, and he turned wide eyes to Tully. She shrugged off his expression. “Now she does.”
On cue, the front door swung open and Stephanie appeared, crossing the short patch of grass and hopping into the backseat.
“Morning,” she greeted them and settled in, flinging her backpack next to Nathan’s on the seat. “I’m digging the jacket, Rondeau. I could see the school spirit from my porch.”
Nathan looked down at the jacket in question—a bright purple Letterman jacket that he wore exclusively on game days. “Thanks. Sorry, we’re late.”
Normally he wouldn’t apologize for that sort of thing, but knowing just who sat in the passenger side seat, he felt like he had to or she would make some comment about it.
“Did Tully force you to say that?” Nathan met Stephanie’s eye in the rearview mirror and caught her amused smirk directed at her friend. He huffed a small laugh and grinned. Stephanie was nothing like her friend.
“Oh, come on, Steph. I’m just punctual, not a tyrant.”
“Who knows? You could have held a gun to his head and threatened him. I don’t think that’s too far of a reach.”
“She did practically do that,” Nathan might regret this teasing later, but for now, the hissed inhale and wide eyes he got from Tully were well worth it.
“Did she now?” Stephanie caught on easily.
“Most definitely. Also threatened horrible things if I didn’t answer flashcards correctly.” He kept an ironic seriousness on his face, but the more he spoke and the more Tully huffed, the harder it was to keep his smile away.
“I did not,” Tully tried to defend herself, but they pretended not to hear her.
“I kid you not, I’ve feared for my life on multiple occasions because of her,” Stephanie lowered her voice while Tully glowered stormily in the passenger seat.
Nathan brightened. Who knew the morning could be so much fun? Usually, he was sluggish, yawning and using whatever was played on the radio to keep himself awake on the way to school. He wasn’t even at school yet and he had been thoroughly entertained by these two.
