“He got my attention because he had this whiny tone to him. It actually seemed like he wanted advice.”
“From you?”
“Anyone, maybe. He was thinking about asking someone out but didn’t know if it was the right call. He couldn’t tell if she really liked him back. Anyway, he kept muttering about it while walking into his bedroom and shutting the door behind him.”
I frown, picking up my pen. If he needed someone to talk to, why didn’t he text me?
“He probably didn’t ask you about it because he figured you’d make fun of him,” Milo suggests.
I wince. “You think?”
Milo grins. “Yeah. He was off brand, being pretty pathetic.”
I smile back. “It is weird to see him with puppy-dog eyes.”
Milo nods. “Very weird. Besides, if he couldn’t talk to you about it, I doubt there’d be anyone else he would tell.”
“Yeah? I just thought maybe he’d open the twin vault.”
Milo smiles and looks down at his homework. “Nope. We haven’t been like that in a long time.”
Oh my gosh. He looks kinda sad about that. Yikes. I need a subject change. “Umm, can we look at my math homework now? Aunt Maddy still needs to finish in the kitchen, but can’t seem to pry herself away from Mr. Stuffy over there.”
Milo sends out a hand. “Let’s take a look.”
I pull out my homework and give it to Milo to decode. He flips the textbook so it’s upright for me and uses a pen to tap against the numbers and letters. When Milo explains how to solve the equation, his voice turns into white noise. It’s the same magic trick my teacher does. Why do they think these explanations will work?
Milo snaps his fingers, breaking me from my trance. I jolt forward. “Huh?”
“You were glazed over.”
“What? No, I wasn’t.”
“Then why did you jump and say, ‘huh’?”
I fidget in the seat and lean an elbow on the table. “Okay, fine. I drifted off. Do you have to make this so boring?”
Milo stares at the textbook page. “What’s boring about it?”
I snort. “Are you kidding?”
Milo taps the page, looking up at me. “Okay, I like a challenge. I’ll figure out how to explain this so even cool girl Jamie West is interested.”
I smirk. “Cool girl Jamie West? I don’t think so.”
“What? You are cool.”
The honesty in his expression makes me pause. No one from a school outside of Kai, Parker, Lewis, and Tyler has ever talked about me positively. There’s a tingle under my skin that makes me want to smile, but I ignore it.
“If you can make math non-boring, I’ll make you the most coordinated soccer player that ever lived.”
Milo laughs, slipping a hand under his glasses to rub his eye. “Oh man. I love your optimism.”
“It’s probably the most optimistic thing I’ve said all day.”
Milo smiles at me, and the tingles come back.
I clear my throat and pick up my pen. “Okay, try explaining the solution to this problem again.”
