Guess who’s nose I just broke
Alex
Your own?
Vincenzo
Not this time. Hugo from the Sorrowsong soccer team
Alex
Wow. That’s a nose on my dream bucket list of noses to break.
Vincenzo
He said something to Ophelia that made her throw a tiramisu at his head at dinner.
My stomach sinks. It would have to be something terrible for her to waste a good tiramisu.
Alex
When it heals, break it again for me.
Vincenzo
If it heals, I haven’t done a good enough job.
I tune back into Luis and Mike’s conversation, dropping a fewlet’s touch base on that laters, a couple oflet’s not reinvent the wheels, and ablue-sky thinkingfor good measure.They nod in agreement, moving on to some sales figures we got earlier. I flick to my calendar while the two of them talk, eyes scanning over the next two weeks.Mia college open day. Evie dance solo. Boston Aviation Conference. Mom hospital appointment. Élé teacher conference.
Alex
Want me to ruin Hugo’s father’s life?
Ophelia
No, it’s okay. Thanks for the offer though.
Alex
I can’t come to you this week. I’m sorry.
Ophelia
Don’t be sorry, I don’t expect that from you.
And that right there is the issue.
Chapter 9
OPHELIA
Professor Maguire is Professor Bancroft’s replacement, and though they both look like the kind of people who stay up late, excitedly counting down the days until bin collection day, the similarities end there.
The new childhood social psychology lecturer seems to enjoy his job, waving a stick in front of a chalkboard like an orchestra conductor who’s taken something.
With any luck, I won’t murder this one.
The lecture hall is comically dark, the brass sconces kicking out a soft orange glow that doesn’t touch any of the corners of the room. The wind is whistling through the rafters above us, and I’m sure the entire back row is asleep.
