Page 46 of False Catch

They're all changed already, boat clothes replaced with jeans and hoodies bearing various Sable Ridge logos. Cameron's even there, hands in his pockets, quiet but present.

"The Study Grind?" I suggest, naming the 24-hour coffee shop where most of campus practically lives during finals.

"Perfect. I need caffeine for my Econ paper," Eli says.

"You need caffeine like Tyler needs more anxiety," Jackson mutters, which for him is practically a comedy routine.

We end up taking two cars - Gray's Range Rover and Bo's truck. I get basically lifted into the truck by Bo before I can choose, with Zane and Tyler piling in after me.

"Kidnapping," I inform them. "This is kidnapping."

"Aggressive carpooling," Bo corrects, pulling out of the lot.

The Study Grind is packed with the usual Monday evening crowd - stressed freshmen, grad students who look like they haven't slept in days, and at least three couples clearly on first dates.

We commandeer the big corner booth that's usually reserved for study groups, ignoring the glares from a group of pre-med students.

"Eight Alphas and an Omega walk into a coffee shop," Beckett starts.

"I'm going to throw this at you," I warn, holding up a sugar packet.

"Violence is never the answer, Callahan," he says primly.

"It's barely violence. It's like... aggressive feedback."

"Everything's aggressive with you two today," Tyler observes, pouring an obscene amount of sugar into his coffee. "Bo's aggressive carpooling, Reese's aggressive feedback."

"Your coffee is aggressive," I point out. "That's going to give you a heart attack."

"My resting heart rate is 42. I'll be fine." He takes a sip and doesn't even wince. "Besides, I need the energy. I finally figured out why our power application was so uneven before."

"Because we were fighting each other?" Gray suggests dryly.

"Well, yes, but specifically—" Tyler pulls out his phone, showing us a graph that looks like an EKG had a baby with a physics equation. "See how the force curves were inversely correlated? We were literally canceling each other out. But now look at today's data."

The new graph shows perfect synchronization, eight lines moving as one.

"It's beautiful," I say without thinking.

"Right?" Tyler lights up. "The mathematical harmony is just—"

"Nerd," Zane coughs into his hand.

"Says the guy who spent twenty minutes yesterday explaining bread proofing temperatures," Tyler shoots back.

"That's different. That's practical."

"Math is practical!"

"When have you ever used calculus in real life?"

"Literally constantly. I used it this morning to calculate our optimal pace splits based on the current."

"And somehow the coffee still tastes like a robot made it," Cameron says quietly, making everyone turn to stare.

"Did Cameron just roast Tyler's coffee?" Beckett asks in delighted shock..

"I think he did," Eli confirms.