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Even I’m surprised at how sweet Cory sounds in the moment, and I wonder where he learned how to lay on that charm. But, now’s not the time to ask. Tori’s buying the façade, and she’s opening up.
She sighs before she explains what’s going on in her life.
“Not only did I fall flat on my face in front of everyone last night, but when my roommate came home, she told me she was out looking at an apartment,” she explains.
“Anna’s moving?” I ask.
“Not out of town, but she’s moving off campus. I guess her boyfriend’s roommate is moving out, and she’s moving in so they can have the place to themselves. She’s taking over his portion of the lease and they’re splitting it equally, which means I’m not only losing a roommate, I’m also losing my only real friend I have here.”
The three of us exchange another look.
“Say something!” I mouth to Taylor. My own mind is blank, so I push it on him to keep the conversation going.
“Well, at least you don’t have to deal with having a roommate until they find you another one, right? That’s a plus if you ask me,” he says.
“I liked living with Anna,” Tori replies. “She’s so easy to get along with and fun to talk to. I hate that she’s moving out.”
“Maybe your next roommate will be the same way,” Cory offers, trying to piggyback off what Taylor said. “You’ll make a new friend and will be back to doing things the way you like to do them in no time, right?”
Tori shakes her head in reply. I want to cuss, but we’re all three doing what we can to remain on our best behavior right now. Nothing to upset the wallflower and make her withdraw. It’s a miracle she’s opened up to us this much already, I know it’s not going to take much for her to back off again. Which is part of the reason I’m not saying anything.
I’m bad at saying the right thing, and good at blurting out the first thing that comes to mind without thinking.
“That’s just it,” Tori says. “I guess when Anna decided she was going to move, she went and talked to the dean already. They’re not going to replace her in my dorm room until next semester, so I’m not going to have any roommate with me for the next couple months.”
“I’d be celebrating if I were you,” I say. “I mean, it sucks that Anna’s moving, but you don’t have to worry about dealing with some awful roommate that could be moving in, so that’s a big plus if you ask me.”
“I don’t have any friends,” Tori says. “I liked being able to go home and talk to Anna about the day. Not that she has to stay just to be that friend for me, but the way I’m seeing things, my life just got a lot lonelier. It’s not like her leaving is going to prompt me to go out and make any friends. Now I’m just going to be going home to an empty dorm and being an even bigger recluse than I am now.”
I’m doing my best to stay patient, but I’m already over the small talk. We didn’t stop by to make her feel better about last night or her current life situation, we stopped by to convince her to tutor us, and we’re not even close to touching on that subject with the way the conversation has gone so far.
But, with her announcement that she’s going to be an even bigger recluse, I see the chance to turn this conversation around and get it going in the direction we need in order to talk about her tutoring us.
“You’re already fighting a losing battle with getting Johnny’s attention, if you turn into a bigger recluse, you might as well kiss any chance you ever had of talking to him goodbye,” I announce.
She looks up at me, her eyes wide. Clearly, she doesn’t know how to respond to the way I’ve so blatantly called her out for her crush on Johnny, but more than that, I’ve struck another chord in her, pissing her off again.
“Why would I care if Johnny talks to me?” she asks, trying to deflect.
“Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” I tell her. “You and I both know you’ve been drooling over him for the past year and a half in English class, and I’m sure you’d give your right arm for the chance to just have a single normal conversation with him.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, now zipping up her backpack and getting ready to bolt out of the classroom. “I don’t have a crush on anyone.”
“Sure, and that’s why you just stare at him like he’s made of cake whenever we’re in English,” I say.
“Look, I don’t know what delusion you have, or why you think it’s okay for you to come over here and start making fun of me over it, but I’m not in the mood to put up with this, or you. I already told you I have to get going, so if you will please get out of my way, I’m leaving now,” Tori says.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Taylor puts out his hands to stop her.
He’s not touching her, knowing it would be hell to pay if he did that, but he is trying to get her to sit back down at her desk so I can smooth over what I’ve just said.
At the same time, Cory is giving me a glaring look, mouthing the words, “Fix it.”
“Hey now,” I tell her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. And I’m not trying to make fun of you or anything. In fact, I’m here to help you—the three of us are here to help you.”
“Help me?” Tori asks.
She’s still clearly incredulous over our intentions, but at least she’s not trying to leave anymore. Taylor relaxes a bit, and I once again take over, though I’m being far more careful about the words I choose.
