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Austin looks up, but I notice his eyes don’t travel the room like usual, and when he says, “Anyone want to claim it?” It’s only half convincing. “Okay, cool. Game over. Should we go another round?” He picks up his pen and clicks it.
“I will, but I need more wine,” Paulette replies, standing from her seat and bounding across the room. She returns a few moments later and refills her glass, then Mara’s, Austin’s, and Logan’s. When she comes to me, I still have half a glass, so I shake my head, and she places the bottle onto the table next to me. “It’s there when you want it.”
For the next round, everyone seems to write down their answers more quickly, and before I know it, Austin is drawing the first slip of paper out of the bowl.
“Okay.” He draws in a long inhale. “‘I often find myself making the faces the characters in the books are making.’”
I laugh, leaning back in my seat because, once again, it’s something I do, too.
“Anyone claiming it?” He pauses. “Any guesses?”
It’s Memphis. Somehow, I just know. I noticed him doing it earlier when he was reading, but to claim that would only make it seem like I’ve been watching him. Besides, it could be anyone. It could be me if I didn’t know it wasn’t.
“Anyone want to admit they do the same?”
“I mean, doesn’t everyone?” Mara asks with a shrug.
“I don’t,” Austin says, “not really. I guess I don’t really connect with the characters like that.”
“So, if a book says a character wrinkles their nose, you don’t do it, too?” Mara challenges.
“Nope,” he says, popping the p. “Never.”
She leans back in her seat, crossing her arms. “I’m going to watch you the next time you read.”
“You like watching me,” he teases, mouth hung open with a jeering expression. He pulls out the next slip of paper. “Okay, this one says, ‘I’ve never read a classic.’”
“Well, we know that’s not Memphis,” Paulette chimes in, pointing a finger at him.
He lifts his head with a laugh. “Definitely not.”
“I’ll bet it’s Paulette,” Logan says.
“I haven’t read a classic,” she admits. “UnlessTwilightcounts? But that one’s not mine. There’s no shame in this girl’s game. You know I’d tell you.”
Austin pulls out the next one. “‘I’ve never reread a book.’”
“That one’s mine,” Paulette says loudly, hopping up out of her chair.
“Never?” Memphis asks. “Not even one?”
“Not unless you count books from when I was a kid.” She sits back down slowly, gulping more of her wine. “Who has time to reread books now?”
“But you get new stuff out of them every time,” I tell her. “And you get to pick up on all of the little clues along the way. I love rereading.”
“Eh.” She shrugs. “It just sounds terrible. Like rewatching a movie you’ve already seen.”
“You don’t rewatch movies?” Logan leans forward so quickly he nearly falls out of his chair.
She shakes her head. “Ew, no. Never. Once I’ve seen it once, I get it.”
“What about Christmas movies? My sister and I rewatchHome Aloneevery year,” Mara says.
“Guys, I don’t rewatch things. Period.” She laughs. “I’m weird, I know. It’s just not my thing.”
Austin pulls the next one from the bowl, reading it silently. Suddenly, his face goes still. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows and looks up, trying and failing to smile.
“What is it?”
