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“Sure…? That’s it?” He adjusts his glasses.
When he looks at me, I feel warm and fuzzy.
Like he’s paying attention to me and I’mseen, not just some nameless girl in line at the cafeteria or bumping shoulders with the other hordes of freshmen. In this study room on the second floor of the Fredericks dorm, it’s just me and this guy and he’s treating me like I’m interesting, and I feel interesting.
“What, you think I should say more than that?” I ask.
“I think I’ve never met someone who was weaned on ramen. I think your neon glasses are amazing, and more people should be proud of their eyewear instead of rushing off to get contacts like everyone else. And I think I’m actually glad you woke me up from my nap, which is crazy because I’m seriously sleep deprived, thanks to all the studying I’ve been doing for myHuman Evolutionunit three exam. Also? I actually like your windpipe theory, with one tweak. It should be called the Bradshaw Trachea Theory. Might be something to it, and I’m seriously considering recording myself to see if I snore.”
“Your point?”
“Maybe this occasion deserves formality.”
“Okay… but I’m not great at this stuff.” I square my shoulders and then extend my hand. “Nap Boy, Sir Landry, will you be my friend?”
His lips crack to a big grin. He extends his hand and shakes mine. His grip is firm and warm, and his eyes spark with intelligence. This might be the best moment of my life so far—not that I’d tell him that.
“Yes, Maddison Bradshaw, it would be an honor. And it’s Nicholas, by the way. Nicholas Landry. You can call me Nick.”
I yawnand stretch my hands up into the air. My eyesight is blurry, even with my glasses on. I think I’ve read the same line in myMedia and Societytextbook six times in a row without grasping the meaning.
“How are you holding up?” Nick asks.
“My eyes are starting to cross.” There are two empty ramen bowls off to the side of our piles of books, thanks to the break we took around three a.m. Even though I didn’t do any of Nick’s reading for him, he made a packet for me in his dorm room, only a few doors down the hall. His roommate apparently doesn’t wake up to the sound of the microwave dinging, so we’ve decided Nick will be the official chef of our study sessions going forward.
“The eye-cross,” he says knowingly. “Yeah, I’m about at that point, too. I’ve got a headache here.” He presses his thumb between his brows.
“Stress headache,” I tell him.
“Make it go away…”
“The only way to do that is to take a break.”
His head snaps up. “I thought for sure you were going to say stop studying. I have three pages to go… and my first class isn’t until two o’clock Monday. I’m pushing for the finish line tonight while this place is quiet.”
“I know what you mean.” I’ve always done my best studying in the wee hours of the morning. There’s something truly magical about being up when the sky’s pitch-black, and most everyone else is asleep. And I signed up for afternoon classes, too, so that I can sleep in.
“No way, I’m not stopping,” I tell him. “I’m going for the finish line, too. I still have a take-home quiz to finish up for this class.” I push my laptop aside and flop my head onto the table. “But I cannotlook at that screen or my textbook for another minute.”
In the corner of my eye, I see him get up. “Maddison, you’re going to think I’m a dork.”
“I already think you’re a dork,” I say into my elbow.
“Okay, a bigger dork, then.”
“Seriously, it might not be possible. You maxed out when you told me you own Kermit the Frog bedroom slippers.”
“I shouldn’t have told you that.”
“I will use it against you if I ever need blackmail material.”
I hear him slide back into his seat across the table. Something lands on the table with a soft, scraping sound. He’s pushing it into the middle.
I peek up over the edge of my forearm and see a dusty box. “Nick, that looks positively ancient.”
He laughs. “I bet it’s been on that shelf untouched since this dorm went in.”
“What is it?” Now I peel my head up off the crook of my elbow to get a closer look. My glasses have tipped sideways and I knock them into place with a practiced nudge. Checkers. I haven’t played this game since I was a kid.
