Page 104 of Foolish Games

“I hate to tell you, but that punch looked pretty weak,” I say. “I don’t think you kicked his ass. In fact, if he’d bothered fighting back, I think you’re the one who would have gotten your ass kicked.”

“I sent him over the table,” he protests.

“I wish the camera had been rolling in the library when he punched Chaz,” I say. “Then you’d see what sending someone over the table looks like. Hey, if you and Sebastian ever patch things up, maybe he can teach you how to throw a punch.”

“Yeah,” he says, cracking a grin. “I heard it was pretty sick. And Chaz had it coming, running his mouth like that about you. Hell, he’s had it coming for years after all the shit he’s said to us.”

“Y’all give us so much shit for being nerds.”

“True,” he says with a shrug. “But I gotta hand it to Bash. He may be a fuck up, but he got that right.”

“What, that one punch is the only thing he’s gotten right in his whole life?”

“No,” Rob corrects. “Defending you.”

thirty

#1 at the Box Office: Titanic

Sebastian Swift

My door creaks open, and I pull the blanket up over my head. I thought Mel took the kids to Toad Suck Park, but maybe they’re back already. I lose track of time since I stopped going to school.

“Yo,” says a familiar, masculine voice that definitely does not belong to my little brother.

“Go away,” I mutter.

“Let’s bounce,” Billy says, flipping on the light switch. “We got somewhere to be.”

“Not taking visitors,” I tell him from under the blankets. I’ve made a warm nest and I have no interest in coming out. Last time I did that, I had to lose Vivienne all over again.

“You’re coming back to school, right?” Billy asks, sinking onto the edge of my bed. “Your suspension is over on Monday.”

“I’m hibernating for the rest of the winter.”

“No dice,” he says. “Try again.”

“It’s senior year,” I tell him. “Second semester of senior year is just a formality.”

“You think USC is going to take you if you don’t even finish high school?” he asks.

“Kobe Bryant did it.”

“You ain’t no Kobe,” he says. “Now get your ass up.”

“I thought you weren’t talking to me,” I point out, poking my face out from under the edge of the blanket. Talking under it has created a humidity situation that’s making my face sweat, and let’s not even get into the morning breath situation. “Last I heard, everyone was pissed at me for violating the bro code.”

“Nah,” he says, grinning. “I mean, I was pissed you made a fool out of me and Lex, but hey, I’ve done worse for pussy.”

“You never dropped out of school for it.”

“And you won’t either,” he says. “Viv’s got her big quiz bowl… bowl… today. Just go talk to her.”

“She doesn’t want to talk to me,” I say, rolling onto my back and pulling my arms out from under the blankets.

“Have you tried?”

“Yes,” I admit, throwing an arm over my eyes. “She came over. We talked. She left.”

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