Page 20 of Falling in Reverse

I guess that’s the oldest child in me.

Meanwhile, in him, he’s a confidante for me. Travis has never never judged me for bad decisions and staying longer in a certain relationship that almost destroyed me. Without him, I’m not sure if I would’ve found the strength to leave. His kindness seeped into my skin, and he was a rock that I leaned on with no shame.

“I love it,” he replies with a small smile. “I have a quantum physics class that’s really challenging me right now, but it’s amazing. We’re looking at the quantum field theory, so I’ve been spending a lot of time at the library. Lame, I know, but I like to sit in the corner surrounded by books and just get lost in it.”

“If I couldn’t find you in school, I knew where you were.”

He tucks his chin into his chest with a slightly embarrassed smirk. “Yeah, yeah…I know.”

I give him a little nudge with my arm to tell me more, chewing on my burger as I do, because sometimes he just needs to realize that someone gives a shit. His dad is a complete asshole, wishing he was a star football player, when I don’t think Travis could name an NFL team to save his life.

“It’s fascinating to me,” Travis continues. “I’m going to take a quantum chemistry course next, then there’s still quantum technology and quantum information science that I’d still like to sign up for. There are so many books on it that I have to pick and choose which ones I’m going to take home, because if I don’t, I’d spend all my time in my room and never leave.”

“Now that’s willpower.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, sorry, it’s easy for me to get excited about it.”

“Well, keep going. Just speak slow and use small words for me.”

Travis starts fidgeting with his fingers, hesitant at first because, even though I’ve never made fun of him a day in my life, people aren’t so open to his love of books, mathematics, science, and how he can nerd out quicker than I can burn out. It’s something I’m subtly trying to pull him out of, but it doesn’t help when the fuckheads in South Shore—half of them still living here after graduating—still tease him about whatever stupid ass thing they can.

Shoving my burger in his face, I force him to take a bite, seeking to show and remind him how much of a goofball I am in my own right, before saying, “Talk, Obi-One Kenobi. Teach me the craziness of science and how I can use all that to become a Jedi.”

His lips curl. “Well, quantum chemistry studies the state of atoms and molecules and their transitions through chemical reactions. Chemists rely heavily on spectroscopy through which they can gain information regarding the quantization of energy on a molecular scale. They use infra-red spectroscopy?—”

“Who uses what now?” Levi asks behind us, his boot thudding against the metal top of the shipping container as he makes his way toward us.

“We were talkin’ about quantum chemistry,” I answer, tearing my burger in half and handing the other half to Travis. “I was learning about atoms and molecules and shit.”

Levi takes a seat next to Travis and opens the small white bag he brought him. “Yeah, I paid a kid to do all my science homework.” He glances over at Travis. “Oh, wait, that kid was you.”

“And you fucking aced the class, moron,” I chide lightly off a chuckle. “You were supposed to make it look believable.”

“Why?” Levi challenges back. “I wanted to date this hot science chick in my physics class. She got wet when you talked about space and time and shit.”

“Miranda?” Travis asks.

Levi nods. “Yeah.”

“She never spoke about you,” Travis professes matter-of-factly as he chews. “She thought you were a gearhead without half a brain in your head.”

Levi gapes at him while I throw my head back in laughter. “I am a fuckin’ gearhead with about three-quarters of a brain in my head.” He smacks Travis’s bicep. “Why didn’t you hype me up, man?”

“I did. She still didn’t buy it.”

Levi scoffs, shoving a handful of fries in his mouth like a child. “That’s bullshit, dude.”

“Relax, killer. We graduated high school, like, three years ago,” I emit as I chew. “Don’t tell us you’re still thinking about it?”

“It’s a fail.”

“It was high school.”

Levi nudges Travis, clearly still on it and cocky enough to think it isn’t true. “So, like, nothing?”

His wounded male pride only makes me laugh harder, the muscles in my stomach not used to working like this as a fry is thrown at my chest.

“Nothing,” Travis concedes.

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