Page 107 of False Evidence

October

Sixteen years ago

Kendall would never be as pretty or smart as her roommate and best friend, but in the last five years, she’d learned to shine in her shadow. As undergrads, the hot guys had always come to attention when Alexandra Vargas entered the room. But Alex was tooeverythingto be approachable, which is where Kendall came in. She was the friend they could talk to. An in with the genius blonde bombshell.

More than once, the guys gave up on trying to get Alex’s attention and settled for Kendall.

They didn’t know Alex was actually funny and approachable and not the cold, aloof beauty she appeared to be. She was so focused on her studies, she didn’t much care what men thought of her. She maintained she didn’t want to get seriously involved, and at this point, Kendall believed she meant it.

So Kendall did her part as gatekeeper, keeping the princess protected in the tower while getting laid by the unworthy suitors who wanted to storm the castle. But just once, she wanted to be the guy’s first choice.

Now, as they stepped into the STEM job fair, she wished her beautiful friend had chosen to stay in her office on campus and let Kendall navigate this event alone. Alex was two years behind Kendall in grad school, having taken a break to work and save money. Kendall needed to line up an internship or entry-level job in the coming months or she was screwed.

It wouldn’t help if the men working the booths drooled over her roommate and failed to notice Kendall. Not that this was a pickup bar, but men tended to get distracted by Alex.

She shook off her resentment. She was here to land a job. This required positivity. “God, I love the smell of science in the morning.”

Alex laughed and glanced at her watch. “Eleven forty-five. Checks out.”

“Literal Lex, you need to grant leeway for movie quotes.”

“Alex. Or Alexandra.”

Kendall rolled her eyes. “I know your preferences, but Literal Lex is alliterative. It plays better with single moms in the Midwest.”

“Oh, are we polling in the Midwest now? Since we’re being literal, why is it called Midwest, when it’s middle with nothing west about it?”

“Once upon a time, before Schoolhouse Rock recorded their most egregious tune, ‘Elbow Room,’ about the glories of Manifest Destiny, the place that we now refer to asMidwestwas the western edge of the United States and part of the Northwest Ordinance. You should study history sometime.”

“Ah, but as a theoretical physicist, I’m actually focused on the past, the present, and the future of our vast, expanding universe all at once.”

“Typical physicist copout. It’s always unending everything with you people. You say you’re studying everything when really, it’s nothing.”

“Notnothing. Dark matter.”

“AKAnothing.”

Alex smiled. “But alsoeverythinggiven that dark matter makes up most of the universe.”

“Prove it.”

She tilted her head back and laughed. “Someday, maybe I will.”

Kendall smiled at her friend. Alex had a great laugh. Warm. Infectious. “I think you just might.” She tilted her head to the vast room and dozens upon dozens of potential employers. “Now, let’s find some internships.”

“I wish CERN was here.”

“They’re still years away from the Large Hadron Collider being finished. You’ve got time.”

“Time is relative.”

“Sure, Einstein. Now, I’m going to the engineering section. I need a paid internship because twenty-four is too old to be subsisting on ramen noodles.”

They went from booth to booth, taking trifold brochures and making polite chatter. Nothing looked promising until they reached the booth of an engineering firm that had an office just a few blocks from their apartment in Bethesda, which was a long commute to campus, but she leased it anyway because a family friend had cut her a great deal.

Being able to walk to work would be a huge bonus.

There were two men sitting in the booth, one a fisheries biologist, one a civil engineer. The biologist was young—probably only a few years older than her. The engineer had to be in his mid-thirties.

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