Page 38 of The Love Simulation

“Wait!” Angie says. “Did you just forget about there’s a whole-ass spider? I, for one, won’t be able to sleep knowing it could be crawling around in our room.”

“I’ll get it,” I say, making my way to the room.

I stop at Simone’s bed, scanning the sheets for any signs of a spider. I move her bag on the bed, look under the pillow, look around the small nightstand, and don’t see anything. My eyes land on the picture of Simone’s family, and I can’t help the tears that come to the surface.

Simone was going to take her kids on a trip and ensure they had a good start to life with the money she’d earn here. It’s not fair.

I wonder if I could have done something differently. Maybe if I hadn’t pushed so hard for us to all get along. Logically I know it’s not my fault a spider just happened to make an appearance and that Simone is terrified of them, but I can’t help but imagine what Superintendent Watts would say:Did you hear about the vice principal who had a new library for her school within her grasp but then let it slip away? She was part of a simulation, and she got too close with the teachers. She was worrying about their personal lives instead of focusing on the prize.

“Are you okay?” Roman says.

I didn’t realize anyone had followed me in. I quickly blink a few times, trying to get rid of any trace of tears. When that doesn’t work, I fake a yawn as I turn around. Lots of people cry when they yawn.

“I’m fine,” I say. “Actually, it’s been a long day, and I’m beat. But I’m happy to report that there are no signs of any spiders. Or maybe if you’re looking at it from Angie’s point of view, it’s actually not great news.” I shrug. “Anyway, I’m going to get some rest.”

At the mention of the spider, Roman glances behind me with concern etched onto his handsome face. He tries to play it off, clearing his throat as he continues to study me. “It’s okay if you’re upset about Simone being eliminated. But there’s nothing you could have done. You know that, right?”

No, I don’t. For all I know, I could have run outside and pulled Simone back into the Hab before it was too late if Roman hadn’t clamped on to my wrist like a vise.

I raise my arm to my chest and place my hand on the spot where Roman grabbed me. Everything happened so fast, I can’t even recall what his skin felt like on mine. We’ve bumped into each other and helped each other withour space suits, but we’ve neverreallytouched. Were his hands warm or cool? They must have been warm. What about his palm? Smooth? Calloused?

Roman’s eyes flit to my wrist, like he’s making the same realization I have. He works his jaw like he’s about to say something, and for some inexplicable reason, something inside of me panics. I drop my arm and fake-yawn again, which turns into a real yawn that has my jaw feeling like it’s about to pop out of its socket and I’m sure is probably one of the least attractive things Roman has ever seen.

“Wow, excuse me,” I say. “I really am exhausted.”

“I better let you get to bed then. I’ll see you in the morning.” He backs away, pausing at the door with his hand on the doorframe. “For what it’s worth, your idea for game night was good.” He looks around to make sure no one is near enough to hear him. “I had a lot of fun.” And then he’s gone.

Before a stupid grin can overtake my face, Angie pokes her head through the doorway, her body nowhere to be seen. “Did you get the spider?”

I walk to my bed and climb in. “Don’t worry, Angie. You’re safe.” My heart? Not so much.

Chapter Fifteen

The next morning is way more subdued. It’s not like the quiet of our first days, when we were exhausted from working out or still trying to acclimate to the new routine. It’s a quiet from knowing we failed, and now one of our own is gone.

“This sucks,” Angie says.

“Yeah,” I agree. “Big-time.”

“Now what are we going to do?” she asks, but I have no response.

Roman leans his back against the stove, staring at nothing. Scratch that, he’s staring at me. It looks like he’s expecting something, though what it is I have no clue.

He sighs, glances at Angie, then looks at me pointedly again. When I still don’t get it, he rolls his eyes. “Last I checked, we still had a library on the line,” he says.

I sit up at his words. He’s proving once again that he’s a team player and trying to encourage us. “Roman’s right,” I say. I was so caught up in my guilt over Simone—letting the personal affect the professional again—I wasn’t thinking of why we’re here in the first place. “We have to finish our tasks so we can get the money for the school and make Simone proud.”

“Okay Mr. and Mrs. Optimistic,” Angie says. “I’m prettysure Simone would rather have won the money than settle for being proud of us, but I get what you’re saying. I guess we just keep going.” She gets up and heads for the gym.

Before joining her, I glance at Roman. He watches Angie leave, his face remaining stoic. When he looks at me, there’s that small softening of his features, and like a call and response, my pulse speeds up.Mr. and Mrs. Optimistic.I really shouldn’t like the sound of that as much as I do.

I don’t bother with weightsin the gym. Roman and I will be going on our expedition to gather rocks. Rather than walking, we’ll be driving separate rovers. Since I’m not sure how heavy the rocks will be, I need to conserve what energy I can. From now on, I need to be at the top of my game, doing everything right and smartly to make sure we succeed.

After our workouts, we meet by the space suits. To save time, Angie helps me while Jordan helps Roman. I stand up and face Roman. When we make eye contact, my heart does a little kick. I try to tell myself the nervousness I feel stems from my worry that Angie and Jordan will run into trouble while we’re away andnotthat I’m nervous at the thought of being out by myself with Roman. As the girls at school would say, basically I’m being delulu.

Jordan’s voice comes over my earpiece. “Okay, I need you two to test your microphones.”

“Mic check, mic check, one-two, one-two,” Roman says, like he’s a real emcee, and I smile at his playfulness.

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