Page 42 of Scrimmage

“Oh?” Penny raises her brows. “You play, too?”

“Yeah.” I lean back in my seat.

“He’s already getting offers to go pro,” Alexi divulges. There goes the gossip.

Penny seems impressed. “I’m going to be honest. I don’t know shit about football, but that’s a big deal, right?”

“Right,” Alexi chuckles.

“Well, congratulations. I wish art was like that. Instead, you have to shove your art into people’s faces and try to make them notice. I’m not very good at that part.”

“No? Not good at shoving it in someone’s face?”

Penny snickers. “No, I’m not. Ashland does it for me.”

Of course she does.

“So you and Ashland are close?” The question just comes out. I meant to observe the conversation, not be a part of it.

Penny smiles, and it’s quite possibly the most genuine smile I’ve ever seen. “Yeah, she’s my best friend. There’s no one like her.”

“Has she always been so abrasive?”

She immediately turns defensive. “That’s not the word I’d use. She’s honest, and I think people don’t appreciate that.”

I want to argue, but now that I think about it she might be right. Ashland speaks her mind and doesn’t seem to regret it. The words come out just as she thinks them.

“It’s a rare quality,” Alexi agrees. “She’s funny, too.”

Penny gives him a side glance. “You have no idea."

While she seems like a sweetheart, there’s fire in her. I can see why they’re friends.

Alexi stares at his textbook. “She really seems to know this ancient shit. I’m fucking struggling.”

“It’s one of her majors. She likes dead people, and I like their art."

He lights up. “Do you think you could talk her into being my study partner?”

She nods. “I’ll see what I can do, but I make no promises. It took Cole an entire semester of free coffee and begging to get into her good graces. Although, she’s gotten a lot better with people since then.”

“Hm,” Alexi contemplates. “I’m great at begging. What does she like more than coffee?”

“Anarchy.”

“I don’t think I can overthrow a government that quickly,” Alexi muses. “Although, my father is a senator.”

“In that case, you’re fucked.”

“Figures,” Alexi sighs. “She’s not easily impressed.”

“I can try to help you in the meantime,” she offers. “I do art, but it goes hand in hand with culture. Why don’t you come study with us one day? If she actively hears how stupid you are then she’ll help you just because it annoys her.”

They exchange numbers and start to make plans, but all I can do is dissect everything she just said. Ashland sounds a little bit like a control freak, and we have that in common. The two of them start to talk non-stop, like they’ve been friends for a long time. Penny is outgoing and likable. She asks questions and listens intently. Maybe she can be Alexi’s fucking friend, and he’ll let me have some peace.

I think about Ashland’s book in my bag and the charcoal I gathered. I’m antsy. I missed my alarm this morning and didn’t get to run before practice. She headed the direction of the locker rooms, so maybe if I just go ahead and head there I might run into her and can unload this shit. It would be too weird to hand it over to Penny right now. Worst case I give it to Alexi.

I stand abruptly. “I’ve got shit to do."

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