Page 19 of Happiness for Beginners

He shrugged. “I was doing my homework.”

“He was stoned, and you were doing your homework?”

“I guess I might have been a little accidentally stoned, you know, from passive inhalation. But I still did my homework.”

“But how did you get into Harvard?”

He shrugged again. “I’m really smart. And driven. And tunnel-visioned.”

I looked down at my tiles.

“Are you intimidated now?” he asked.

“I’m less un-intimidated, if that’s what you mean.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just play like a normal person.”

“Great.”

“Duncan and I don’t allow those non-word Scrabble words when we play,” he said then. “Just plain English. And we always say any word that’s sexual, or can be interpreted in a sexual way, is a double word score.”

I let out a laugh and rubbed my eyes. “That sounds like Duncan.”

“Yeah, but it’s a great rule,” Jake said. “Because then you can earn points for style.”

“Points for style” was one of my favorite concepts. “So,” I said, thinking, “a word like ‘mounds’ would be double points?”

“Exactly. Perfect. A word like ‘mounds’ is so awesome it might even be triple.” He cocked his head. “You want to play that way?”

“I’m not going to win on skill alone, brainiac.”

“Are you planning to win?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Do you often win?”

“Yes.”

“So, you’re pretty confident? Even against my T-shirt?”

“Harvard graduates aren’t the only smart people in the world,” I said.

“Wanna bet?”

I gave him a look.

“No, seriously,” he said. “Do you want to bet?”

I looked around. “Bet what?”

I could tell from the arch of his eyebrow he was up to something.

“Maybe,” he said, “if I win, you have to help me with something. And if I win, I have to help you with something.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

He shrugged, all innocent. “Whatever,” he said. “Everybody needs help with something.”

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