Page 4 of The Riley Effect

“Make the best of it, Ivy. You never know what lies beneath the façade people put on for the rest of the world.”

After my shift at the shelter, I walk into my apartment and sink into the couch.

“What’s wrong?” Lola asks from our kitchen table, where she is buried under a stack of textbooks. Yeah, syllabus week is not really a thing for biology majors.

I’ve known Lola since we were paired as lab partners in a mandatory biology class. She was a freshman, and I was starting my sophomore year. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

Physically looking at us, we couldn’t be more different. I’m nearly six feet tall with long golden brown hair and fair skin. Lola is five foot three with shoulder-length black hair and olive skin.

“Do you know who Jalen Halloway is?” I ask, curling into a ball in the corner of the couch before throwing a blanket over myself.

There’s a lust in her eyes that has me rolling mine.

“Are you seriously asking that, Vee? I don’t think there is a person on campus who hasn’t seen his banner hanging in the dining hall?”

The life-sized banner features the hockey team’s captains and schedule.

l can’t help but laugh at the reminder of how differently this school treats the women’s and men’s teams.

“How could I forget that? He gets a banner, and we have to give away free pizza to get people to come to our games,” I pause for dramatic effect, “and we won the National Championship last year. Anyway, I guess he got in trouble, and Mr. Halloway, the athletic director, is making him volunteer at the shelter. He thinks I’ll be a good influence on his nephew.”

“Well, he is hot, and you need to have some fun.” Lola teases.

I’ve been known to put a lot of pressure on myself. I focus too much on school and basketball and not enough on being a carefree college student.

I know she means well, but she understands why I focus on basketball and school. My sister’s life turned upside down at twenty-one when she became my legal guardian. She dropped everything in her life so mine could stay as normal as possible after our parents died. She remained in this dead-end town, spending every day behind a desk working as a receptionist in a dental office.

So, at thirteen, I made a list of everything I could do to make my sister’s life easier.

There are only two more items to cross off that list. Now isn’t the time for a distraction.

3

Jalen

You would think I’m three years old by the way my uncle insists he walk me into the shelter. I side-eye him as we make our way through the parking lot, and he just laughs.

“What’s so funny?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer, just grins, and it pisses me off that he’s enjoying this so much.

When I open the door to the animal shelter a bell chimes, my introduction to the weirdest punishment I’ve ever been given.

A lady who has to be in her fifties greets us with an over-friendly, almost fake smile. She walks out from the rear of the desk and extends her hand.

“You must be Matt and Jalen! I’m so happy you’re here,” she says, a little too cheerily, as she shakes my uncle’s hand. “We’re so happy to have you working with us this year, Jalen.”

“I’m excited,” I lie, hoping I’ll be able to charm my way out of this in a few weeks. It’s not that I’m not an animal person. I have always wanted a dog. It’s just that I should be focusing on preparing for the season and the NHL draft, not babysitting dogs.

“If you come this way, I’ll introduce you to Ivy. She will be your supervisor while you’re with us.”

I follow Jill through the shelter, looking at the white walls and faded posters that cover the chipping paint. This place needs a facelift. It’s depressing enough that these dogs don’t have homes. The least we could do is give them a happier place to live. Jill guides us through the shelter until we reach the back. I stop in my tracks when I notice my supervisor is absolutely stunning. She has to be five-foot-ten with long legs that support an ass that would pour out of my grip.

“Jalen, this is Ivy. I’m sure you know her. She is on the basketball team.”

Ivy turns and gives us a polite smile.

“I don’t,” I reply. I’m wondering where this girl has been hiding. The different sports teams at Westvale are almost like their own version of Greek life. We’re all intertwined, so I have no idea how I haven’t seen Ivy around campus. “Hi, Ivy. I’m Jalen.”

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