Page 26 of Rules for Rule Breaking
Winter smacked her palm to her forehead as Bobby braked and rolled down the window for the waitress.
“Is everything okay, ma’am?” Bobby asked, panicked.
“Your sister forgot her leftovers, darlin’,” she said, handing Bobby the Styrofoam containers Winter had left on the table.
Bobby deflated. “She’s not— I mean thank you,” he said, tossing them into Winter’s lap.
“Enjoy your day, and thanks for the generous tip, dear,” she said to Winter, and ran back inside.
“Enjoy your day too!” Bobby said, matching the waitress’s perkiness. He turned to Winter, biting back a laugh.
She held up a finger. “Don’t.”
Bobby held his laughter until they were on the highway. Winter shrank down and leaned her head against the window in defeat.
“I knew you didn’t have it in you. This entire thing is just a fantasy,” Bobby teased. “You could never do anything wrong, much less break the law.”
“As if you could,” she said. Bobby was still going exactly the speed limit, still refusing to turn up the radio.
They drove by thewelcome to virginiasign stating that it was a state for lovers. Bobby smiled broadly.
“Why are you smiling, weirdo?” Winter asked.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached down, took off his left sneaker, and threw it in the back seat. Then he freed himself of the other, and it joined its life partner in the back. Winter looked on in horror. “What the hell are you doing?”
“It’s illegal to drive barefoot in Virginia,” he said.
Winter couldn’t handle the self-assured look on his face. She burst out laughing. “Why do you even know that? Of course you would find the most mundane law to break. The only offense here is the one to my olfactory system!” Winter fanned in front of her nose, but it was only a charade. Bobby always smelled good. It was probably the most Korean thing about him.
“It was a trivia question I had once,” Bobby said. “There are weird laws in every single state. Did you know back home you’re not allowed to plow a field with elephants?”
Winter could not stop laughing. She whipped out her phone and searched more silly laws in Virginia. “Hey, did you know you have to honk every time you pass a car in Virginia?” she asked as her eyes scanned the page.
“That’s so random. That was never mentioned in driver’s ed.”
Bobby was passing a red Civic, so Winter reached over and pressed the horn. The driver in the Civic flipped them off, and Bobby pushed Winter back into her seat. “Not on the highway, you psycho!”
“My bad. And what the hell? According to this article, it’s illegal to tickle women here.”
Without missing a beat, Bobby poked Winter in the side, causingher to jump and smack her head on the roof. Bobby laughed so hard he snorted, nearly swerving into the next lane. Winter went in for retaliation, but he pointed to the wheel.
“You’re lucky you’re driving,” Winter warned. “But remember: I know where you’ll be sleeping tonight.”
“I did nothing wrong,” Bobby Bae said dramatically. “You don’t even count. You’re not even a woman.”
Winter feigned offense. “I am so. I’m sixteen! If this was one hundred years ago, I’d already have, like, four kids and a husband named Judd.”
“I meant you’re not human. You’re some kind of flightless bird.”
“Says the barely sentient TI-84.”
“Cute.”
Winter defiantly took the opportunity to play her favorite podcast,Constellations. Bobby went to shut it off but appeared to change his mind last minute and put his hand back on the wheel.
Bobby Bae
10. WE WILL NOT EXPRESS EMOTIONS
