Page 27 of Rules for Rule Breaking
Bobby had it in his head that touring college campuses would be like being sold a time-share. He thought there would be fast-talking school administrators trying to lure him in with gifts and candy, grooming him so that he would choose them and not some other institution. What he was presented with instead was a hoodie-wearing sophomore with a handful of brochures and maps.
“Welcome to GW. My name is Dante. I’ll be your guide today,” the tour guide said, handing Winter and Bobby a map and brochure each. “Now if you’ll follow me, we can take a walk around the campus, and I can answer any questions you may have.”
Bobby thought there would be other people in their group, but Dante made no indication that anyone else would be joining.
He led them into the main courtyard. There were a series of buildings surrounding a grassy patch with a statue in the center: a large metal hoop with a pin through it. Students sat around it, scribbling away in sketch pads. Dante explained the students were most likely from the art school, working on still lifes. They walked past them farther into the courtyard, where there sat even more buildings and blue George Washington flags. A few kids were playing Frisbee, and some others were lounging on the grass, but for the most part, it was empty, which Dante assured them was unusual. School hadn’t started yet, and the move-in date wasn’t for another few weeks.
“So what programs are you guys interested in?” Dante asked, stopping for a break in front of the library.
Bobby opened his mouth to reply, but Winter beat him to the chase.
“I’m only here for moral support,” she said, betraying only the slightest bit of mockery. “But Robert here is interested in... actually, whatareyou interested in?”
Dante and Winter were staring at him, making him uncomfortable. He felt like he was on trial, and he knew—at least with Winter—that whatever answer he gave would be the wrong one.
“I’m interested in majoring in mathematics.” He let out a breath when Winter didn’t immediately jump on his answer.
“We have a great mathematics program here,” Dante said. “We can check out the department building if you’d like.”
Bobby didn’t see how looking at a stack of bricks would affect his interest in the program, but he agreed anyway, and Dante gestured for them to follow.
“I didn’t know you wanted to major in math,” Winter said as they walked. “What do you even do with a mathematics degree?”
And there it was.
Bobby was not in the mood for Winter’s ribbing. He was quickly realizing he had no interest in seeing the math building or attending school at GW at all for that matter. He’d only scheduled the visit because George Washington was Jacqueline Charlotte Turner’s top-choice school. And now he was in a four-hundred-thousand-square-foot reminder of her, which soured his mood considerably.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with my math degree yet,” Bobby replied. He sounded curt, but he couldn’t help it. “I can figure it out later. People with math degrees are always paid no matter what.”
Winter snorted. “Is that what you care about? Money?”
Bobby stiffened. “Of course. It’s a measurable gauge of success.”
“Wow. Youarea sociopath. Do you even yawn when other people yawn?”
Winter made a show of yawning as dramatically as she could, which made Bobby yawn, which made her yawn again. They were stuck in an Ouroboros of yawns until Bobby finally clenched his jaw and ignored the impulse.
“Stop that,” he commanded, and Winter giggled.
“You guys are funny,” Dante said with an airy laugh. “Are you siblings?”
Bobby stifled a groan. Didn’t anyone see how different they looked? Their skin tones were different; their hair textures were different. Plus Winter had epicanthal folds, and he didn’t. Why did everyone always insist they were brother and sister?
“No, we’re not related,” he said flatly.
“Boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“No, we’re just friends. Sort of.”
Dante gave them a look that Bobby had become very accustomed to. The “why aren’t you dating?” look. Almost every time they were together, they were subjected to a very similar line of questioning, followed by that look. It made no sense. If he was out in public with other girls, no one ever gave that look, but with Winter it was almost a guarantee. He could think of no other reason than the fact they were both Korean.
Bobby scowled once Dante turned back around. He folded his arms and fell behind as Winter and Dante chatted about the architectural style of the school.
Bobby couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong between him and Jaqueline. It couldn’t have been as cliché as growing apart or notfighting enough, as she claimed.Who wants to fight?Bobby thought to himself. He and Winter fought constantly, and they didn’t even consider themselves friends, much less partners. He and Jacqueline were together all the time until school ended. They studied for the SAT together, they went on hikes, they shared endless memes, and he took her out on dates as often as he could. Real dates. He’d signed them up for a cooking class once, where they made a croquembouche. It had a dangerous lean, and when it finally fell, Bobby caught it and was absolutely covered in sugary glaze. Bobby sitting amidst the puff-pastry carnage was Jacqueline’s most liked picture on Instagram.
He opened his text thread with her and considered sending her a message with a selfie of himself on the campus, but he decided against it. She probably wouldn’t receive it well, and there was no way he could conjure up a convincing-enough smile. Instead, he scrolled up past their breakup texts to the last pleasant conversation they’d had.
Chin up, Bae. You may have come in second this year, but you’ll always be first to me,she had said.
