Page 34 of Rules for Rule Breaking
“So if I point at someone and yell, ‘Sasquatch,’ I just have to kill them, and it’s a crime?”
“I don’t think homicide becomes more illegal if you call your victim a Sasquatch first.”
“Whatever, Bigfoot.”
They were silent for a moment. The air around them was uncertain. Winter didn’t quite know what uncharted territory they were in, but it felt a lot like he was trying to cheer her up after her disaster of a phone call with Emmy.
A few seconds later, Bobby took in a sharp breath. “I guess I’ll go take that shower now,” he said, bringing his hands together.
“Wait!” Winter said, grabbing Bobby’s arm with no plan as to what she would do next. She glanced down at Bobby’s watch, and it turned to six right before her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Bobby asked.
Winter took one of her cookies and crammed it into Bobby’s mouth without warning. She laughed madly until she felt something wet against her palm. “You licked me!” she yelled, bouncing up and down and holding her infected hand as far away from her body as she could manage. A giggle bubbled out of her.
Bobby struggled to swallow. “What’s wrong with you?” he choked.
“It’s six o’clock. I didn’t want you to miss dinner,” she said with a half shrug.
Bobby busted out laughing, spraying Winter with crumbs.
“Oh my God!” she squealed.
Bobby confiscated Winter’s tea and washed down the rest of the dry biscuit. He made a sound that was halfway between a choke and a laugh. “I know you don’t like me, but I didn’t think you’d actually try to kill me!”
“But did you die?” she asked, dusting herself off. “And you drank my tea!”
“It tastes like hot garbage. I saved you.”
“My hero.”
Bobby tried to give it back, but Winter refused, chucking the rest of it over the balcony instead. The liquid fell into the empty parking lot below with an unceremonioussplat.
“I needed that laugh,” Bobby said with a bemused smile on his face. “Thanks.” And with that, he slid open the balcony door and left Winter on the terrace alone.
“Thanks?”Winter mouthed to herself.
She watched him walk to his room, trying to see what apparently everyone else seemed to. He was tall, like Emmy said, and his hair was thick and healthy-looking, though he could use a cut. He turned to look at her, pausing at the bedroom door. His face was relatively symmetrical, and he had that great nose her mother always talked about.WasBobby Bae hot? He stepped into his room to gather his things for a shower. She turned back to the sunset and took a deep breath. Her findings were inconclusive.
As she looked out over the city, a pit formed in her stomach. She couldn’t help but feel she had stepped into an alternate dimension, the darkest timeline, where she was getting along with Bobby better than she was with her best friend. There was no science to explain what was happening. And what even was that observation he gave? She took one last look at the sky before texting Bobby.
Winter:Let’s just order takeout to our rooms. I want Thai, and I know it’s not your favorite.
Bobby:K.
Winter Park
14. WE WILL NOT ABUSE MORATORIUMS
In the morning, Bobby stormed into Winter’s room and demanded she get dressed, packed, and in the car. Within thirty minutes of her opening her eyes, they were on the beltway nearing Baltimore County. Winter could almost smell the Old Bay in the air. She leaned her head against the car window and nearly dreamed before Bobby hit a bump and she was startled awake. She groaned.
“Are we really going to UPenn early, or is this the part where you kill me?” Winter asked. “I don’t really care, but I don’t want to die in this outfit.”
“We were seen on at least ten cameras together in the hotel and at least three traffic cameras. Plus we both have location services activated on our phones, and no less than ten people know exactly where we are,” he replied. “If I were to kill you, it’d likely be second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of forty years or more. I don’t think they’ll let me go to Harvard from prison.”
“It’s creepy you know all that.”
“You’re not the only one who likes mysteries.”
