Page 57 of The Surprise Play
How can I feel more on edge now than I do when I’m facing down a Mac truck on the field? Some of the guys I go up against are even bigger than I am, and yet I never feel an ounce of fear.
But this office with its book-lined walls and stuffy furniture is giving me fucking heart palpitations.
The pages sound loud in the quiet space as Pilscher flicks through what I’ve done.
“Hmmm,” he eventually murmurs, then looks at Satch over the top of his glasses. “How much did you actually do?”
“Well, I typed it,” she answers. “But they are all Wily’s words. I refused to put in anything that he didn’t come up with himself.”
Pilscher’s eyes narrow and then he looks at me, his frown skeptical.
“It’s true,” I back her up. “She was a hard-ass, sir.Wouldn’t let me get away with slacking off. Made me really think about the book, you know?”
“Uh-huh.” He slaps the pages against his leg and eyes me up like I’m a bug he wants to squash with his shiny black shoe. “And what can you tell me aboutMoby Dick? Give me one main takeaway.”
“Uh…” My brain immediately starts to fritz out, the pressure quickly turning off the lights in each section.
Oh fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Satch clears her throat, and my gaze darts her way.
She gives me a hopeful smile and mouths one little word.
“Reckless,” I punch out, relief soaring through me as I cling to that one idea. “Captain Ahab was reckless. His determination drove him to forget about common sense. He put his need for revenge above everything else, and it made him kind of crazy. If he hadn’t let his emotions control him that way, then maybe he wouldn’t have sunk his ship and lost most of his crew.”
The words sail out of me with minimal effort, and my surprise is mirrored on Pilscher’s face as he takes me in and then looks at Satch.
“Did you tell him to say that?”
“No, sir.” She’s grinning like I’ve just won first prize at the county fair. “That was all him.”
“Hmmm.” There goes that sound again, although this time it’s lighter, maybe not so critical. “Well, I look forward to grading this, then.”
His eyes dart back to mine, and then he shoots a glance at Satch before nodding, his lips flirting with a grin.
I’m not sure if I’m supposed to say anything else, and to be honest, I’m still kind of reeling that I managed to just spurt all of that Ahab shit and not get laughed at for sounding ridiculous.
But holy shit.
I just came up with that myself, and I fucking knew what I was talking about!
“That’ll be all for now. I’ll be in touch with your grade soon.” Pilscher raises his chin toward the door, and I practically leap toward it.
I can’t get out of this space fast enough and nearly forget to thank him until Satch nudges my arm and bulges her eyes at me.
“Oh!” I spin back and paste on a smile. “Thanks for the second chance, sir.”
Pilscher gives me a steady look, then nods and murmurs, “Thank her.”
And that’s exactly what I fucking do.
The second we’re down the steps of the Humanities building, I spin to face Satch, grabbing her face and planting a firm kiss on her lips.
She goes stiff beneath my touch, so I pull back just as quickly and smile at her like it’s no big deal. “Thank you. Seriously, Satch, you are a fucking legend.” Picking her up, I spin her around and laugh the words, “Thank you!”
She gasps against my shoulder, her body going all rigid again.
