Page 63 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
“I can understand that.” Leaning forward, he said, “I still think you should have let me cover your tuition.”
Despite his and Gabe’s offers, I’d applied for an international student loan that my advisor recommended and Jason co-signed for. “You’ve already done so much for me and my family. Iappreciate the offer but I want to do this for myself. I need to know that I didn’t have to rely on someone else for this too.”
He nodded slowly. “I guess Tala would have done the same thing.”
“Oh, yeah.” My sister had never been good at accepting help, though she had relaxed with that since Jason won her over.
“The offer’s on the table in case you change your mind. Anything you need, just text me.”
Gratitude filled me that he genuinely cared. It was like I’d gained an older brother in Ate’s boyfriend. “Thanks, Jason.”
“I’m glad Gabe’s around though,” he casually said as he grabbed a slice of vegetarian pizza. “And that you two are actually civil now.”
I squinted at him. “Is this your way of trying to get info?”
Jason laughed. “Just stating facts. Don’t worry, I won’t meddle and I’ll remind your sister not to either. Just remember we’re always a text away. Got it?”
“Got it.” Getting my own slice, I held it out to him for a little pizza cheers. “Here’s to your Manila chapter.”
He clinked his slice with mine. “And to your junior year. I have a feeling it’ll be a big one.”
gabe
Dropping my headback, I closed my eyes and exhaled. I was five days into my research, and already I struggled to focus on the articles tabbed on my browser. Why did this feel harder than I remembered?
Harderwasn’t the right word . . . more like tedious.
I gave myself a ten-minute break to grab a drink. A beer would have been nice, but I passed it up for coffee because it was going to be another long night. While sipping my espresso, I scrolled through the headlines and stopped on one entitled “Six Reasons Your Phone Might Be the Dirtiest Thing You Own.”
My mind immediately went to Luna. Before I could question myself, I shared the article with her and smiled as I imagined her reaction.
My grin spread ever wider when my phone rang, announcing Luna’s name on the screen.
“My phone is not dirty,” she said as soon as I answered.
I held back a laugh. “I didn’t say it was. The article said it might be.”
She snorted. “Uh huh. Of course you’d send me an article like that instead of memes or reels.”
“I don’t have social media.” Luckily, I didn’t have to ask what those terms meant. I wasn’tthatold or out of touch . . . for the most part.
“I know. It’s a good thing you don’t because it can be super distracting.”
“So I’ve heard.” I’d never had the inclination to create a social media account, so why did I have the urge to create one just so I could see what Luna posted on hers?
“How did you find that article anyway?” She gasped. “Wait, is this your version of procrastinating—reading news articles?”
“I’m taking a break.”
She snickered. “Okay, I totally get that. What’s it like to be back in school? As a student, I mean.”
“I don’t have classes so it’s not the same experience. But I might prefer that over the research.”
“Oh. Would it help if you changed your topic?”
“That would mean I’d have to start from scratch.” My shoulders tightened at the mere idea of it. “It’s alright, I just have to push through with what I started.”
“Any way I can help?”
