Page 34 of Lovely War
He blows into his fist to warm it. “Really?” He sounds pleased. “I thought you’d be too cool for it. That you’d only be into, like,cinema.” He gives the last word a pompous inflection.
“Ah, yes,” I say. “Me, the esteemed creator of The Devil Wears Prardwyn.” He laughs. “The person who spent a half hour today filming Gallimore trying to juggle blindfolded. Don’t fence me in, Callahan.”
He ponders my words. “Wouldn’t I be fencing you out?”
Sasha stops to sniff a mailbox, and I shuffle from foot to foot to generate body heat. “No, you’re fencing me in. With, like,cinema.” I mimic his intonation.
He groans. “This conversation is terrible. Should we try again?”
“At your own risk.”
“So you had fun, and you’re going to come next week?”
I am. I am, because doing it once has shown me that I need it. I need this, I needBeach HouseMondays, because I am so fucking alone. This is my first time living by myself. I’ve always had Kat or other roommates, and my parents nearby, and friends in my hometown. That’s how I got away with hating all my jobs.An otherwise full life,I always told my parents, like a well-coping widow.
I’m not equipped to go home and sit by myself in an apartment every night. I have Cassie and Eric, but they’re both busy, so I often make excuses not to hang out so they get more alone time. Mom and Kat’s visits have become less frequent since I’ve settled in. I have coffee with Taylor and Jess once a week, and go to the gym, and spend Friday nights at the mall buying, like, one shirt that I end up returning the following Friday night. I find it comforting, being surrounded by noise and other people, even if those people are strangers. Like I can absorb a social life by osmosis. This, an actual social life, is better.
“I have to, if I want to win the fantasy league,” I say.
He switches the leash to his other hand and blows into his fist before sticking it into his pocket to thaw. “Bold words for the new kid. Who’s your pick for the money so far?”
“I’ve narrowed it down to two contenders.”
“Which two?”
We reach Ardwyn Avenue, the main road. I glance both ways before crossing, and Sasha’s collar jingles as Ben follows. “Well, first, Jasmine.”
“Obvious choice,” he says.
“But still likely.” There’s more activity in this part of town: students walking home from the library, a movie letting out at the tiny independent theater. The used bookstoreand quirky boutiques are closed, but the bars are open, with bored-looking bouncers checking for fake IDs outside.
“And second?”
I push my hood back because it’s getting annoying, turning back and forth to look at him. “Brianne.”
“Which one is that?”
“The one with the short hair.”
“Hm. You seem confident.” He doesn’t look sold.
“I am.” I debate whether to explain. “Jasmine and Brianne got different music than everyone else when their boats came in. I’m thinking they’re going to be battling it out for Logan. We saw the entire exchange he had with each of them at happy hour. They weren’t just part of the montage. They both seem to be solid in the challenges. And in the preview at the end of the episode, you could see them both multiple times, in different locations, wearing different outfits.”
“Ugh,” he says, but a smile plays at his lips. “You’re cheating, Radford.”
“How?”
He shakes his head. “You’re using your video editing knowledge for an unfair advantage.”
“What rule does that violate? I assume you have a written rulebook. I’d expect nothing less from you.”
He’s behind me now, Sasha dragging him toward a streetlight so she can sniff it. “No, it just violates the entire spirit of the game.”
I break into a grin and spin to face him. “Oh, the spirit of the game? You know you’ve already lost when you start referring to the ‘spirit of the game.’ ”
That gets a chuckle out of him. “I asked you not to ruin this for me.”
“I’m making it better for you,” I protest. “You can use my observations to make your picks. Only for this week, because I’m nice.”
