Page 80 of Chasing Infinity

“With pleasure,” he mumbles, hands gripping the straps of his backpack as he walks off.

I do my best to let the altercation with Sullivan not phase me as I stalk toward the science wing. Of all the days that I have to spend extra time working on a project at school. Not to mention my projectpartneris none other than Hurricane Addison herself. It was a cruel, cruel day when our science teacher paired the two of us up for our big term project. I grit my teeth when I get to the closed door to the science lab and breathe deeply through my nose. This is a really shitty day.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” I say out loud, laying on the snark, as I step into the chemistry lab. Addison looks up from her lab notebook and glowers when she sees me walking toward her. I can’t help the amused laugh that comes out of my throat at her appearance. She looks ridiculous with the gray school-issued lab coat and lab goggles that are much too big for her face. Addison is clearly taking this science class way too seriously.

“You’re late, Noah. I don’t want to do this whole thing by myself.”

“Aw, Parks,” I say as I walk closer to the workbench, she’s chosen for us. I don’t bother telling her that I’m late because her bestie, Charlie, is a pain in the ass. “You already know you’re doing most of it by yourself. I’m just here for moral support.”

“Why do you do that?” she shoots back at me.

“Do what?”

“Pretend that you’re not good at school. I’ve seen your tests that you’ve gotten back, and I know—”

“Why are you peeking at my scores, Parks?” I question her, my defenses going up. Where does Parks get off being so nosy?

I catch her off guard with my tone, her eyes going wide as she attempts to backtrack. “Well, it’s not like I did it on purpose. We’re lab partners, we sit at the same table, and I just happened to see your score on the last exam. It was good, Noah.Reallygood.”

“I’m aware,” I say through gritted teeth. “I am the one who took the test after all.”

“My point is, I don’t get why you pretend that you’re above doing well in school. Like it’s a bad thing if your friends were to find out that you get good grades.”

“I don’t act that way.”

Addison stares at me like I’m stupid, and I don’t like it. Not one bit. “Yes, you do,” she argues back. “You act all high and mighty and make fun of me for getting good grades when you’re scoringhigherthan me on some of the exams. Like—I don’t get it, Noah.”

“You don’t have to ‘get it,’” I snarl back at her, making air quotations with my fingers. “There’s nothing for you to ‘get.’ I literally don’t know why we’re having this conversation for the millionth time. Stay the hell out of my business, Parks.”

“Fine!” she shouts, holding her hands up in exasperation. “God, Noah, you drive me crazy. Why is it so hard for you to just have a regular conversation with someone?”

I glare at her. “I am fully capable of having conversations with people. I just prefer not to have them with people who piss me the hell off.”

“Real mature.”

“Shut up, Parks, and just tell me what to do so I can get out of here.”

To my complete and utter shock, Parks does what I ask of her and puts me to work without another word. Every few minutes, she gives me instructions on what to do to accomplish the next section of our experiment, but as far as communication goes? She keeps it to a minimum.

At first, I think it’s glorious not having to listen to her nag at me or say things that make me want to strangle her. But after a while, it starts to become unnerving. I’ve known Parks for three—give or take—years at this point, and never once have I seen her this quiet before. Usually, she’s too busy being a know-it-all or picking fights with me over the littlest topics. But not today.

I find myself saying things as the morning goes on, trying to goad her into snapping back, but she doesn’t crack. She remains dutiful to the task at hand, filling out our lab notebook and doing the calculations for the experiment. I continue to get more frustrated with the lack of response and keep trying to trigger a reaction out of her. When I finally say something particularly nasty, Addison slams the notebook down, hitting me with a heavy glare.

I gear myself up for a fight at the thunderous expression on her face.Finally.

“By all means, Noah, keep playing this game where you say mean things and try to make me feel terrible all the time,” Parks says, looking down at the table as she piles her assignments into a folder and shuts it. Her hazel eyes find mine as she looks sideways at me. “But your words don’t hurt me because I have people who love me for exactly the way I am, and I can’t help but wonder if—”

“If what?” I snarl at her when she stops short, already knowing that I’m not going to like where she’s taking this. I realize I might have pushed her just a little too far this time.

Parks turns towards me fully, and instead of seeing my irritation reflected back at me in her eyes, I see exhaustion and a calculative sadness as if she’s worried that her suspicions are right. “I can’t help but wonder if you even know what it feels like. To have someone love you without expecting anything back.”

My jaw goes slack, a proper response failing to come forward. Addison studies me for another moment before she breathes through her nose and gathers up her school things.

“I think that’s enough for today. We can finish the rest tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s Saturday,” I complain. It’s the only thing I can manage to respond right now.

Her eyes flash at me, and my stomach clenches with unease. She definitely is irritated with me. “And you’ve been putting off our project all week even though I’ve tried to get it finished earlier. It’s due Monday, Noah. So we have to finish it this weekend.”

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