Page 34 of Finn Rhodes Forever

Fuck. Okay. I was losing control of this.

“Yes, I have smoked weed,” I admitted, glancing nervously at Jen. “Drugs are bad. I mean, not all drugs—”

She frowned.

“—most drugs are bad,” I continued, starting to sweat.

“How do we know which ones are bad?” the nosy girl asked.

“Anything in pill form. Pills, crystals, powders, that stuff can kill you. We see people overdose sometimes.” Good, okay, this was good. Back on track. “Don’t take anything people offer you.”

“Are mushrooms bad?”

“How do you make weed brownies?” another one asked.

The nosy girl started filming me. “How many beers can you drink before you’re drunk?”

“What’s a Jäger-bomb?”

“My mom went to school with you and she said you’re a hot mess express.”

Fucking hell. This wasn’t a class presentation, it was a firing squad. Under my jacket, I was sweating through my t-shirt.

“Have you ever been arrested? My dad said you’ve been to jail.”

“The drunk tank isn’tjail,” I said, for some stupid fucking reason.Finn, shut your goddamned mouth.

Jen turned and gave Liv a look.

Fuuuuuuck.

“And our next presenter is…” I gestured at the back. “Jen Morgan! Everyone give her a big round of applause.”

The kids ignored me while I strode to the back of the room, heart beating in my ears. Jen started talking about nursing and I dropped into the seat beside Liv.

A wry smile stretched over her face. “That wentreallywell.”

I raked a hand back through my hair.

This date I was going to take Liv on? I needed to plan somethinggood.

* * *

On the wayback to the fire hall from the school, I passed a car on the side of the road. One of the tires was sagging. I slowed and pulled over to the shoulder and got out.

The driver straightened up from where he was fumbling with a tire iron. He scanned me in my gear, and he was breathing hard. I’d seen people experiencing a stress response like this during Search and Rescue.

I put my hands up. “Need help?” I asked in a reassuring tone. “I know how to change a flat.”

His gaze flicked between me and the highway behind me. “Yeah.” He nodded quickly before swallowing. “That would be great.”

I was swapping out the flat for his spare when a familiar white 4x4 drove past. Liv’s car. I gave her a wave and a big smile and returned to tightening the bolts.

Today had started out shit, but this guy’s flat was a small gift from the universe.

14

Olivia

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