And They Were Roommates(54)

“I know,” Jasper says, and my thoughts are in such a jumble that I accidentally turn to face him. His dress shirt isn’t tucked, and the sleeves aren’t neatly rolled for once, dropping past his wrists. Even from a distance, his dark circles are noticeable against the pink tinge to his skin. Did he sleep in the barn with the horses instead of his aunt’s instructor quarters? “It’s simple, really. We’ll still plan to deliver the mixer letters. If we pull this off despite the twenty-four-seven guards, we’ll regain everyone’s trust.”

Xavier tilts his head, considering.

Frustration sizzles in my chest. I could’ve thought of that too.

Robby struggles to climb down from the tome table while holding his binder. “Great in theory, but how? Our enamel pins don’t allow us through anymore.”

Jasper just rubs his neck, getting out a knot.

“My emergency contact is over there,” I say a bit too quickly. I want to get these words out before Jasper comes back to life to prove I’m helping too. “My best friend.”

“Really?” Xavier asks.

“Yeah, she’s a third year.”

So much hope surges through Xavier that he kisses his lucky spoon. “Call her. We can toss the letters over the cockblockade for her to pick up. Once we know if she’s down, we’ll meet a week before the mixer to strategize?”

A few more nods come around the room, and then Xavier dismisses the meeting.

“Are you holding STRIP Time this week, Charlie?” Robby says, trying and failing to stuff his massive binder in his backpack. “I wouldn’t blame you if you canceled. I personally fear no one will show up. They might all be reluctant to associate with us already.”

“He’s gotta keep holding tutoring regardless, though, right?” Xavier asks. “The shutdown timing may look sus to librarians.”

It’s not like I want any more targets on me. “I’ll keep tutoring.”

Xavier pats my back. “I wouldn’t be surprised if people showed despite everything. Your tutoring’s gotten super popular. Way more than when P.M. was in charge.”

An unsure laugh leaves me. “I’m just a face.”

“You’re more than that, man. No one here could ever tutor as well as you.”

My chest warms. Even if this weren’t my fault, would I have found it in myself to actually quit STRIP and leave the other members behind? Looking around, this crypt almost feels like home within a campus I’m struggling to trust.

Clattering comes from the other side of the room, where Jasper’s grip on his bag has slipped, books and pens spilling across the floor. He stares emptily.

“You okay?” I ask instinctively, and instantly regret it.

Jasper nods in silence.

“I told you to take the bed, bro,” Xavier grumbles, collecting his books for him.

“What?” I say.

Jasper’s posture snaps straight. “Nothing.”

Xavier glances between us. “Yeah, nothing. Charlie, I’ll wait for you outside to go to Pragma.” He leaves with Blaze and Robby.

Instead of following, Jasper starts toward his office beyond the brocade curtain.

“You slept in Xavier’s room?” I call toward his back.

Jasper stops in his tracks. “Whyever do you say that?”

If Jasper thinks I can’t figure out that exchange, then he looks down on me more than I already thought. “Jasper.”

Jasper turns, journal tucked beneath an arm, the ocean-blue gemstone clasp sparkling in the antique lamp lights. He sighs. “My room in my aunt’s quarters is gone.”

“What, like, bibbidi-bobbidi-boo?”

“She reverted it into an office earlier this year. I asked about my suite from last year too, but it’s permanently occupied by that first year with a senator for a father. So, yes, I slept in Xavier’s room. Well, the floor.”

“You can’t sleep on the floor of your aunt’s office?”

“We don’t particularly speak much,” Jasper says. “So I’m not sure how to broach the subject of sleeping on her floor. And she is technically still my principal, and…” He massages the back of his neck, faltering.

I grip my forehead. “Okay, you can’t keep sleeping on Xavier’s floor. I’ll feel bad.”

Jasper’s tired eyes open wide. “For me?”

“For Xavier.”

His shoulders shrink, and I don’t feel bad for him. I don’t. “He could’ve declined my request, so I’d refrain.” He studies me. “I didn’t expect you’d come to the meeting. You told me you were done.”

I rub the back of my head. “I’m under fire here too. I’ll keep helping STRIP for now.”

“We should finish these hundred letters together as soon as possible, then.” Jasper nudges his head toward his office. “You can use the fairy-tale books back here for your blackout poetry.”

Working together? Now of all times?

“Yeah, no,” I say. “I’ll talk to my friend and help with the re-delivery, but that’s it.”

Jasper’s mouth hangs open slightly, like he’s deciding how to say whatever comes next. “I admit, I no longer have enough time to finish the letters on my own.”