揧ou think??
揑t抯 painful to watch someone be so oblivious,?I tell him. 揧es, that little mouse just tracked you down and waited for you to get home so she could?well, fuck, I don抰 even know what now. But whatever she asked, what she was really hoping for, was a date.?
揟hat sounds better than what I signed us up for.?One side of his mouth lifts. 揝he needs a couple of strong guys to move some flowers for an event in January.?
揙h.?I can抰 hide my surprise. 揟hat抯 it??
Liam nods. 揧eah, man. That抯 it.?
I take in a deep breath and lean back in my chair. 揧ou抮e not going out with her then??
He shakes his head and gets to his feet. He gives my door two taps on his way out, then takes a step back inside my room. 揃y the way, she said to tell you the answer is Pascal抯 Law.?
揟he answer to what??
揑抦 not sure. That抯 all she said. PlayStation??
揘ah, I need to finish a couple of assignments before we leave tomorrow.?
揅ool.?He leaves my room for real this time, and I open my laptop and type Pascal抯 Law into the search engine. I know it, of course, but I don抰 understand what she抯 trying to tell me.
I pace the room, equal parts annoyed and intrigued. I really do have some homework to finish up before the bus pulls out tomorrow for Utah, but I can抰 focus on anything else but Daisy抯 cryptic message.
I pull up my email and type her name into the directory. Daisy Johnson.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Pascal
I give up. How is Pascal抯 Law the answer? And what was the question anyway?
I grab another beer and wait for her reply, hitting the refresh every thirty seconds.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Pascal
The question is how to stop putting the pressure of success on one man抯 shoulders. Hence, Pascal.
Hence? Seriously.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Pascal
I don抰 think Pascal抯 Law works in this situation, but I抎 love to hear your take.
I pull up the assignment for my strength of materials course and read it over, but as soon as an email notification pops up, I click over to read her response.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Pascal
I was simply trying to say that maybe if you all took a little of the pressure, instead of piling it on one guy抯 shoulders, the team would be the better for it. Pressure applied to any part of the boundary of a confined fluid is transmitted equally in ALL directions. You all have to take some of the stress.
I know, I know. Don抰 @ me. A hockey team isn抰 a fluid, but it抯 the best I could do on the fly.
Go, team go!
I laugh, picturing her face typing out that cheery last line. I doubt she抯 ever gone to a single sporting event. But, at this point, I might even take an unathletic physics major抯 advice if it抣l help Liam.
7
DAISY
Violet comes into my room Friday afternoon as I抦 sketching. 揥e抮e going out in thirty minutes.?
揥here??I drop my pencil and smooth my hair back out of my face. I blink several times to focus my eyes after staring at the paper for so long.
Instead of answering, she comes around to look at my drawing. 揥hat are you working on??
I flip the paper. 揧ou can抰 see yet. Not until it抯 done.?
揧ou always say that.?She rolls her eyes playfully.
揟hen you should know better than to ask.?
Smiling, she motions toward my left cheek. 揧ou have black all over your face.?Her gaze drops to the side of my right hand, and the black smudges. 揝hower and meet us downstairs for a drink before the Uber gets here.?
揧ou didn抰 say where we were going??I call after her.
I see Dahlia as I抦 heading to the bathroom. She yawns and stretches like she just woke up from a nap.
揇o you know where we抮e going??
揘o idea,?she says. 揌ow much are Violet and Jane going to yell at me if I just wear this??
She抯 in a baggy white T-shirt and jeans. She looks great, but maybe a little wrinkled. Our friends treat nights out like a runway show. I guess it抯 because we don抰 do it that often that it always feels like a lot of pressure to look and dress a certain way.
揑 could do your hair if you want,?I offer.
揇istract them with killer hair and makeup.?Dahlia grins. 揑 love it.?
The four of us meet in the kitchen downstairs five minutes before the Uber is supposed to arrive.
Jane gives me an appreciative once over when I walk into the room. 揥ow. Daisy. You look great.?
She circles around me, taking in every detail. I feel so short next to her.
Jane is five foot eight without heels, but she抯 almost always wearing heels, so she looks even taller. She抯 technically a freshman, but she抯 the same age as the rest of us. She took a year off before starting school.
She抯 a music major and filthy rich. Not just rich like she had nice things growing up. Jane has the kind of money that makes her a little out of touch with reality. Her parents are?well, actually I don抰 know what they do, but something that makes them very wealthy. She once tried to offer me a thousand dollars to help her study for a calculus test.
She isn抰 snooty, and she doesn抰 really care about labels, though I think her shoe collection is mostly Louis Vuitton梕ven her sneakers.
Dahlia met her when she came to tour Valley U last spring. They kept in touch over the summer, and we jumped at the chance for all four of us to move in together off-campus this year.
揥ill you please tell me where we抮e going now??I ask Violet.
She grins. 揟he Hideout.?
My stomach drops. 揥e can抰 drink at The Hideout. They抳e been cracking down hard on underage drinking, and I抦 shit at lying.?
揇on抰 worry. I抳e got us covered.?She pours us each a shot of tequila. 揂nd, despite all my strongly worded emails to the owner, I can almost guarantee that the TVs will be tuned in to watch your guy play Utah.?
All three look at me.
揌e isn抰 my guy.?My face suddenly feels hot. 揥e抮e just lab partners.?
I hold out my shot glass, and we clink them together, then toss them back. A shiver rolls through me at the awful liquor.
揊or now,?Jane says, her face still twisted up from the tequila. 揃ut who knows, by the end of the night anything could happen.?
揈xactly!?Vi exclaims. 揂lthough he is a jock. Maybe we can find you someone else tonight.?
揂nd you抮e both already drunk,?I say as I take the shot glasses and put them in the sink.
The Hideout is a classic restaurant and sports bar. On the bar side, Valley students are jammed into tables and booths and every space in between, making it hard to walk through, let alone find a spot to sit down.
Jane stands taller than the rest of us and scans the bar area for somewhere to sit.
揟here抯 a table in the back right,?she says and makes a beeline for it.
A frazzled server approaches us as soon as we sit down, then gets shoved into the end of the table by a group passing by. It抯 vicious in here tonight.
揅an I get you something to drink??She blows her hair out of her eyes.
揂 bottle of your most expensive wine,?Jane says with a dispassionate glance in the direction of our server.
揑 need to see your IDs.?
Jane sighs, and her posture loosens. 揓ust a glass of tonic for me. Lime on the side.?
揝prite,?Violet says.
Dahlia orders the same, and then our server looks at me.
揇iet棓
Someone kicks me under the table.