He grins. “Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves?”
“No way!” I shove him with my elbow. “She was the ugly one.”
With him going on like this, it’s a wonder we get any work done,but somehow I get to the end ofAnne of Green Gablesand he finishes several chapters ofThe Scarlet Letter.
As we part in front of my dorm, I can’t keep myself from asking, “So what’s your costume going to be?”
“Mine?”
“Yeah. You’ll be at the party, won’t you? Hanging out alone in the kitchen?”
He smiles crookedly. “If I come, are you going to talk to me?”
“I talked to you last time, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, well…” He licks his lips and his eyes dart away. “We’ll see.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
I thoughtfor sure Lara would spill the beans and Zander would be pounding on my door demanding to know who Leo is, but I haven’t heard even the slightest whisper about it. I also thought that now that Leo had my number, he would be texting me every chance he got to nag me about my clairsentience, but that hasn’t happened either. It’s not until Monday that I hear from him, via text.
Leo: Antony and Cleopatra?
Me: Would you PLEASE stop!
Leo: Just trying to be helpful.
Me: Don’t you have work to do? How’s Scarlet Letter coming along?
Leo: I have mixed feelings about Dimmesdale.
Me: What can you possibly say in his favor?
Leo: I kind of feel bad for the guy. He’s just trying to do his duty to his flock.
I almost reply,then he should’ve kept it in his pants, but I stop myself. Knowing Leo, he’s probably never heard the expression, and I sure as hell don’t want to have to explain it to him.
Me:(being gracious)He was definitely suffering from cognitive dissonance.
Leo: He should have run away with Hester and Pearl.
Me: Yeah, and get eaten by a bear.
I’ve been hoping for another invitation to hang out with him and Avery and Aaron, but by the time Friday arrives, one still hasn’t come. I suppose I’ve already fallen off their radar, which sucks because I had a surprisingly good time in their company. Whatever. There’s no easy way to get out of spending the weekend at O-Chi, anyway.
For kicks, while Zander and I lie in bed Sunday morning, I ask him if he knows who Napoleon is.
“Yeah, he was that short French guy who wanted to take over the world. Why?”
“No reason.” I distract him with a kiss while guilt turns my cheeks a flaming red. Zander might have a surfer dude demeanor, but he’s not stupid. It’s unfair of me to underestimate him just because he isn’t studious like Leo.
I have to wait almost another whole week until my longed-for invitation finally comes. It’s late Thursday afternoon, and I’m rushing to annotate my philosophy chapter in order to be free tonight to work with Liv on our Rush applications. We have to assemble what amounts to a full dossier: letters of recommendation, CV and transcript, photos, and—horror of horrors—two essays. Liv is an environmental science major and almost never has to write long papers, so whenever she gets a writing assignment, she goes into a panic.
Just as I shut my philosophy book and toss my highlighter into my backpack, my phone buzzes at my knee. It’s a message from Leo:Aaron has something he wants to show us. Are you free tonight?
Aaron has something he wants to showme? Maybe they consider me part of their little circle after all.
Me: What does he want to show us?
