“You never told me your name.” I take her books from her and add them to mine. Even if she’s going in the opposite direction, I’ll be late.
“I’m Daisy.”
“Which class are you looking for? You said you were turned around.”
“Statistics.” A pained expression takes over her very expressive face.
“Not a fan?”
“I hate math.”
“I love math and you’re in luck. I was heading to statistics when I plowed you over. Just so you know, you were going in the wrong direction.”
“Of course I was,” she mutters.
“Not having a good day?”
“If I knew where anything was, I’d be having a better day.” At my questioning look, she clarifies, “I just transferred. Today is my third day in the city.”
“Which dorm did you get?”
“I didn’t.” A flash of worry streaks across her expression, but it’s there and gone so fast, I would have missed it had I not been looking. “I’ve been staying in a hotel the last few nights. I have to find a place sooner rather than later.”
Huh. Most transfer students get housing assigned right away.
“I was a late transfer, not deciding which school I wanted up until the very last second and by then all the rooms had been assigned.”
“That sucks.”
“You’re telling me.”
We reach our class just as Professor Marks rounds the corner and I push her in hurriedly. “He hates tardiness.”
She nods, takes her books from me, and slides into the first available seat near the front.
As much as I’d like to sit with her, several guys from the team are waving at me so I take a seat next to them in the back.
“Dude, you were almost late to the very first class.” Collin Mendoza laughs as I sit down. Several of the girls in front of us turn and giggle, batting their eyes. I give them what mymom calls my lazy smile, the one that promises nothing and everything all at once. It’s an apt description.
“Coach wanted to talk to me. Scouts have been stopping by during our practices and they might be at our first game of the season.”
The professor clears his throat and eyes our corner of the room. I’m not concerned that much about paying attention. Math makes sense to me in a way a lot of things don’t. I think it’s why I’m so good on the ice. I see angles that others don’t. I apply the math in my head and turn my body to fit the equation and solve the problem of either dodging another player or hitting the puck into the net past the opposing team’s goalie. Math makes me a better player.
Collin holds out his fist to bump. “Your lips to God’s ears.”
Like me, he wants to graduate before looking toward the NHL. His family came over illegally from Mexico. He was born here so he’s a citizen, but his parents were deported right before he started his first semester of college. He’s working hard to find a way to bring them back legally. Collin has no one but me and a few of the other guys he calls close friends. I take him home with me for holidays and my mother has invited him to stay with us every summer. He’s my brother in every way that counts.
“You know anyone looking for a roommate?”
“Our house not good enough for you?”
“Our house is a pigsty most days, but I love it. I met this girl who just moved here and she’s looking for a place to stay. She did me a solid so I figured I’d ask around for her.”
Collin quirks a brow in question. He knows me well enough to know I wouldn’t ask around for just anyone.
“She saved me from being swarmed by fans earlier. It’s the only reason I got to class on time.” I point to where Daisy sat in the front.
Collin looks her way. “She’s tiny.”
