When I reached her, she said, "Nice of you to show up."
No kidding.This morning had been a shit-show at home, and the way things had looked when I left, I might not have a home to return to.
But I wasn't one to complain and saw no reason to start now. So with a shrug, I replied, "Hey,Ithought so." I glanced toward the door of the lab. "I figured you'd start without me."
I wasn't kidding.The last time we'd met up, she'd gotten there early and was half-way done by the time I'd arrived.
Not today.
Today, she hadn't budged from the hallway. That wasn't the only thing that was different. Something in the hallway reeked like a party gone stale. I asked, "What's that smell?"
Her cheeks flushed. "Oh, shut up."
So the smell was coming from her?
No way.
She smelled of smoke, booze, and cheap perfume. I grinned in surprise.Maybe there was more to my partner than I'd thought."Hey, I'm just asking."
"Well, don't."
I was still grinning. "Rough night, huh?"
She stiffened. "What makes you say that?"
"Because you smell like it."
Now she was scowling again – like she was embarrassed to be caught doing something other than studying.
I couldn’t resist tweaking her. "If you need a light, let me know."
She blinked. "What?"
Obviously, she didn't get the joke. But hey, I had a prop to drive the point home. I reached into the pocket of my jeans and pulled my lighter. I flicked it to life and held out in front of her, old-school style, as if offering her a light.
She gave the flame an annoyed look. "In case you didn't notice, I don't actuallyhavea cigarette." Under her breath, she added, "Or anything else, for that matter."
She looked so annoyed that I couldn’t let it go. "So?"
"So I don't need a light."
"Eh, your loss." I flicked off the lighter and lowered it to my side.
Sounding less than amused, she said, "Youdorealize, I had to get special permission to use the lab today."
Yeah. Bummer for me.
If only the teacher had said no, I wouldn't be here at all.
Instead, I'd be dealing with the stuff at home, or maybe working at my side job, just like I had last Thursday, when everyone else had been sitting in school like good little boys and girls.
At the time, I'd figured it was no big deal.I had a lab partner, right?Arden never missed class, and she was a lot more vested in this than I was. But when Arden had informed me – not too nicely either – that she hadn't been allowed to do the experiment on her own, I'd felt almost guilty.
Now, thanks to her attitude, the guilt was fading fast. I said it again. "So?"
She sighed. "So let's just get it done already." She glanced toward the door of the lab. "And we need to be quick. I'm making cookies with my grandma at two-thirty."
Something inside me soured.Cookies with grandma, huh?
