“Okay, then tell me, what is the issue, exactly?”
A phone vibrates loudly on the table between us. We each look down to check where it came from. My phone is lit up.
Pen Thief Jake:Hey, you. Missed you last nightWhat are you up to today? Working the ACTP?
He arches an eyebrow. “Pen Thief Jake? Is that Keller?”
“Yeah, he asked to borrow a pen on the first day of school and never gave it back.”
“Do all of your contacts have nickname reminders of who they are?” Cooper asks.
“Pretty much.” I take the final bite of cookie, closing my eyes as I savor the taste.
“Am I still in your phone?” His question is hesitant. Nervous.
I open my eyes. “Yes.”
He picks up his phone, hits a few buttons, and sets it back down just as my phone vibrates again.
Summer Cooper:What’s my reminder nickname?
“Interesting. I thought it’d be something like Crying Cooper or Pooper Cooper or Self-Tanner Cooper,” he says.
I snort-laugh. “Any of those would have worked. I guess I was being generous.”
Cooper’s bright eyes crinkle in the corners as he laughs, and I have to avert my eyes.
He is actually Too Much to look at.
Our laughter dies as the pretty girl from calculus and lunch approaches Cooper’s end of the table. She has sun-kissed highlights in her straight, long blond hair, a button nose with full lips, and a daisy-yellow dress. Her bright eyes are fixed on Cooper.
Which, understandable.
“Hey, Coop,” she says. “How’s it going over here? I thought you were a greeter today.”
“Hey,” Cooper replies, angling himself toward her. “Yeah, I was. Got swapped with Sloane, though.”
“I just saw the greeters sitting at a table drinking apple cider,” she says. “Sucks you don’t get to enjoy the party.”
Cooper shrugs, unaffected. “We’re having our own party over here.”
I laugh. “If this is your idea of a party, you need to get out more.”
He turns to me, a smirk playing on his face. “Youskipped out on Jake’s last night so that you could study, butI’mthe one who needs to get out more?”
“Hey, I ended up watchingPractical Magicwith Sloane,” I say defensively. Plus, who needs a social life when I’m not going to be here long enough to make any real friends, anyway?
“Love that movie,” Cooper says.
“Really?” I ask, skeptical.
“Really,” he says. “The idea of being able to cast a spell so you don’t fall in love? If only.”
I tilt my head, trying to make sense of his comment, when the blonde clears her throat.
“I’m Chloe,” she says, cutting in and offering a small wave. “You’re Ellis, right? We sort of eat lunch together but haven’t actually met.”
“Yeah, nice to officially meet you.”
