MasukAfter finishing her burger, Riley leaned back in her chair, thoroughly satisfied.
“Thanks for the food.”
“Did you enjoy it?” Charles asked.
Riley nodded without hesitation.
“Yeah. Even the fries were actually good.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Your one-week rating just went up by one point.”
“Out of how many?”
“Haven’t decided yet.”
“That is a remarkably sloppy rating system,” Grant muttered.
Just then, Marcus stepped away from
Tuesday afternoon, Elliot had just left the university library when a message from Riley appeared.Professor, you free today?Elliot replied as he walked.Still not Professor, but I’m free after five.Can you come to the diner?Sure.Then we’re doing an in-person lesson\(^o^)/I don’t remember agreeing to teach a class.I’m bringing the materials.Apparently, it was another draft for the job-training program.Elliot smiled at the screen and sent back a simple Okay.◇He arrived at the diner around five-thirty.Riley was still working.“Professor, welcome.”“You’re doing this here too?”“You’re a guest lecturer today.”“Do I get paid?”“One coffee.”“Cheap.”“I&rs
Saturday afternoon, Elliot was brushing Maple in the Ashford living room.At first, Maple had sat quietly in front of him, but halfway through, the view outside the window became more interesting than the brush. Every time she shifted, Elliot had to move with her, until somehow both of them had migrated all the way to the other side of the room.“We did not start over here.”Maple wasn’t listening.“We’re going for a walk later.”“Are you negotiating with her?”Catherine’s voice came from behind him.“Trying to.”“Is it working?”“I think I’m the only one participating.”Catherine laughed and sat down on the sofa.◇Richard came in a little later.“Elliot, what does your schedule look like next month?”“University?”“That and everything else.”Richard sat in the chair across from them.“A few companies I know are offering short workplace observation programs for stu
Wednesday afternoon, Riley went on break at the diner and found a message from Vivian waiting for her.The program staff got back to me.Riley read it while drinking water from a paper cup.How’d it go?Very well.Very well\(^o^)/They want to test some of the wording you revised in the next version of their materials.Riley was a little surprised.As far as she was concerned, she had only written down the kinds of phrases that would make her stop and read.Seriously?Seriously.Another message followed with an image of what looked like a revised brochure.◇The first large line read:IT’S OKAY IF YOU HAVEN’T FIGURED THINGS OUT YET.Underneath it:You want to find a job, but you don’t know where to start. You can talk to us about that too.The wording had been c
Tuesday morning, Elliot remembered what he had told Daniel the day before almost as soon as he woke up.I think I might like Riley.When he had finally said it out loud, part of him had expected something to change the next day. Maybe he would start overthinking every message again, or get awkward around her the way he had at the arcade.But in reality, he ate breakfast, took Maple for a walk, and got ready for university without anything feeling different.Which, when he thought about it, made sense.“I’m the only one who figured out one new thing.”Elliot said it while putting on his shoes by the front door.Maple sniffed the toe of one of them.“I’m wearing those today, so don’t sit on them.”◇About an hour after Elliot arrived on campus and finished his first class, his phone buzzed.Riley.Professor, I sent yesterday’s version to the staff\(^o^)/Elliot smiled at the sc
Monday afternoon, after class, Elliot stopped by a campus café with Daniel.Daniel bought coffee, Elliot chose tea, and they took an open table by the window.“How was your weekend?” Daniel asked.“Went to a food festival.”“With the usual four?”“Yeah.”“Have fun?”“Yeah.”Everything was normal up to that point.Daniel removed the lid from his coffee and gave Elliot a brief look.“And?”“What?”“You look like you want to say something.”“...Do I?”“You’ve gotten easier to read lately.”Elliot looked mildly annoyed.◇“I thought about something you said before.”“Which thing?”“Whether I’d feel relieved if I found out I didn’t like Riley.”Daniel didn’t tease him this time.“Okay.”“I don’t think I would.”“All right.”“That’s it?”“What do you want me to say?”“I thought you’d say more.”“I can,
Just before noon on Saturday, the five of them arrived at the food festival Jax had found.About twenty stalls and food trucks were spread across a plaza a short walk from the station. Admission was free, and people could simply buy whatever caught their attention.“First, we do one full lap,” Jax announced at the entrance.“That’s surprisingly sensible,” Tasha said.“If I spend everything at the first stand, I lose.”“Lose to what?”“Myself.”“You already sound like you’re losing.”Riley laughed, and Elliot laughed with her.He had decided on one thing for today. He wasn’t going to keep track of whether he happened to be standing beside Riley, whether he was talking to her more than everyone else, or anything else like that.Ever since Daniel had put the idea in his head, Elliot had been examining every tiny thing he did until it became awkward. So today, he was simply going to act normally and see what happened.







