when itâs snowing she can still get fresh oregano.â
âPerfect,â I said, jotting it down.
âOkay, Iâm back!â Brooke dropped into her seat breathlessly. âWhat did I miss?â
âWe snuck in some gift advice and talked about how lucky Timâs been that nobodyâs IDâd him in the video,â said Heather.
Brooke narrowed her eyes. âYeah, Iâve beenmeaning to tell youââshe looked at meââIâve got a bad feeling.â She turned to our other two friends. âIâve been putting my Young Sherlock skills to work.â
Her skills were at least a week behind, but I humored her with a nod. âThanks for the heads-up.â
âNow,â she said, rubbing her hands together. âLetâs answer some more requests!â
At the end of school I found Gabby and asked her to remind Uncle Theo to come back for me.
âYou know heâs not going to be happy about this,â she said.
âI know, but Iâve got a project to work on. And schoolâs the most important thing in my life.â
âYesterday you said pie was the most important thing in your life,â Gabby said with a frown. âRight before you ate the last piece.â
âI meant pi, the number we use in math,â Iinformed her. âMe eating blueberry pie at the time was just a coincidence.â
âYouâre a terrible liar,â she said with a smirk.
If only she knew.
I waited in the student lounge, hoping Ryan wouldnât show up, but a few minutes later, there was a burst of noise from the hallway as he opened the door and walked in.
âLetâs make this quick,â Ryan said. âI donât like being at school any longer than I have to.â
âFine,â I said, approaching him. âWeâll start with social skills. Lesson one.â I held out my right hand, and Ryan recoiled.
âDid you pick your nose or something?â he asked.
I sighed. âNo, thatâs something youâd do. Iâm trying to shake your hand.â
âOh.â Ryan reached out and shook it.
âNow, we try polite conversation,â I said. âHowâs it going?â
âNone of your business,â he shot back.
I closed my eyes. âIâm not asking a personal question. Iâm simply asking how you are.â
âOh,â Ryan said again. âLetâs start over.â
I offered him my hand, and he shook it.
âHowâs it going?â I asked.
âPretty good,â he said.
Then we stared at each other.
âNow, you ask how Iâm doing,â I coached.
âBut I donât care how youâre doing,â said Ryan.
âItâs the polite thing to do,â I said. âEven if you donât care.â
Ryan rolled his eyes. âFine. How are you doing?â
âPretty good. Hungry, though. I hope they have good snacks here.â
Ryan widened his eyes and glanced around. âThere are snacks?â
âNo, weâre pretending to be at the party,â I said, âwhere there will be snacks.â
Ryan nodded. âCan we have snacks now, though?â
I was about to say something sarcastic but thought better of it. âActually, thatâs not a bad idea.â
Luckily, the student lounge happened to have both a drink machine and a snack machine. I bought two different types of soda and one bag of chips and carried them back to where Ryan was waiting.
âHere you go,â I said, tossing him one of the soda cans.
Ryan made a face. âGrape? Gross!â
âOff to a great start,â I said. âIf someone offers you something you donât like . . .â
He studied the can like the answer might be printed next to the ingredients. Then he held it out to me. âNo thank you?â he asked.
âHe can be taught!â I said, taking the can from him. âNowââ
Ryan swiped the other drink