“And what?” Leah demanded. “Ask him out? It might be too late by then, especially if he is as hot as you claim he is.”
“Well then maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Oh man, not this again.”
“What?” I said. “I happen to believe in signs.”
“Fate, destiny… all that is bunkum.”
“I disagree.”
“Fine,” Leah said. “Well then I hope the universe sends you a good enough sign, but I hope you know that you’ll be honor-bound to see it through. If you believe in signs, then you have to believe in following them through too.”
“I will,” I said confidently.
We spent a few more minutes talking and arguing and laughing, and when I finally hung up, I felt a lot better. It was nice to have someone to talk to every now
and again. I seriously missed Leah, and sometimes I wondered if she was the only friend I was ever going to have.
I picked myself off Seth’s couch and started tidying up a bit. His apartment was a tiny one bedroom, which meant that the couch was my bed. I was in the kitchen making some dinner for Seth and Cory when I heard the door open. A second later, Cory stuck her head into the kitchen, but she didn’t look all that pleased to see me.
“Oh,” she said. “Hi.”
“Hey, Cory,” I said brightly. “I thought I’d make some dinner… any preferences?”
Cory’s dark eyes flashed around the kitchen, probably checking to make sure I hadn’t changed anything. When I had first met her, I had thought she was pretty, but the more I got to know her, the less attractive she became. I felt that Seth could do better, but he seemed to be happy, so I had shut my mouth.
“Pasta?” she suggested. “There’s a fresh packet in one of the cupboards.”
“Great,” I nodded, trying to be helpful. “I’ll get right on it.”
“So... how’s the apartment hunt going?” she asked, sitting down at the table as I retrieved the packet of pasta.
“Not that great,” I admitted. “All the apartments I’ve seen are a little out of my price range… or else they’re really far from campus.”
“Well… beggars can’t be choosers.”
“Uh… I guess not,” I said, getting the impression that she was leading me somewhere.
“So… how come staying at your mother’s place didn’t work out?” Cory asked bluntly, and I realized she wanted to know why I was intruding on Seth and her when I could have been staying with mom.
“Oh well—”
I was about to mention that mom’s new boyfriend was sleeping over most nights and that made it awkward for me because I was crashing on her couch. But then I remembered that Seth didn’t know about Cliff yet, and I had promised mom that I wouldn’t tell him. I didn’t trust Cory not to tell Seth, so I was forced to backtrack.
“Well… her place is so small,” I said, realizing that Seth’s place was even smaller so that excuse didn’t make sense either, but I went on anyway. “She moved into this apartment when I moved out, and it’s really… small.”
“Smaller than this one?” Cory asked, with raised eyebrows.
“Uh… well no but… her couch is terrible compared with your couch,” I said. “Yours is wider and more comfortable.”
“Huh… I’m glad I spent so much on that couch so that you could enjoy it,” Cory said.
She gave me another passive-aggressive smile and headed out of the kitchen. I stared out after her and sighed. I would have to find someone place to stay sooner rather than later. Cory was right about one thing… beggars really could not afford to be choosers.
7
Devlin