“So you failed,” Brad repeated. “Just like I said.”
“I think it’s great,” I told her. “You did your research, found a way to undercut the competition, and then took advantage of it. Keep thinking up new ideas and you’ll find your niche, I know it.”
Her eyes widened gratefully. “It means a lot to hear that.”
Brad stood. “Whatever. I’m getting snacks if anyone wants some.”
“I’ll take popcorn,” I said. When Brad was gone, I turned back to Erica. “Sorry you got shut down by the Candy Police. What do you have planned next?”
She was turned fully toward me now, completely ignoring the baseball game. Her eyes lit up with a drive and hunger that Jessica would never possess. “I don’t know! I have some ideas, but I’m probably going to wait until the summer, when I’ll have more spare time to devote to them.”
I felt myself swell with excitement, then deflate. “That’s too bad. I won’t be here to see it.”
Her mouth puckered in confusion. “Why not?”
“I’m going to get my own place after I graduate,” I explained. “Once I start working at the auto shop full-time.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “What about your YouTube channel? I assumed you would focus on that after graduating.”
“I’ll keep working on it as a hobby,” I said. “But it’s not growing as fast as I hoped. It might never take off, so I need to get arealjob. I was actually thinking of quitting the channel completely, so I can take extra shifts at the shop.”
“Don’t do that!” she suddenly blurted. “Your channel isso awesome. When it comes to cars, you’re one of the smartest people I know. You explain everything so naturally, making it easy for people like me to understand.”
She’s been watching my YouTube videos?It meant a lot to me hearing those compliments from Erica. Especially since my subscriber rate wasn’t growing as fast as I had expected. For the first time in a few weeks, I felt myself getting motivated about the channel again.
“I don’t know,” I said. “The idea of focusing on something like that rather than a real job… It’s scary.”
She smiled hopefully at me. “The best things in life should be a little scary, I think. That’s how you know they’re worth doing.”
“I’ve never thought of it like that. Thanks, Erica,” I said. “I’ll stick with it.”
“Good. If you ever get famous, I’ll be your biggest fan.” She nodded emphatically, causing her ponytail to bounce. “Hey, thanks for fixing my AC.”
“No problem,” I said casually. “It was easy.”
It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was a huge pain in the ass. First I put new freon in the car, because I assumed that’s what the problem was. But then I realized there was low pressure in the AC system, which indicated a leak somewhere.
Finding a leak in a car air conditioner is a hassle because it barely drips. When there’s an oil leak, you can spot it within seconds, but not the air conditioner. I had to drain all the liquid in the unit, hook up an air hose, and then wander around the car listening for ahiss.Once that was found, I was able to seal it up, no problem, and add the freon back in. But the whole thing took up my entire Saturday while Erica was at her volleyball tournament.
“It was so nice having cold air again,” she said. “Now I won’t have to bum rides off my brother or parents when it’s hot.”
“Seriously, it’s no problem,” I said. “I like working on cars, in case you didn’t notice.”
She twisted to face the TV again, the bare skin of her arm briefly brushing against mine. “Well, you said you were too busy to fixJessica’scar.”
Shit. I did tell her that, didn’t I?
“Oh, well that’s different.” I quickly thought of an excuse. “I would’ve had to find a replacement side mirror for her, and it has electric motors in it, so it would have taken a lot longer. Besides, you’re more important.”
Erica turned to me and blinked those long eyelashes. “I am?”
I winced internally.Smooth move, Hunter.
“I mean, since I’m living here and all,” I said. “I want to earn my keep by helping out your family. Like with your dad’s old Mustang.”
“Oh. Right.” She turned back to the TV. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she wasdisappointed. But about what, I didn’t know.
Suddenly, the batter on TV cracked a single into center field. The crowd groaned.