with the self-healing wire anyway. It might help, actually, to get something else going. Creative juices and all that. Count me in.â
chapter three
Rebecca Logan sat in the quad, enjoying the serenity of the afternoon on campus. Granted it was quite noisy, with the students racing to class, the trisexual (whatever that meant) alliance fliering the place and that crazy townie handing out pamphlets on his interpretation of the Book of Revelations and The Da Vinci Code to anyone who would come within five feet of him and his dirty trench coat, however accidentally. She was fairly sure there was some kind of restraining order on him. Maybe it didnât apply to open spaces.
Anything was better than the house, where the sisters had not yet moved on to the next bright-and-shiny thing. Casey and Ashleigh were keeping them on a steady course of excitement over the sweetheart competition. A few decibels higher and it would be more ear-damaging than her iPod turned all the way up during a Mariah Carey song.
Sheâd made a detailed list in her mind of all of the more appealing audio options than a ZBZ soundtrack of overexcited sorority girls when Evan Chambers, her current boyfriend,appeared bearing coffee. The cheap campus Coffee Farm brand, but it was something. Mr. Moneybags was now Mr. Hobo-Bag-On-A-Stick, thanks to giving up his trust fund in a burst of youthful rebellion against his possessive and overprotective parents. Rebecca knew something about bad parenting by way of her own former-senator father and his prostitution-ring scandal that, to be honest, came as no great surprise to her. The biggest shocker for her was that she had to hear it from the media before he told her himself.
Evan handed her a coffee. âHi. Should I make some kind of comment about how down in the dumps you look?â
âPlease never use the phrase âin the dumpsâ in front of me. Again, anyway.â But she did accept the coffee. She didnât have to smile to show her approval. Rebecca didnât smile unless she was trying to scare someone. âWhy do you ask? I could be mad about anything. It doesnât mean I want to talk about it.â
âWell, you are spending time in the quad. That kinda qualifies for an insanity hearing. I thought they had a court order on The Da Vinci Code guy.â
âI think you can have restraining orders only against specific people, not buildings. Not that Iâve ever had to file oneâ¦yet.â She seemed to hiss yet. As if it was destined to be in her future.
âMaybe someone should buy him a copy of The Lost Symbol so he can change his material.â
âI donât want to encourage him. So, whatâs up with you?â
âWith me? Same old, same old. Classes.â
âYou go to those?â
âUnlike Kappa Tau, we do take academics seriously. If I didnât go to class, they might kick me out of Omega Chi.As if they need another reason. And then thereâs the secret, demeaning and off-campus part-time job I have to take the bus to because my car was repossessed.â
âAre you asking for a ride?â
âDid I add demeaning? Because I was sure I did. No. No, no, no. Definitely not.â Evan smiled in that oh-so-cute-puppy-dog way of his, his blond hair boyishly askew from the breeze. He sat down next to her on the bench. âAt least at the current job, I canât be fired for not smiling.â
âYouâve been fired for not smiling?â
âThose themed restaurants are pretty serious about it, it turns out. And also? The tipping is not what it should be for someone who has to wear suspenders.â He smiled when she smiled, however accidentally. âSo, I do have to ask about the long face.â
âI know. Apparently Iâm supposed to look happy all the time, at least between now and the competition. Thanks for nominating me, by the way.â
âWas that a thank-you or a complaint? Because I