“I have plans on Saturday. We could meet on Sunday. Given how crappy our last session went, we’re not going to lose out on a ton of progress if we postpone a single day.”
“You can’t postpone the secrets of the universe!” he seethed. “Cancel whatever you’re doing. It’s not important now.”
“Don’t tell me what is and isn’t important! I told you when I was free, and if you don’t like it you can take a hike!”
I turned around and nearly bumped into Androu.
“Is there a problem here?” he asked, peering over me at Quentin.
Quentin was right—we did need to be more discreet in our conversations. The whole hallway could have heard me deliver that last line.
“No problem,” I said to Androu. “We were just talking about . . .”
Quentin didn’t help me fill in the blanks. He left me swinging in the breeze. I bared my teeth at him and then turned it into a smile for Androu.
“Dinner,” I said. “I had his parents over for dinner and they want to return the favor at their house.”
Androu was still standing very close, so I patted him on the chest reassuringly. “You should come over for dinner someday, too. My house, I mean. Not Quentin’s. Not that his parents don’t want you in his house. They just never met you. That would be sort of weird.”
“Yeeeah,” Androu replied. “Genie, can we talk for a minute?”
He pulled me around the corner and behind a locker.
Now, I had fantasized about this moment—sneaking off somewhere private with Androu—a bunch of times before. So in theory I should have known how to play it smooth, from the flirting to the intensifying conversation, all the way up to the halting but tender first kiss.
But the gesture was less exciting than I’d imagined. Turns out I didn’t like being dragged by the arm.
Androu checked to see that we weren’t followed.
“Hey, so, what’s up with you and Quentin these days?” he asked. “I thought you two didn’t get along.”
“We’ve . . . come to an understanding,” I said. “Why do you ask?”
“You seem different lately.”
“Different how?” I got ready to panic in case he said “stretchier.”
“I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s like ever since Quentin came to this school you’ve been . . . I don’t know. Distracted. You’ve always been such a focused person, but not around him.”
This was a big letdown. I hadn’t seriously been expecting a romantic conversation, but I thought at the very least Androu would want to talk about me and him in some regard. Not me and Quentin.
“That’s what you wanted to ask about? There’s nothing else you wanted to say?”
He shook his head. “Just concerned about you. I’m your friend, you know.”
Aaand down went the Hindenburg. Blown up by a heat-seeking F-bomb. I held back a sigh.
“Quentin and I are working on an extra-credit project,” I said. “Actually, it’s more like we got stuck with one against our will. That’s all there is to it. Work.”
Androu opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. “Also, I appreciate you looking out for me, but honestly, what he and I do together is kind of our business, you know?”
I knew that wasn’t what you were supposed to say to a guy to assure him you were still available, but that was the truth. I didn’t owe anyone a reason for spending time with Quentin, regardless of what we were doing.
Androu seemed ambivalent about my response, but if there was one signal I did know how to give off, it was I don’t want to talk anymore. He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder.
“As long as it’s strictly professional,” he said. “I’m always here if you need me, in case things get weird.”
Well, too late for that. If things got weirder than they already were, I would need a lot more than the support of a platonic friend to cope.