I look over at him with a vague glower still on my face, but I can feel my genuine annoyance melting away now that he’s not being a jerk. “Anytime.”
For a couple minutes, we don’t speak. I certainly didn’t invite him, but he continues to walk next to me along the path through the woods. My stupid backpack threatens to fall again. I try hoisting it, but that snags his attention.
Without a word, he reaches over and takes the backpack from me.
“Hey,” I object, but a second later I sag with the relief of not having the heavy thing on my back.
Hunter frowns when he realizes the strap is broken, but unperturbed, he slings it over his shoulder.
A moment later, I murmur, “Thank you.”
He nods. “This thing weighs a ton. What do you have in here?”
“Rocks.”
He cracks a smile. “Sure feels like it.”
I crack a smile right back. “It’s all my textbooks. Surely yours is just as heavy.”
“Nah. I don’t bring many books home.”
I frown. “How do you do your homework without them?”
“I wing it. I usually read the assigned chapter in class while the teacher is talking, then I only have to answer the questions at home. Only book I have to bring home every day is my math book, and that one’s not heavy.”
“How do you remember the questions if you don’t bring your books? Some of them are really long.”
He digs into his pocket and pulls out a smart phone. “You just take pictures of the assigned questions. Saves you having to haul around a big bag of books all the time.”
“Oh, I see. That’s a good idea, but I don’t have a cell phone,” I inform him.
His eyes widen like I just admitted to being an alien. “What? Who doesn’t have a cell phone?”
“I know,” I agree, rolling my eyes. “My mom insists I don’t need one yet.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s considered child abuse. Blink twice if you need help.”
I shake my head, smiling faintly. “It’s fine. I think she just says that because she can’t afford another line and she doesn’t want to admit it. She had to change jobs recently and I think she makes less at the new one because she went into major budgeting mode. Taking coupons out of that little box at the library, painstaking attention to our grocery list, no more cable. I’m sure she’ll get me a phone when she can afford it.”
“That sucks.”
I shrug. “I don’t watch TV much, anyway. It does suck, though, because right before she switched jobs I started reading this trilogy called Hunger Games. I got books one and two, but I figured I would pick up book three after I finished those, and now we don’t really have the book budget. It really sucks, because book two ended on a massive cliffhanger. I’m on the waitlist for the third book at the library, but I still have a month to go and waiting is the worst. I just want to know what happens and if she and Gale live happily ever after.”
Hunter smirks at me. “You’re such a dork.”
He says it without malice, but I wouldn’t care much either way. I am a bit of a dork; I’m not ashamed.
“I’m heavily invested,” I inform him. “Katniss is awesome, I love her. You should read the books, then you’d see. I’ll loan you my copy of book one if you want to. It’s not a romance or anything, it’s this awesome dystopian story. You’d probably like it.”
“Based on all you know about me?” he asks, amused.
“Based on the fact that it’s awesome, and I assume you like awesome things.”
“I do like awesome things,” he allows.
“There. See? You’d like it.”
“I don’t really read books I don’t have to read for school.”
I blink at him. “Why?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t have time.”
“You probably just haven’t found the right book to pique your interest. Maybe Hunger Games is it. I’m committed to this cause now. You have to read it.”
“You just want to get me hooked so I’ll buy the third book and you can borrow it from me. I see through this smoke screen, Bishop.”
I laugh. “That’s not true. I never even thought of that—although now that you’ve brought it up… that would be a nice silver lining.”
Once we reach the end of the trail, Hunter’s steps slow to match mine. I look over at him, then gesture to the sidewalk to our right. “I’m that way. I should probably take my backpack now.”
Hunter shrugs. “I’ll carry it the rest of the way.”
“You sure? You really don’t have to walk me all the way home.” I try to make it seem like I just don’t want to be a burden, but really I’m not sure about letting a boy in the house when I’m home alone. It has never come up before, but I’m pretty sure my mom would freak out.