Page 44 of Ink & Ambition

“Hmm,” Danika hums, finally relaxing into the arm chair across from the couch. Her eyes narrow and she holds her fist over her mouth but doesn’t say anything else.

After a few too many moments of silence, I break. “What are youhmming about?”

“Nothing,” Danika purses her lips. “Justveryinteresting, that’s all.”

“What are you getting at?” I ask, getting up from the couch to grab a water bottle from the fridge, suddenly very parched.

“Nothing, nothing,” she says too casually. “Just…why do you think Ryan was so insistent on walking you out the door?”

After taking a large sip, I cap the bottle as I head back to my spot on the couch. “Because he’s a gentleman?”

“I guess but…”

“I don’t know, Danika, but I’m sure it’s not what you’re thinking. Ryan is a nice guy. He doesn’t get caught up in all this prank nonsense.”

“You sure about that?”

No. I’m not.

“Well, speaking of prank nonsense, what did Alex say about you coming in with Ryan?” Sydney asks.

“I mean, he wasn’t exactly thrilled but he got over it,” I respond, picking at the paper wrapper of the water bottle. I can tell they’re both itching to ask me more about it but there’s really nothing more to say. Alex has no reason to be upset with me talking to Ryan. I stayed away from him for prank purposes, but now that my part is done, I’m free to do what I want. And Alex and I are free to just keep working on the podcast together and cultivating the weird friendship we have growing.

My phone vibrates again and I remember the feeling from earlier. I take out my phone to reveal two texts, sent about ten minutes apart.

Ryan

Thanks for keeping me company tonight

Frat boy

Almost lock in time! The deltas have no idea what's coming. Thanks again, sunshine. Couldn't have done it without you

The texts make me smile but the trouble is that I’m not sure which one truly causes the grin. Without answering either boy, I grab my laptop and write up the article for the paper while everything is fresh in my mind. As confusing as this night was, at least I got a front page article out of it.

When I wake up, I’m surprised to have had a restful dreamless sleep.Relieved, more like it.Pulling my socks on, I venture out into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Sydney should be walking in any minute, her Monday schedule similar to mine with our first class starting at nine am.

I open the cabinet to find the empty coffee tin and sigh deeply. Sydney comes out of her room as I close the cabinet.

“Morning, Margot,” she says, always the peppiest, even first thing in the morning.

“No coffee,” I reply, like the caffeine-addicted robot that I am.

“Shoot,” Sydney looks down at her watch. “If we leave in five minutes, we can hit Cafe Royale on our way to campus.”

I don’t need her to tell me twice as I bolt back into my bedroom to change into the first outfit I pull out of my closet and then zoom to the bathroom to brush my teeth and run a comb through my tangled locks. I’m back in the living room and ready to leave before that five minute alarm in Sydney’s brain could go off. All she does is laugh as we head out the door.

In another ten minutes we’re leaving the cafe, coffees in hand and smiles on our faces. At least there’s definitely a smile on myface as I take another sip and let the warm, rich goodness flow through me.I really am addicted.

“You think she looks that happy while thinking about other things or only coffee?” The familiar voice breaks me from my coffee euphoria.

Alex and Keith stand in front of me, both smirking incessantly like they just made the most clever joke the world has ever heard.

“Too bad you’ll never find out,” I reply, pushing myself through them, creating a Margot-shaped hole that Sydney walks through after me, truly just for fun.

“You wound me, sunshine!” Alex calls from behind me. I refuse to look back at him. “See you later!”

I wave at him from over my head, still not looking back as Sydney and I get into the car to head to campus.

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