Page 18 of Not Fooling Anyone

Lexie:Where are you?

I stand and shout her name, waving my arm till she spots me.

She ducks her head and ascends the steps along the side of the room until she reaches my row, scooting past others in the aisle.

“All you had to do was text me,” she mutters as she sets down her backpack and takes the seat I saved for her. “Not shout so half the room looked at us.”

“Who cares?” How am I supposed to describe over text where I am in a lecture hall with over two hundred people in it?

She shrugs. “Thanks for not shouting Pookie Bear, I guess.”

“I can next time if you want.”

Her lips twist. “As long as you don’t mind me shouting back Snookums.”

I grin at her. I like this Lexie who gives back as good as she gets.

“Where are Christian and Amber? Did they get cold feet?”

“He texted and said he’s running late.”

She unpacks her bag, setting out a notebook, a pen, a highlighter, and other various essentials until there’s not an inch of space left on her desk.

“Got enough stuff there?”

She gives me a dirty look. “I like to be prepared.”

I hold up my hands. “No judgment here.”

“Where are your things? Don’t you take notes?”

I tap my temple. “It’s all up here.”

She blinks and shakes her head, muttering something under her breath about dumb jocks.

I bite my lip to contain my laugh. “Did you finish your reading last night?”

She nods, opening her notebook to a fresh page, labeling the date in the upper left-hand corner.

“And are they at war or peace?”

“War, so far. I could barely keep my eyes open after work finishing it.”

“Don’t torture yourself. Read the Cliff’s Notes or something.”

“The teacher makes it sound so interesting, though. In class, everyone’s talking about the book like it’s the second coming, but it’s as if I’m reading something entirely different.”

“So Tolstoy isn’t your thing. Try Pushkin or Dostoevsky.”

Her head swivels, staring at me. “How do you know about those authors?”

“Oh, look. There’s Christian.”

He and Amber make their way down the aisle, taking the two empty seats next to Lexie. “Hey, what are you guys up to?”

“Just discussing the finer points of Russian literature,” I reply.

She can’t completely suppress her eye roll as she turns from me.

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