Page 63 of Hypothetical Heart
“Do you know how to do this?” I ask, lookingover at Logan.
The farther into the school year we get, the more apparent it becomes that being good at math means absolutely nothing when it comes to calculus. I used to think I was a natural until I had to learn the definition of derivative.
“Not entirely,” Logan sighs, tapping his pencil against the desk. “Ask Gen.”
“Evie.” I tap Genevieve on the shoulder, causing her to turn around. “Can you teach us how to do this?”
“I’ll teach you,” she says before facing Logan. “But I’m not helping you.Youhaven’t paid attention all semester.”
“Gen, this shit is so boring,” he sighs, pushing his fingers through his hair.
“Well, it wouldn’t be if you actually tried because then you would know how to do it,” she snips, and all of us know it’s true.
Logan’s smart, really smart. He just doesn’t outwardly prove it like Genevieve does, which is why most people underestimate him. Most people don’t know that a majority of school work comes easily to him and that he wants to be a doctor.
His only downfall is he’s spent so much of his life being so naturally smart that when something stumps him, he doesn’t give it the time of day. He moves on.
“Gen, come on,” he sighs.
“Oh hush, we both know Winnie will show you how to do it after I teach her,” Genevieve snaps back.
I laugh because I know it’s true, and he winks at me.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he smirks, making my heart flutter in my chest. There’s something about Logan’s pleas I will never be able to resist.
“Okay, so show us how to do it.” I lean over onto her desk.
She begins describing all the different ways you use thetheorem we’re learning about, all of its rules and exceptions. Meanwhile, Logan is staring at his phone, continuing to not pay attention.
“Hey!” I smack him lightly on the side of the head. “You can at least pretend to pay attention.”
But when he looks over at me, I can sense something more daunting than calculus is happening. “Holy shit, someone made a post about Eloise on Fairwood Locals.”
Genevieve’s head snaps up, and by the look on her face alone, I know she knows something we don’t. “What?”
I lean over, trying to catch a glimpse of what he’s looking at.
Genevieve sighs, putting her head in her hands. “What does it say?” We both have a feeling whatever Logan is reading can’t be good.
Fairwood Locals is the town gossip page, where some of the biggest narcs within Fairwood like to post information they should not know for the entertainment of other townsfolk.
I’ve never been on it, but Genevieve has gotten backlash over the years–mostly from parents who think she cheated her way to Valedictorian and are demanding retribution. Nothing bad enough for her to solicit her opinion on it, though.
“There are pictures of her and some girl making out in Meet in the Margins, but there’s no way to tell who the other girl is.” Her relationship just got exposed on Fairwood Locals, and we didn’t even know she was with someone.
“Does El know?” Genevieve asks, not waiting for an answer. “Should we tell her?”
“Where is she right now?” Logan asks.
“Trig,” I say before looking toward Genevieve. “Did you know about this?”
Genevieve has never been a good liar—maybe to other people, but never to the ones she loves—so I know she’ll answer honestly.
“I knew the bare minimum. All she told me was that she was hanging out with someone as more than a friend,” she admits. “I had no idea it was serious.”
I place a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from getting up. “There’s no way you could have known, and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“We need to go find her,” Genevieve says, grabbing her bag off the ground. “Class ends in four minutes, anyway. I doubt Mrs. Kisler will care.” Logan and I both nod, gathering our things.
