Page 34 of A Smart Girl's Guide to Second Chances
‘Your concerted efforts to avoid me have been thwarted by Myers–Briggs.’ I looked up and saw that Alex was sitting down next to me. While pretending to look fascinated by my results, I’d missed the group being shuffled around the room.
‘They’re sorting us based on our personality type animals,’ he said. ‘It’s very Patronus coded.’
‘Wow, that’s a new spin on this exercise,’ I replied, and he laughed.
‘It’s a bold move using something with such a tenuous scientific basis on a bunch of scientists,’ Alex said.
‘I wouldn’t count on a mass revolt. People can’t get enough of any activity where they get to talk about themselves. Trust me, I’ve sat through enough of these.’
I looked around the room. Sure enough, faces were bright and eyes gleamed as people earnestly considered whether they were indeed a ‘dolphin’ or a ‘fox’.
‘My respect for my colleagues has already significantly gone down,’ he said. ‘Was that the point of today?’
‘Yeah, the stated aim is to foster judgement and leave doubting each other’s abilities.’
He laughed.
‘Surely there are other people in this group?’ I asked.
‘I N,’ Alex read off the piece of paper in the middle of the table. ‘Are we the in-crowd? I’ve always wanted to be at the cool table.’ I knew with total certainty that this was something he’d never cared about. But I was glad we were talking about anything but the weekend. Or Oxford.
‘It means we’re introverts with intuition,’ I said. ‘Have you really never done one of these before?’ I pointed at the booklet in front of him that would show his results.
‘No. And I’m intuiting that this is the stuff that gives science a bad name,’ he said.
‘You enjoyed the neuroscience lectures we went to,’ I said. We’d both been obsessed with a course we’d stumbled upon during ‘Lecture Lottery’ called ‘Being Human and the Brain’ and had become the professor’s most enthusiastic unofficial students.
‘I thought “Rule One” was no nostalgia,’ he said.
Before I could reply, Fiona appeared behind us.
‘Any more in this group?’ I asked hopefully, ignoring him.
‘Just you two!’ she replied. ‘Now you, Rebecca, are a wolf.’
‘Ahh.’ I did my best to sound interested.
‘Why is Rebecca a wolf?’ Alex asked.
Fiona nodded as she seriously considered the question, not noticing Alex pressing his lips together to suppress a laugh. ‘Mm, great question,’ she said.
I avoided Alex’s eyes so I wouldn’t giggle.
‘This type of person is powerful and independent. They don’t open up to everyone and are hard to read. Wolves are pack animals and are generally monogamous creatures, finding one mate to spend their lives with.’
‘I can see how that’s relevant information for this project,’ Alex said.
Fiona missed the sarcastic edge to his voice.
‘So true,’ I said, ignoring him. ‘And I’ve found my hewolf. We’re getting married in a few weeks.’
Fiona beamed. I’d known, with my wolflike instincts, that she was the type of woman who’d get around a wedding.
‘Am I also a wolf?’ Alex asked, the teasing edge to his voice replaced with what sounded like genuine interest.
‘No, you’re in Slytherin,’ I said in a low voice, and was rewarded with a flash of mirth in Alex’s eyes.
‘You’re an owl,’ she said.
