Page 18 of Nerdelicious
I shoot a quick glance in his direction on the other side of Grace, and my stomach twists. He’s focused on his plate. He probably thought I was laughing at him earlier. I have to explain. Without sounding like a freak.
Too late, you filthy muggle, Delores Umbridge tells me.
Last night I was drunk and emotional and he got a front-row seat to my stupidity. Then even more foolishness today, and I don’t even have the excuse of being drunk. He probably hates my guts, especially since he had to carry them upstairs last night.
“Where are you working this summer?” Annabel asks me.
“Bodean’s.”
Jude reaches for a biscuit from a bowl in the center of the table and points it at Beast across from him. “Beast here got a summer job at Bodean’s as well. He’ll be working security.”
I glance down the table at Beast again. What are the odds? Actually, probably pretty high, since there are literally less than a handful of eating establishments in the area. And I know he’s on the culinary track at school... but security? Did he apply for the kitchen job, too?
“I’ll be in the kitchen mostly,” I say quickly. “But also helping the bar after food service ends. We probably won’t even see each other.” Our gazes lock.
I don’t know if I’m reassuring him or myself. I force my eyes down to my plate, forking a bite of pulled pork into my mouth. I can’t tell what he’s thinking. Is he angry we’ll be working in the same building? Ambivalent?
The table has been silent for too long.
Can they feel the tension?
“We need to go camping this summer, before Fred leaves and while school is still out,” Annabel says.
Fitz nods. “Our parents used to take us up to Lake Richardson every year. We know a sweet spot that doesn’t get too crowded on the south side of the lake.”
“We’ll have to go when y’all aren’t working.” Reese nods at me. “Isn’t Bodean’s closed Sundays and Mondays?”
“Yes.” I take a sip of sweet tea.
“I’ve never been camping.” Grace tilts her head, her posture perking up again.
“I’ve never been either,” I say.
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“My parents’ idea of camping is renting a cabin in the Poconos and having only one bathroom for a week.”
Grace smiles, but the movement doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “That sounds fun, too.”
Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it. I don’t know what happened to her parents and why she’s being raised by Granny. Even though I want to strangle my parents half the time, I’m lucky to have them.
“When do you start work, Fred?” Annabel asks.
“This coming Tuesday.”
Grace groans. “This Tuesday? In, like two days? I hate waking up early.”
“Then go to bed earlier,” Granny tells her. “Work is good for the soul. Like I always say, to make an omelet, you need to break a leg or two.”
A beat of silence while everyone at the table glances at each other, and then the room bursts into laughter. Except for Granny.
“What?” Granny squints at us. “It’s a sayin’, look it up.”
After dinner, it’s chore time. Every week, Granny press-gangs us into helping out around the farm. As a method of defense, Annabel, Reese, and I have volunteered as the regular dishwashers. In reality, it’s an excuse to stay in the kitchen and out of the heat so we can drink moonshine and talk.
I tell them about my conversation with my parents and how I misrepresented my job hunt.
“I’ve applied for nothing. I don’t even know what to do with my life.”
