Page 66 of Faux Real
“And what is wrong with people?” I ask, checking the time. She ought to be here any minute. “It’s good to socialize, Cliff. Get out there and charm your fellow classmates.”
Cliff blinks. “I don’t seeyousocializing. Why don’tyouguys go to the common room, and I can stay in here, alone, by myself.”
“Mate, come on, it’s only for a couple of hours, I think you’ll survive. Go talk to a girl or something,” I say, feeling quite sympathetic for my anti-social friend. “Maybe uh—Maxine’s there or something.”
“Maxine?” Cliff’s face reddens. “Why would I care if Maxine is there?”
I scoff, cocking my head. “We share four classes together; you think I haven’t noticed the way you stare at her? Maybe it’s time for you to actuallytalkto the girl, yeah? Use your words. Start withhi. That always works for me.”
“Hi? Just say hi?” Cliff mutters, taking several shallow breaths. “I can do that. I can say hi.” He clears his throat. “Hi, I’m Cliff.”
“Mate, she knows who you are, you don’t need tointroduceyourself,” I say, narrowing my eyes. Bloody hell, he’s hopeless. “Just ask her what’s up, how are classes, shit like that.”
“Okay, okay, I can do that. I can say what’s up.” Cliff nods. “Easy peasy.”
“Yes,easy peasyindeed,” I say, suppressing a smile. I almost want to go and watch that disaster unfold. “You’ve got this, mate. I believe in you.”
“Hello?” Kennedy’s melodic voice calls out as the door creaks open. “Can I come in?”
“You certainly can,” I say, grinning as Kennedy enters our dorm room. “What a surprise, you’reearly.”
“It’s a gift,” she says, adjusting her white cardigan. She smiles at my flatmate. “Hey, Cliff, how’s it going?”
“It’s going, it’s going,” Cliff says, grabbing his phone off the desk. “Is uh—is Maxine in the common room?”
“Yeah, she’s there for the movie,” Kenny says, striding toward my bed. “She’s a big Star Wars fan. I think she brought her lightsaber down and everything.”
Cliff blinks. “Really? Oh, okay, cool cool.” He nods at me. “Well, have fun and uh—I’ll be back later I guess.” He exits the room, closing the door behind him.
Kennedy eyes the door for a second, a contemplative glimmer in her amber eyes. “So,” she says, choosing to keep the door shut.Interesting. “What’s on the docket?” She kicks off her shoes before hopping on my bed and leaning against the wall. “What’re we watching?”
“Please make yourself at home,” I smirk, grabbing a bag of popcorn from my desk as I get my laptop and settle down beside her. “Here, your favorite.”
“You’re too kind.” She rolls her eyes, nudging me with her shoulder as she opens the bag. “But seriously, what are we watching? Is it action? I don’t really like action movies.”
“You’renota fan of explosions and gunfights? How shocking,” I tease, opening the computer. “Well, it tooka lotof deliberation and thought but I narrowed it down to two options.” I pull up the recently downloaded file. “We’ve gotAlmost FamousandThis Is Spinal Tap.”
“I’ve seenThis Is Spinal Tapbefore, I didn’t really like it,” she admits, shifting beside me and pulling the corner of my blanket over her legs. “What’sAlmost Famous?”
“Ah, I was hoping you hadn’t seen it,” I say, her sweet perfume filling my nostrils as I glance at her. “It’s about this teenage journalist who has to write aRolling Stonearticle on this band he’s touring with.” I open Safari. “Want the synopsis?”
“Sure,” Kenny says, squinting at the screen as I do a quick Google search. “Is that Kate Hudson?”
“Yes, the iconic Penny Lane,” I say, tilting the screen toward her. “She’s a groupie in the movie. Follows the band on tour.”
“A groupie, hey?” Kenny muses, a hint of amusement sparkling in her eyes. “Doyouhave any groupies?”
I grin. “Well, youdidsay you liked our songs, so I mean...”
“Sorry to break it to you,love, but I won’t be chasing you around on tour anytime soon,” she teases, brushing her hair behind her ear. “You’ll have to find a new superfan.”
“That’s a shame,” I smirk, queueing up the movie. “You’ll regret that when I’m all rich and famous.”
“You’re already rich,” Kenny notes with a chuckle.
“But I’m notfamous,” I state, quickly standing up and turning off the lights. “However, if we win battle of the bands, Imightbe.”
“Battle of the bands?” she asks.
