Page 16 of Distortion
Lu gives me a puzzled look.
‘I ... uh ... just moved here from England, so I haven’t got one yet.’
‘Oh, sure,’ she smiles. ‘Email?’
I force out a chuckle. ‘Ugh, I can never remember it!’ I shake my head and laugh a little. ‘Why don’t you let me know when your next battle is and I’ll come down and check it out?’
‘Non-members don’t get to know where the battles are gonna be,’ Travis says with a nasty grin. ‘Guess you won’t be joining us after all. Too bad, cupcake. Bu-bye!’ He waggles his fingers at me.
‘Oh, I see.’ I give Lu a small smile, my heart sinking. ‘Well, maybe I’ll catch you guys next time when I have a phone.’
I turn to leave, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
‘Wait!’ Lu says. ‘I tell you what.’ She flips Travis the bird without looking at him. ‘I actually have the deets of our first one, but they’re on my phone, which is in my bag at work. Wanna come with me? We can swing by and I can let you know where and when?’
I nod, relief coursing through me. ‘Yeah, that would be great. Thanks. That’s very kind of you.’
She waves a hand. ‘It’s no big deal.’
Lu leads me through the crowds. We can’t really speak because she’s in front of me and for that I’m kind of grateful. I need to think, get some talking points together. The weather? Too British. I see that we’re nearing the end of the forced fun zone and lowkey panic.
Think! What do people always talk about here?
Ah! The economy! Gas prices!
I let out a small sigh of relief that I havesomethingprepared if I need it as Lu waits for me.
She gives me a small smile. ‘Don’t worry about those two assholes back at the table.’
She waves a hand through the air in the direction of where we just came from. ‘The misogyny is strong in those two, but don’t worry, you won’t see much of them. They’re usually alone in their dorms playing?—’
‘With their dicks?’ I supply in a burst of inspiration.
I blink at myself. Where did that come from? I’m not usually funny.
Lu freezes midstride and begins to choke. My eyes widen. I’m afraid I’ve upset her, but I realize she’s laughing.
‘Oh, my God, you’re hilarious! I knew I liked you!’
She claps her hands and whirls around again. ‘This way!’
We walk toward the Quad, and I see a small coffee shop on the corner beside the bookshop with a sitting area out front and a hatch that’s closed. The sign outside says ‘Grinder’.
‘Don’t judge it by the name,’ Lu says with an eye-roll. ‘The original owner seemed to think that college kids go get coffee to hook up ... and I don’t think he really understood what the app is about.’
‘Oh,’ I chuckle, but I don’t get it.
She unlocks the door beside the hatch window and goes in. ‘It’s okay,’ she calls from inside. ‘You can come in.’
I step over the threshold and take in the smell of the coffee. The intensity of it surprises me and I take a deep sniff, enjoying it immensely.
‘I know, right? It smellsdivinein here, doesn’t it?’
I nod. ‘Yeah, but how did you know I?—’
‘You made a very distinctive noise when you sniffed the beans just now.’
I look at the floor, making a mental note totryto keep mysuperfluous noises to a minimum. Normal people don’t make weird noises. I heard that enough times at The Heath.
