Page 64 of Devoured

Who?What in the hell was he talking about? And in what context? Did he mean like here? Was Odin some guy that he wanted Penny to date or something?

I just stared at him, but it didn’t look like he was going to offer any further information. “Odin?” I asked.

“Yeah, your star wide receiver,” he said. “Number 13. Beckman. Boy is he great with those catches.”

Wow. Okay.He was talking about Odell Beckham? I just stared at him. Was this some kind of joke about how little he cared about the Giants or something? But if that was the case…why had he gotten Beckham’s number right? “Mhm,” I said. “He is good.” I took a sip of my coffee.

Mr. Taylor nodded. “But the little Manning brother is past his prime. Nothing like good old Sam Bradfury. Lucky number 7. He’ll be great, just needs more time to get used to the plays.”

Sam Bradfury? Who the hell was he talking about now? Did he mean Sam Bradford? And if so…he’d butchered that name just as badly. But also gotten his jersey number somehow correct?

So he wasn’t making fun of the Giants. He was just terrible with names? Really, really bad with names. And bad at spotting good players, because Bradford was made of glass. There was no way he’d be able to stay healthy for an entire season. In my opinion, they should have kept Foles.

The Eagles were in a rebuilding phase. Honestly, the Giants probably were too. But I’d choose Eli Manning over Sam Bradfury, as Mr. Taylor put it, any day.

“So you think he’ll be your quarterback for a long time?” I asked. I refused to repeat the name wrong. I wanted him to like me, but I just couldn’t do it. And correcting him seemed like a bad move too.

He sighed. “No. That Chucky Keller got rid of all our best players. I hope he gets fired.”

Chucky who?I tried to wrack my brain. Was he talking about the Eagles’ coach, Chip Kelly? I bit the inside of my cheek so I wouldn’t laugh.

“At least we got Nelly Agnolotti.”

“Who?” Was he talking about a rapper or a delicious Italian pasta dish right now?

“Number 17.” He stared at me like I was the one who didn’t know anyone’s name. “He’s going to be one of the greatest wide receivers we’ve ever had. You just watch. He’ll be better than Beckman.”

Did he mean Nelson Agholor?If so he was dead wrong…because Agholor had the slipperiest fingers I’d ever witnessed. He was no Odell Beckham. With all the wrong names this conversation was getting more confusing by the second. But I had to hand it to him, he did know all the players’ numbers. I guess he was a numbers man.

“So you really think the Eagles can beat the Giants on Monday night?” I asked, trying to steer him away from the names of specific players.

“You betcha.”

Wishful thinking.“I guess we’ll find out. The Giants are definitely having a better year.”

He laughed. “Just you wait and see. Are you into stocks at all?”

That was a pretty strange question to ask a college student. But it did align with the fact that he seemed interested in numbers. I had quite the portfolio, but it didn’t really seem like I should know much about this topic. “A little,” I lied.

“Have you heard about that Tesller? I think that’s a good one right now.”

Did he mean Tesla? It really felt like he was fucking with me. “Mhm,” I said. This had to be one of the strangest conversations ever. But he was being nice. Unless this was some kind of weird prank. I preferred this over the angry glares though.

We made our way back to Penny’s floor as he told me all about Tesller.

I wondered what he’d think of Ian’s Tesla.

Penny’s doctor was standing outside her room looking at a chart. We approached her and Mr. Taylor started asking her a few questions as we walked back into the room.

"Okay, Penny," the doctor said. She clicked a few buttons on the monitor and read the report. "Everything looks normal now. You all set to get out of here?"

"Absolutely,” Penny said. She grimaced as the doctor took the IV out of her hand.

"Take it easy, okay." She handed Penny some forms to fill out. "Release forms."

Penny quickly signed her name and handed the clipboard back to her.

"Nice meeting all of you." The doctor turned to me and smiled.

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