Page 69

“Yeah?”

“We almost picked you,” he said. “We did. And had Jensen not tried out, we would’ve. But your main problem is that you’re in your head too much. We can see you thinking. Trying to get it just right.You need to relax behind the mic. Let yourself make mistakes. Mistakes make you more relatable.”

“I have a feeling Jensen will be very relatable, then,” I said. I couldn’t help myself. I understood what Nolen was trying to say, but too many mistakes were just messy.

Chapter

twenty-three

I’LL SHOW HIM FRESH BLOOD,I texted that day after school as I headed through campus to my car, recounting what had happened during podcast class in a string of long, ranty texts. I hadn’t told them at lunch. I had still been seething, and we had been surrounded by people I hadn’t wanted to overhear my rage-filled monologue.

What does that mean?Max responded.Are you going to stab him?

I let out a laugh, then typed:I want to.

Let’s stay out of jail,Lee responded.

Fresh blood,I typed again.Nolen acts like it’s an original idea. Features are basic.

Deja said nothing. I wondered if she was driving, on her way to work. I realized I didn’t know her schedule. Usually, I asked her every Sunday. I hadn’t asked her this week.How did soccer conditioning go on Sunday, Deja?

Again, there was no response. She was definitely on her way to work. It was Thursday. She normally worked on Thursdays.

I reached the parking lot, and as I tucked my phone away and stepped onto the asphalt, I saw Theo across the way, heading for his car. I looked both ways to make sure there was no traffic and rushed to catch him. He had his earbuds in, so it was pointless to call out his name. I got to him right before he reached his car, though, and I plucked one of them out.

His head whipped in my direction, a look of confusion or irritation on his face. When he saw it was me, that look transformed into a smile.

“Hi,” I said. “What are you doing?”

He pointed to his car. “Going home. What areyoudoing?”

“Trying to channel yoga teachings because Nolen is driving me insane. He’s a Jensen fanboy, I think.” I was trying to forget the other things he said. Because the bottom line was that he’d admitted I would’ve made the host spot had Jensen not tried out.

“I think there’s a club,” Theo said.

I held up his earbud. “Why do you always walk around with these? You don’t like to talk to anyone?”

“I talk to you a lot.”

I shouldn’t have let myself be flattered by that, but I did. “Your friends annoy you?”

“I like music.”

“Well…” I held out his earbud for him, and he took it. “This is one of the reasons people think you’re a snob.”

He smirked. “So I’ve heard.”

I remembered that first night I’d met him, how he knew the order of the pool lights. “You spend a lot of time in your head.”

He shrugged. “I have a lot to think about.”

“What are you thinking about now?” I asked.

“I was wondering what you were doing tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“Yes, that thing that comes after today.”