Page 13 of Out for the Night

He placed his pen inside the spiral of his notebook. “I’ll just read for now.”

“Thanks.”

Matty managed to make it through the first paragraph on page 183. His pen hit paper as he thought about how best to record the information so it would stick.

Flick

Matty sucked in a breath. Next paragraph. He would read the next paragraph first, and then summarize. These textbooks were not written to be entertaining. The language was dry and the sentences complex. But this was not simple information. These concepts were leading the world into the future—

Flick

Coop didn’t quietly turn the page of his book. Heflickedit. Each page that Coop turned sounded as if it were about to rip.

Flick

“Could you please be quiet?” Matty strained for the last of his depleted reserves of politeness.

“I am. I’m just reading.”

“But you’re turning the pages very loudly.”

“Turning the pages loudly? Is that even a thing?”

“Just please. Turn them slowly. Carefully. Don’t just,” and Matty impersonated Coop’s turning style.

“Fine.” Judging by hints of a smile, Matty thought Coop was getting some kind of perverse satisfaction out of this.

Being sociable was hard work!

They returned to studying, but Matty couldn’t concentrate on his book. He counted down the seconds for Coop to turn the page.

Coop lifted the page delicately. It ruffled under his touch like silk fabric. He pulled the page up straight, perpendicular to the spine. It didn’t make a sound.

Flick. He whipped the page over.

“I’m going to find another place to study. Maybe I’ll try the coffee shop.” Matty was crying uncle. Coffee shop meant dorm room, only he hoped there wasn’t a hockey game going on.

“Are you sure?” Coop asked all innocent, with traces of that smirk still lingering on his reed-thin lips that Matty shouldn’t keep noticing.

How could he hate somebody and admire his lips at the same time? Matty shut his textbook. “You can have the table.”

“I’m sorry. I was trying to be quiet.”

Sure you were.Matty yanked his backpack up from the floor. Coop stood up in an attempt to stop him and knocked his coffee over. And because Coop was the type of guy who lived dangerously and didn’t use a lid, his drink streamed all over Matty’s books.

“Oh shit!” Coop bolted around to Matty’s side of the table. “I am so sorry about that. Really.”

At least he sounded genuine and was no longer smirking. Coop ripped off pages from his notebook, which were all blank, and used them to wipe up the coffee soaking itself into Matty’s materials.

“That’s not going to work,” Matty said. “Paper isn’t that absorbent.”

“It can help.” Coop brushed his papers over the wet pages, which just smeared the coffee across more pages. “I can grab paper towels from the bathroom.”

“It’s an air dryer only.”

“Toilet paper then.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Matty tried to push Coop’s hand away, but Coop was insistent on being useful, which was only making things worse.