Page 16 of Out for the Night

“I’m not sure about this.”

Kelvin took out another wad of bills from his other pocket and ploppedthemon the bed. Coop’s eyes lit up at the sight.

“Do you just carry wads of bills around?”

“My dad says it’s good to keep some cash on you. You never know when you might need it.” Kelvin glanced at Coop’s desk. “Is that a loaner laptop?”

Coop didn’t say, but he didn’t have to. He and Kelvin exchanged a look, which brought a disgusting smile on the kid’s face.

“Coop, this could be a very lucrative gig for you.”

He thought of his lucky Copenhagen sock, and of being able to send his family more envelopes. Maybe he could get his sister a new bike and his mom a new winter coat and his dad a new suit for interviews. Matty could withstand a tiny drop in his grades, which would be corrected by the curve.

Coop nodded at Kelvin.

“Excellent.” He waved goodbye and walked out.

“Hold up,” Coop called out. Kelvin dipped back in the room. “I’m going to need some petty cash, just in case I have to take him to McDonald’s or some shit.”

“I gave you more than enough.”

“Well, my fee doesn’t include incidentals. And then there’s also service charges, Paypal fee, tax, and tip.”

Kelvin grimaced, which gave Coop a sense of satisfaction. He kicked his feet up onto the bed.

“How much?”

“I’m going to need about an extra $140.”

Chapter 6

Matty

Matty jabbedhis fork into his pile of French fries and gravy, a daily staple of his lunch. One of his favorite parts about college was getting to make his own food choices. That was a benefit of being an adult. Carb-centric meals.

He sat alone at a table against the far wall, allowing him to scan the entire dining room. Just in case any food projectiles were shot his way, a daily staple of his high school lunch. That seemed highly unlikely for kids at Browerton, though he still ate with one eye open. Chalk it up to post-traumatic stress.

One of his classmates could be another Coop, trying to mess with him. He didn’t understand why Coop had picked him out at the library. Matty supposed it was animal nature to pick on the lone kid separated from the pack. Yet he’d never heard of a predator searching out prey in a random room at the library. His parents had warned him about being successful.People are jealous of success, and they will do anything to tear you down. Even just appearing to be hard working will make them react in anger.

Matty tried not to think about it, and he mostly succeeded. He hated how sometimes, he’d think about Coop’s smile or his arms.I can’t be sexually attracted to a bully. That’s wrong on so many levels.

And it was wrong that Coop was looking at him now. Did the guy put a tracking device on him?

Coop sauntered over and dropped a book on Matty’s table. It poofed against the wood. Matty ran his hand over the familiar cover.

“My robotics textbook.”

“I found a copy on Amazon. I figured you needed a new one.”

Matty noticed a jar of something in Coop’s other hand.Tequila? Urine?

“What is that?”

Coop handed it over.

Extra virgin olive oil?Matty eyed the bottle with confusion and placed it on top of the new textbook.

“I wanted to extend an olive branch.” Coop tapped his finger on the bottle’s cap. “But I have no idea where the hell you get an olive branch, so I got the next best thing.”