Page 16 of Out of My Mind

“Because I’m gay, I can’t be into sports?”

“You’re putting stereotypes into my mouth. I never heard you mention it.”

“That’s something that friends discuss, and we’re only roommates,” Mac said. Gideon seemed to take it in stride, smiling to himself.

Gideon tossed a piece of gum in his mouth and offered one to Mac and Delia. “Seth doesn’t like chewing gum. He’s afraid of swallowing it.”

“I swallowed a hunk of Bazooka when I was nine, and if you cut open my stomach, you’d find it still intact,” Seth yelled.

“I can’t believe corporations are allowed to sell candy like that to little children,” Delia said. “This is why obesity rates are skyrocketing.”

“Soda is the new smoking,” Seth said. “Have you seen—”

“Fed Up?”

“Yes!”

“What an amazing documentary! Of course it got buried on Netflix. That’s what the food-industrial complex wants.”

Delia and Seth were leaning over Mac and Gideon like they were chair arms.

“I have to eat healthy,” Seth said. “I don’t have a choice because of my allergies.”

“And do you wonder why suddenly all of these people have nut and gluten allergies? I wonder if it’s because we’ve been force-fed synthetic, GMO, high-fructose corn syrup crap for decades.”

“You think?” Seth scratched his head. Mind officially blown.

“It’s possible.” Delia shrugged. “It’s better than the other b.s. explanations we’ve been given. I want to start a petition that replaces all the candy in the campus vending machines with healthier, organic options.”

“I would love that!”

The ref blew his whistle, and the players got into position for the tipoff.

“I heard that there’s one organic concession stand in this place,” Seth said.

“Really?” Delia asked. “Where?”

“I don’t know. Want to go find it?”

Seth and Delia nodded at each other and stood up just as Browerton’s player tipped the ball to his teammate. Seth climbed over the roommates, and rushed out with Delia.

Gideon and Mac shared a look likeWhat just happened?

The ref blew his whistle. Players lined up for a foul shot. Gideon leaned over to Mac without taking his eyes off the court. “Tomorrow is October first. That means your two weeks are up,” he said. “And I think you passed the trial period.”

Mac’s ears perked up. He turned to Gideon just in time to watch his face break out into a wide smile that lifted his cheeks and showed off his gleaming teeth. Mac’s beating heart was a little bit more noticeable in his chest.

Gideon extended his hand for a shake. “Officially roommates?”

Mac shook it. “Officially roommates.”

And just officially roommates, he told himself.

CHAPTER SIX

Gideon

Gideon couldn’t unsee it. He knew that. He tried not thinking about it, but that made him think about it even more. Think about what it could do.