Page 85 of Rules for Rule Breaking

“You finally going to tell me what happened?” Kai asked, touching his pencil to the paper.

“I think you already know,” Bobby said as he looked out the window.

Kai’s shoulders shook with laughter. “You’ve been down bad for that girl for years.”

Bobby sank into his chair. “She says she likes me but doesn’t think we should be together.”

Kai put his pencil down for a second and asked, “Do you remember how we became friends?”

“Mr. Melton’s fourth-grade class,” Bobby replied. Kai’s last name is Barbier, and they sat alphabetically. Theodore Bach almost became Bobby’s best friend, but he liked to cheat off his tests, so there was really no competition.

“That’s when we met, but we didn’t become best friends until after I told you I liked you. Instead of being weirded out, you kissed me and cured us both of any delusions we may have had.”

Bobby blushed. He’d almost forgotten how candid Kai could be. It had been a while since they’d had a proper conversation because he’d been so mopey.

“Look,” Kai continued, picking up his pencil. “You’re a strange dude. I don’t know anyone else who would do what you did. You just have to show Winter a little bit of that.”

“She’s so guarded. I don’t know if I can break through again. I ruined my chance.”

“You mean you put the Bobby Bae charm on her, and she didn’t immediately press ‘add to cart’?” Kai asked sarcastically. “Did you even apologize?”

“Yeah. I mean, sort of. I tried to apologize at school, but she walked off.”

“Then try harder.”

It was odd, but Bobby had always been proud of his friendship with Kai. He had oceans of depth to him, and Bobby didn’t think he intended to be funny at times, but he was so honest and plain in his thinking that he made it so you had to laugh at the absurdity oflife. Any of the pretenses Bobby kept up with everyone else weren’t possible with his best friend.

“I think I have an idea,” Bobby said, suddenly lighting up. “You’re going to have to start billing me for your time.”

Kai smirked. “You couldn’t afford me.”

Bobby buried his face in his hands. “Speaking of things we can’t afford—I’m considering visiting Berkeley with you.”

Kai stopped drawing for a moment. “What about Harvard?”

“Not everyone gets accepted to Harvard, and I’ve been thinking about our app a lot lately.”

A smile took over Kai’s face. “We could really get into some trouble out there.”

“I look forward to it. In moderation of course,” Bobby said, taking a bite of his cookie. He grinned with it between his teeth.

Kai gave one of Bobby’s ears a playful tug and said, “You’re such a flirt. I can’t stand you.”

“Maybe you could learn a thing or two from me,” Bobby replied with a shrug.

“And ruin my historic run of striking out with all the ladies, theydies, gentlethems, and gents? Never. I’ll give up now while my dignity is still intact.”

“You just have to put yourself out there. You’re the best person I know.”

Kai’s social anxiety usually had him seeking out his sketchbooks for comfort. However, on the rare occasions he would third wheel with Bobby and Jacqueline, Kai’s sadness over not having someone special of his own was obvious.

Perhaps all he needed was a push.

Bobby spotted a group of girls across the street. He gave them a smile and waved them over.

“Dude, what are you doing?” Kai growled.

“You only have one customer, and I’m not even a paying one.”