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CHAPTER 8 EVIE

“Why the hell are you smiling?” Lis moaned from her bed, covers over her head. But Evie knew her roommate; Lis had probably been up for at least an hour, and just refused to get up. Shoes off, socks on, Evie jumped on the bed, seating herself below her feet. Her roommate half-heartedly kicked at her. “Seriously, there’s already enough sunshine in this room. And you smell like the outside. Did you go running?”

“Yeah, and I ran into Viet.”

“Ah, forensics guy.”

“Guess what? He was puzzling over your packet, consulting with the cows near the Dairy.” Evie pulled out Viet’s packet and placed it on Lis’s duvet.

“That was an unexpected sentence.” Lis sat up, lazily pawed at the pages, then flipped through his answers, squinting because her glasses were elsewhere. “Nice report. Got the right person. You didn’t help him, did you?”

“No, I don’t even know the answer. I just told him not to be philosophical and put No one belongs like that—”

“Ugh, I can’t believe I dated that himbo for two weeks.” The pages fell off Lis’s bed. She stretched and yawned, not dwelling over her unfortunate dating history.

Evie made a mental note to brew coffee for them. “Remind me what’s the point of the test anyway? It seems vague—there could be a ton of answers that people could spin.”

“That’s not the point—it’s the intent.”

“Intent?”

“Anyone who spends time figuring this out really wants to figure it out. We want someone like that in the club. Let’s be honest—doing anything gets you invisible points. There’s no money in it. There’s no degree. It’s really for fun. But, like, an intense sort of fun. So a person with intent would be nice.”

Evie was pretty sure Lis meant obsession .

The moment she had spotted Viet this morning, she didn’t even know it was him, that same boy from Saturday Sins. She almost missed him if not for his burnt yellow sweatshirt. He was so still; he clutched the papers like a person laid to rest with their bouquet of flowers. When she came closer, and he didn’t move at the sound of her voice, that was when she panicked slightly and started shaking Viet.

Honestly, she didn’t expect their conversation to go the way it did, but it was nice to have someone outside her circle understand her so well. He wasn’t the eldest, but as an only child, he knew what it was like to live under a microscope.

Evie almost wanted to ask him more about being an only child, but a shadow passed over his face. And it wasn’t from the clouds above them. Then he tried to make a joke, and even though she laughed, he sounded strained.

He had left his dorms, went all the way out there to be by himself. Not because he had to. Because he wanted to.

That was why she had asked about forensic science; she didn’t want any more sad talk.

His face changed then. His lips curled up in a soft smile. His eyes shined, and he spoke with his hands. Whenever people used their hands, they were genuinely excited.

“I think Viet is exactly the member your club needs.”

“Yeah, I like the kid,” Lis said absentmindedly.

“He seems really into forensics.”

“You talked?”

“Well, yeah. We ran home together.”

“You ran together?” Lis wiggled her eyebrows.

“Oh shut up. He’s nice. Someone who’s a friend because they fit naturally in your life. Like you and me; it just made sense. And now I can’t get rid of you—ouch!” Lis had launched a pencil from her nightstand, and it hit Evie’s arm.

She smirked. “Be careful. You don’t want to lead him on, or anything. Poor Jake.”

“Ah yes, with all of my lovely sweat and BO.”