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The guard escorts him out the door, and I take one last look at Jodi. I wave.

I move with him to his room, a small box he shares with someone else, but it’s vacant now. He clenches his jaw as I sit on the end of his roommate’s bed and stare at him. Just like I’ve done for a year now.

“I told you to thank her for the drawing,” I say.

He ignores me. Like he’s done for a year now.

He picks up a book and tries to read, so I stare at a spot on his neck until he scratches it. It’s my favorite game.

I try to whisper ideas to him. Ways to see her again in a few short months. I know he wants to, but he’s vindictive enough to keep himself from her if it will keep me from her.

“We should go to CalArts in December,” I say. “We can see her play. Think of how happy she’d be if you surprised her—”

The book flies at my head, passing through me.

He folds his hands under his chin, pinching his eyes closed. They snap open and look right at me, glaring, cutting.

I smile back at him. We’re just getting started.