Page 200 - My FlipBook

L IS A J. L A W R E N C E

And written them on a small whiteboard hanging on the
kitchen wall.
“My dad’s out with friends until after midnight,” Nate
said, “so we’ll have the place to ourselves.” For most people
their age, this would mean sneaking beer out of the fridge
and an impromptu party in the basement. For Nate, it looked
like...
“Fondu,” Greta read from the top of the whiteboard list.

“One cheese, one chocolate,” Nate said, banging around
the kitchen. “I hope you didn’t eat already.”
“No.” They lied in unison and helped him chop fruit at
the counter.
When it was ready, they moved to the living room, which
was decorated in various shades of beige. While they ate at
the coffee table, leaning over each other with skewers, drib- ADVANCE READING COPY

bling, they moved to whiteboard plan number two: watching
the 1992 Blade Runner, director’s cut. Ash shushed Greta
every time she asked him to pass something, his fingers drag-
ging in sauces as he grabbed random things and thrust them
in her direction.
Number three: Scrabble. Greta knew Ash detested board
games, with their cheerful colored cards and inconsequen-
tial points systems. Still, he didn’t complain as Nate started
clearing off the coffee table to set up the game.

“I’m going to win,” Greta said.
“She’s going to win,” Ash echoed.
From the corner of the coffee table, Nate picked up
a framed picture of a woman with flame-red hair and a

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