It was a losing battle. The guy sat across from Matty.
"I'm Coop, by the way."
"Matty," he chirped out with a non-committal wave.
He figured this counted as hanging out with someone. See, Aditi, I'm making friends. Matty returned to page 183 of his textbook. He read a paragraph on natural language processing, but had to reread it. He didn't know what was confusing him, but when he glanced up, there was Coop, looking right at him.
"What are you studying?"
Matty stopped reading mid-sentence. He craned his head up at Coop, who awaited an answer.
"Engineering."
"Cool." Coop leaned back on the hind legs of his chair. "Is that like working on trains?"
"No." Because I've never heard that one before. "Not the type of engineer who works on trains. My interest is more computer science engineering."
"Oh. Cool."
Matty returned to his textbook. Page 183. Natural language processing. Here we go.
"Is computer science like holding iPads over Bunsen burners and stuff?"
Matty wanted to keep ignoring him, but he had a feeling that Coop wouldn't stop unless he had an answer. His probing eyes remained fixed on Matty, and sent an unexpected string of goosebumps prickling down his spine.
"My focus is on robotics, developing machines that are independently intelligent and can interact with humans through language, movement, and touch."
"Cool. Like in The Terminator."
"I guess."
"Do you worry about your machines becoming self-aware and trying to destroy humanity?"
"No."
"Because that happened in The Terminator." Coop tapped a pen against his teeth, which made Matty pay attention to his reed-thin lips for a split-second. Then his eyes traveled to his biceps. More goosebumps.
Now was the time to switch tables, but Matty refused to be bullied out of his space. And maybe the view wasn't terrible either.
"Although in T-2: Judgment Day, the Terminator was on our side."
"Can you please not talk? I really need to concentrate."
Coop held up his hands in defense. "Fair enough."
He took the discolored book at the top of his pile and turned it to what looked like a random page.
Matty breathed in the silence and the staleness of the stacks. Equilibrium returned to his surroundings. Coop kept up his promise. Matty found his place back on page 183. His pen was poised on his notebook, ready to write.
Tap tap
Matty blinked his eyes and refocused on the words in this most important of textbooks.
Tap tap
Matty peeked up. Coop tapped his pen against his notebook.
Tap tap
It was a harmless move, but in the emptiness of the library, small sounds were amplified. It was the opposite of space. Everyone could hear you scream, or whisper in this case. Matty tried to block out the noise, but it kept-
Tap tap
Seeping into his …
Tap tap
… ears.
"Could you please stop that?"
"Stop what?"
Matty nodded at his pen. "The tapping."
Coop looked at his hand as if it were news to him. "I didn't even realize I was doing that. Sorry!"
He placed his pen inside the spiral of his notebook. "I'll just read for now."
"Thanks."
Matty managed to make it through the first paragraph on page 183. His pen hit paper as he thought about how best to record the information so it would stick.
Flick
Matty sucked in a breath. Next paragraph. He would read the next paragraph first, and then summarize. These textbooks were not written to be entertaining. The language was dry and the sentences complex. But this was not simple information. These concepts were leading the world into the future-
Flick
Coop didn't quietly turn the page of his book. He flicked it. Each page that Coop turned sounded as if it were about to rip.
Flick
"Could you please be quiet?" Matty strained for the last of his depleted reserves of politeness.
"I am. I'm just reading."
"But you're turning the pages very loudly."
"Turning the pages loudly? Is that even a thing?"
"Just please. Turn them slowly. Carefully. Don't just," and Matty impersonated Coop's turning style.
"Fine." Judging by hints of a smile, Matty thought Coop was getting some kind of perverse satisfaction out of this.
Being sociable was hard work!
They returned to studying, but Matty couldn't concentrate on his book. He counted down the seconds for Coop to turn the page.
Coop lifted the page delicately. It ruffled under his touch like silk fabric. He pulled the page up straight, perpendicular to the spine. It didn't make a sound.
Flick. He whipped the page over.
"I'm going to find another place to study. Maybe I'll try the coffee shop." Matty was crying uncle. Coffee shop meant dorm room, only he hoped there wasn't a hockey game going on.
"Are you sure?" Coop asked all innocent, with traces of that smirk still lingering on his reed-thin lips that Matty shouldn't keep noticing.
How could he hate somebody and admire his lips at the same time? Matty shut his textbook. "You can have the table."
"I'm sorry. I was trying to be quiet."
Sure you were. Matty yanked his backpack up from the floor. Coop stood up in an attempt to stop him and knocked his coffee over. And because Coop was the type of guy who lived dangerously and didn't use a lid, his drink streamed all over Matty's books.
"Oh shit!" Coop bolted around to Matty's side of the table. "I am so sorry about that. Really."
At least he sounded genuine and was no longer smirking. Coop ripped off pages from his notebook, which were all blank, and used them to wipe up the coffee soaking itself into Matty's materials.
"That's not going to work," Matty said. "Paper isn't that absorbent."
"It can help." Coop brushed his papers over the wet pages, which just smeared the coffee across more pages. "I can grab paper towels from the bathroom."
"It's an air dryer only."
"Toilet paper then."
"Don't worry about it." Matty tried to push Coop's hand away, but Coop was insistent on being useful, which was only making things worse.
"I want to help."
"Stop!" Matty shoved Coop's hand, which was holding onto his textbook. Page 183 went with it, as did pages 184-190. The tear of the pages slashed through Matty. Coop's eyes went wide with disbelief at the torn pages in his hand.
All Matty saw was red.
"Fuck. I'm so sorry. I have glue in my dorm."
"Stop! I don't want your help! If you want to help, then never come back to the library. Never sit next to people who are actually trying to do work."
"I said I was sorry."
Matty didn't bother getting in another fight with him. He shoved his books in his bag, zipped it up, and got the hell out of there.
Chapter 5
Coop
Coop and Rafe strolled through a path of cherry blossom trees, their buds ballooning with anticipation. Coop didn't take in the view. He was glued to his phone, though that didn't stop Rafe from yammering on.
"Spencer didn't put on the bow tie!" Rafe wore a hoodie and black shorts even though it was well into the sixties. A part of him seemed to enjoy being heartbroken as much as being in love. He tapped pointedly at Coop's arm. "Hello? Any thoughts, comments, concerns, or allegations?"
"Oh, sorry."
"You've been on your phone more than usual all week." Rafe yoinked it from Coop's grip. "Why are you looking up engineering textbooks?"
"No reason."
Guilt had jabbed at Coop's chest all week, ever since he watched Matty flee the library. He'd meant to distract the guy, not ruin his textbook. Coop wasn't one of those cocky assholes, much as he tried. And he wasn't a bully. He'd spent his time since then on his phone, searching for Matty's textbook online. He strained his memory trying to remember the book's name like an eyewitness on the stand.
"That's highway robbery, even for college textbooks." Rafe shook his head at the screen. "One hundred and forty dollars for a textbook?"
Tell me about it. Coop felt like even more of an asshole. He yoinked his phone back and returned it to his pocket.
Coop threw a supportive arm around Rafe's shoulders. "If this guy didn't put on a bow tie, it's his loss."
"He didn't even think about putting it on," Rafe said without skipping a beat. "He looked at it for half a second then tossed it into his cereal bowl and threw it out."
"In all fairness, it was fluorescent blue and sparkly."
"I got it at a costume shop."
"It was a ridiculous-looking tie, Rafe. Who'd want to wear it?"
Rafe cut his eyes to his roommate. "Someone who doesn't mind being ridiculous with me."
A few minutes later, they were back in the confines of their dorm. They ambled through the crowded lobby and up the stairs to their floor. A familiar body waited outside their door.
"It's your 'friend' again," Rafe said with air quotes. He warned them not to have sex on his bed and bid them adieu.
"Hi, Kelvin. You know you can always email or Snapchat me, too."
Kelvin wasn't in the mood for jokes. He gripped a crumpled paper in his fist. Coop let him inside.
"He did it again," Kelvin said. "He aced the stupid test and fucked over the curve for us."