Out for the Night (Browerton University #4)(7)

He tossed the paper at Coop. It had a C-minus written in green ink at the top.

"You couldn't wait until morning to tell me this?"

Kelvin paced in what little space there was to pace. "I could conceivably fail this class! Everyone could! That would ruin everything for us. Grad school, GPA, jobs." He sat on Rafe's bed and covered his trembling lips. "My parents would never talk to me again. They'll disown me. And you probably think I'm being dramatic, but I'm not. My brother got a 500 on his MCATs, and they didn't speak to him for six months. If I have go home this summer and tell them that I failed this class … "

"Calm down," Coop said. Kelvin's voice was a set of silverware crashing to the floor. "It's just one test."

"It's two tests now. I've already dropped the first C, so this grade counts."

"Did you study?"

Kelvin shot him a look that told Coop if he ever questioned his studiousness again, he would get something cut off.



       
         
       
        

"All over this one class?" Coop collapsed onto his bed.

"It's a requirement for the degree. We need to get at least a B to continue on in the program. Usually, students' grades all wind up in the same cluster, so it's easy to curve. But Matty's screwing that up. I don't know if the professor will seriously consider failing most of us, but it's possible. We need that curve. How could you let this happen?"

Coop wasn't going to have anyone insult his abilities. "I tried to distract him. I even ruined his textbook." Coop cringed at the memory. That wasn't what gigolos, G-rated or otherwise, were meant to do. "The kid is like a machine."

"Every machine is capable of having a glitch. There is always a flaw in the code. You just need to find it."

Coop thought about Matty, what made him tick. That was how Coop was so good at his job. He could read people and read the room. He could size somebody up fast and calibrate himself accordingly. It was all about picking the right mask to use.

"Maybe you should be asking Matty's friends this question. They'd know better than me."

"Matty doesn't have any friends." Kelvin's sniveling smile reappeared as Coop watched an idea formulate in his mind. "Matty doesn't have any friends."

He looked at Coop and kept on smiling.

"What?" Coop stood up from the bed. "No."

"It's like my dad says: 'You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.'"

"You want me to pretend to be his friend? That's twisted."

"That's more like what you do for your job, right?"

It was funny to hear someone call what Coop did a job, like it was on the same level as project manager or grocery clerk.

"You'll barely have to do anything. Just be nice to him. Sit with him at lunch. Hang out with him. Matty won't know what to do with himself. It's perfect!"

"I don't think Matty would let a friend come between him and his work." Not to mention that it felt like the ultimate mindfuck.

"Maybe this'll be a good thing for him. It'll show him the benefits of not being a total asshole to his classmates and future colleagues. This will help him prepare for life in the real world."

As if Kelvin ever gave a second thought to Matty's wellbeing.

"You're serious about this? Matty is a person."

Kelvin nodded like he understood the basic concept. "Biologically, yes. Mentally, I'm not sure."

Coop shot him a dirty look.

"Look, I'm not saying you have to get him to tell you his darkest secrets and put you as his emergency contact. All we need is for Matty to get one less-than-perfect grade on a test. Just one. Then he'll see how the curve saves him, and he'll be on board. You just have to hang out with him for a week or two. It won't take much." 

"And then ditch him?"

"Friends come and go here all the time. Weren't there kids in your dorm you spent time with during orientation who you've never spoken to again?"

Kelvin and his insufferable points. Coop looked out the window. He was a G-rated gigolo to help people, but Kelvin was the wrong type of person he wanted to help. But maybe he did have a point. A little fake friendship never hurt anyone. Coop could be the chill pill that Matty so desperately needed. Oh, the powers of rationalization.

"I'll make it worth your while." Kelvin took a wad of bills out of his pocket and plopped it on the bed.

"I'm not sure about this."

Kelvin took out another wad of bills from his other pocket and plopped them on the bed. Coop's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Do you just carry wads of bills around?"

"My dad says it's good to keep some cash on you. You never know when you might need it." Kelvin glanced at Coop's desk. "Is that a loaner laptop?"

Coop didn't say, but he didn't have to. He and Kelvin exchanged a look, which brought a disgusting smile on the kid's face.

"Coop, this could be a very lucrative gig for you."

He thought of his lucky Copenhagen sock, and of being able to send his family more envelopes. Maybe he could get his sister a new bike and his mom a new winter coat and his dad a new suit for interviews. Matty could withstand a tiny drop in his grades, which would be corrected by the curve.

Coop nodded at Kelvin.

"Excellent." He waved goodbye and walked out.

"Hold up," Coop called out. Kelvin dipped back in the room. "I'm going to need some petty cash, just in case I have to take him to McDonald's or some shit."

"I gave you more than enough."

"Well, my fee doesn't include incidentals. And then there's also service charges, Paypal fee, tax, and tip."

Kelvin grimaced, which gave Coop a sense of satisfaction. He kicked his feet up onto the bed.

"How much?"

"I'm going to need about an extra $140."





Chapter 6





Matty





Matty jabbed his fork into his pile of French fries and gravy, a daily staple of his lunch. One of his favorite parts about college was getting to make his own food choices. That was a benefit of being an adult. Carb-centric meals.

He sat alone at a table against the far wall, allowing him to scan the entire dining room. Just in case any food projectiles were shot his way, a daily staple of his high school lunch. That seemed highly unlikely for kids at Browerton, though he still ate with one eye open. Chalk it up to post-traumatic stress.

One of his classmates could be another Coop, trying to mess with him. He didn't understand why Coop had picked him out at the library. Matty supposed it was animal nature to pick on the lone kid separated from the pack. Yet he'd never heard of a predator searching out prey in a random room at the library. His parents had warned him about being successful. People are jealous of success, and they will do anything to tear you down. Even just appearing to be hard working will make them react in anger.

Matty tried not to think about it, and he mostly succeeded. He hated how sometimes, he'd think about Coop's smile or his arms. I can't be sexually attracted to a bully. That's wrong on so many levels.



       
         
       
        

And it was wrong that Coop was looking at him now. Did the guy put a tracking device on him?

Coop sauntered over and dropped a book on Matty's table. It poofed against the wood. Matty ran his hand over the familiar cover.

"My robotics textbook."

"I found a copy on Amazon. I figured you needed a new one."

Matty noticed a jar of something in Coop's other hand. Tequila? Urine?

"What is that?"

Coop handed it over.

Extra virgin olive oil? Matty eyed the bottle with confusion and placed it on top of the new textbook.

"I wanted to extend an olive branch." Coop tapped his finger on the bottle's cap. "But I have no idea where the hell you get an olive branch, so I got the next best thing."

"Thank you," Matty said, hoping that would be all.

But it wasn't. Coop sat down across from him. His determined eyes pinged into Matty like BBs. Matty's stomach twisted in suspense, waiting to find out the inevitable punchline.

"I mean it, Matty." Coop had an earnestness that threw Matty off. "I'm sorry for how I acted in the library."

"Okay." Matty crossed his arms, still skeptical. Bullies never apologized to him unless ordered by a teacher. In those times, the fakeness pouring out of those kids was obvious, and he knew he still had to watch his back.

"Are you just saying okay to get me to scram?"

"No. I'm eating lunch. I have class soon." Matty didn't want to trust Coop. He wasn't going to take that chance. Not all bullies were openly hostile. Some played the long game and attacked when you finally had your defenses down. He had experienced all kinds. He never underestimated the lengths someone would go to find sadistic amusement.

"Listen, Matty. I really am sorry for how I acted."

"Why did you act like that?" Curiosity got the best of him. "Why were you such a jerk?"

"I don't think I was a jerk. More of an asshole. We're voting age, Matty. We're allowed to use the fifty-cent words when appropriate. I was an asshole. I did it because … I just … " Coop looked around the room, averting his eyes like he was getting a shot at the doctor. "I think you're interesting, okay?"