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“Well, sweet cheeks, you ready to walk the mile?”
Viktor glanced at Jinx as she sidled up to him on the track outside the football field. She was wearing her usual gym class uniform, a white tank top and cookie monster pajama pants. He adjusted his crutch, checked the laces on his sneakers again.
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” he said.
Jinx yawned and stretched her arms over her head. “I still can’t believe they make you do this.”
“Well, gym class has never been known for its humane treatment.”
“You can say that again.”
“Well, gym class has never been known for its humane treatment.”
She stared at him. “You’re a real riot, you know that?”
“I strive to entertain.”
“Strive a little harder. I’m bored already.”
“Would you prefer I did a little dance for you?”
“Nah. Save your energy for the main event.”
They assumed their usual positions, in the back of the mass of students. Ambessa stood at the front with one hand on her hip, holding a timer in the other.
“Good afternoon, class. As per usual, you’ll receive a letter grade based on your time.”
Jinx covered her mouth with her palm, lowered her voice, “Too bad our brains can’t get us through this one, eh, fortune cookie?”
“Get ready, get set, go.” Ambessa blew the whistle around her neck, began the timer.
Jinx and Viktor began walking at a leisurely pace as they watched the usual classmates take the lead. Caitlyn took off at a quick jog, Vi not far behind her. Viktor looked for Jayce, found him easily, laughing with Vi as they jostled for second place.
“Think he’s gonna come say hi again?” Jinx asked, as they began their way across the track.
“I still don’t understand why he insists on doing that,” Viktor said.
“Uh—duh. It’s because he has a big fat crush on you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. It must just be his savior complex, or something. He probably pities me.”
“It ain’t pity in his eyes when he looks at you, hot stuff. It’s big ole’ hearts, if you ask me.”
“I knew you heard voices, but I didn’t know you also suffered from hallucinations,” Viktor retorted.
Jinx was eyeing Vi, who’d caught up to Caitlyn, was doing a cartwheel beside her. She crossed her arms and huffed. “She’s such an obnoxious show-off whenever Caitlyn’s around,” Jinx said. “But hey, if my sister can like that boring, preppy loser, the star football player can like a nerd like you.”
Viktor eyed Caitlyn and Vi. “She’s pretty, though. The two of them make sense, in a way.”
Jinx blew her hair out of her eyes. “I guess. If you’re into boring boring bo-ring. Oh, here he comes. Right on time.”
It was true. Jayce had, as he usually did, slowed his pace to a half-hearted saunter. They were the last three now, lagging solidly behind the rest of the class.
“Hey there, Mr. Quarterback.”
Jayce looked over his shoulder, smiled. “Hi, Viktor.” He glanced over at Jinx. “And Jinx.”
“Hi,” Viktor said, suddenly feeling very sweaty.
Jayce slowed down, turned to Jinx. “Also, I’m not a quarterback. I’m a—,”
Jinx yawned. “Football makes me sleepy. Let’s talk about something else. Like, hey, fortune cookie and I were just talking about Caitlyn and Vi.”
Jayce was beside them now, closest to the inside of the track, Jinx acting as a welcome barrier between him and Viktor. Viktor always felt like he was going to pass out when he had to look at Jayce directly.
“Why do you always call him fortune cookie?” Jayce asked.
“Because he’s always saying cryptic shit. Come on, Viktor, do the thing.”
“The thing?”
“Yeah. One of your cryptic one-liners. C’mon. Entertain our guest.”
Viktor sighed. When they walked the mile together and got bored, sometimes Viktor made up random stories to keep Jinx entertained. “In the other timelines, we’re all mad scientists, working in a lab together to create magic with science.”
Jinx cackled, slapped her knee. “That’s the stuff.”
Jayce smiled. “Creating magic with science?”
“Yeah, you know. Quantum mumbo jumbo. Entanglement. Photons. Runes. Frequencies. Lab goggles.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mhm. We’re very good at it. They put your face on all the posters.”
“Why my face? Why not all of us?”
“Eh—,” Viktor tried to figure out how to not admit he found Jayce attractive. “Because Jinx and I look scary when we smile.”
“I don’t think you look scary when you smile,” Jayce said.
“You like Viktor’s smile?” Jinx asked.
“Uh—I mean, you both have nice smiles.”
“Hmm.” Jinx glanced between them, slung her arm around Jayce conspiratorially. “Anywho, like I was saying, we were talking about my sis and Caitlyn.”
Jayce looked up ahead, where they were both rounding the first corner, neck and neck. “What about them?”
“Viktor was saying Caitlyn’s pretty, and I was saying she’s boooooo-ring.”
Jayce’s brow furrowed. He looked at Viktor. “You think Caitlyn’s pretty?”
“Not personally. Like, objectively.”
Jayce stared at Caitlyn up ahead. “I mean, I guess so.”
“And I wanted to get another opinion, from an impartial third party.”
“I’m not really impartial. Caitlyn and I are friends.”
Viktor didn’t know what Jinx was up to. She was a very unpredictable person.
“Whatever. I was hoping you could weigh in,” Jinx said.
“On whether Caitlyn is pretty?” Jayce said.
“Because I was thinking, she’s pretty in a boring way, but if you ask me, ol’ Vik here is way prettier.”
“You think Viktor’s pretty?” Jayce said, brow furrowed again.
“What? Ew, gross, no. I meant, like, objectively, wouldn’t you say?”
“Oh. Well uh—,” Jayce stopped walking for a second to rub his neck. “I mean, well. Um.”
Viktor and Jinx both stopped walking, looking back at Jayce. Jinx put a hand under her chin. “Interesting. Never seen a quarterback short-circuit before.”
“I wasn’t—I just—uh. Well, yeah, I guess.”
“So you think he’s pretty?”
“Jinx,” Viktor glared.
Jayce looked over at him. “I mean, I think he’s—,” Jayce cleared his throat. “As pretty as Caitlyn.”
“You can do better than that, can’t you?”
“I mean. They’re pretty in different ways. Everyone’s pretty in their own way,” Jayce said.
“Oh, so you think Viktor is ugly?”
“Jinx!”
“No, I—he’s not—ah. Um. Maybe I’ll go ahead of you guys. Ambessa’s going to yell at us if we just keep standing here like this.”
“No need for that,” Jinx said. “We can speed up. Right, fortune cookie?” She patted Viktor on the shoulder.
“Eh–right.”
They resumed a leisurely pace. Jayce was quiet, kept glancing around the edge of the football field.
“Anyway,” Jinx said. “I was telling Viktor that if my big sis likes Caitlyn, anything is possible.”
“Anything is possible?” Jayce said.
“Yeah. You know, cool girl like my sister liking a boring prep like Caitlyn. No offense, Jayce.”
“That’s okay. I mean, I won’t tell Caitlyn you called her that.”
“So, you know, for example, if a big jock liked a nerd like our Viktor here, that seems sort of possible, too, dontcha think?”
“Big jock?” Jayce said.
“Yeah, not you. Some other big jock. Like Loris, for example. Maybe Loris thinks Viktor is pretty.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“It’s a thought experiment, Jayce. All the cool kids are doing them. Like drugs, or sex. I’m just saying, don’t you think it’s possible that a jock could think Viktor’s pretty?”
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t see why not.”
Jinx glared at Jayce.
Jayce tugged at the collar of his t-shirt, glanced away. “I mean, it sounds very possible to me. So Loris doesn’t have a crush on Viktor?”
Jinx caught Viktor’s eye, covered her mouth with her palm again. “Very possible, he says.”
“Eh,” Viktor said, looking at Jayce. “You prompted him excessively.” Jayce did look sort of red and sweaty for how slow they were walking. “You don’t have to walk the rest with us, Jayce.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I’ll just catch up at the end, like I always do. Unless you want me to leave.”
Viktor looked to Jinx. She was silent, suddenly very fixated on a particular cloud on the sky.
“Eh—no, it’s alright. We er—enjoy your company.”
Jayce smiled. “Okay, sweet. I like walking with you guys. You’re both really funny.”
Jinx turned her attention back to Jayce. “What else are both of us, Jayce?”
“I mean, you’re both really smart.”
“Anything else?”
“Um. Nope. That’s all I’ve got.”
Jinx playfully punched Jayce in the arm. “You’re a riot. Just like Vik-bones over here.”
“Vik-bones?” Viktor asked. That was a new one.
“Well, you’ve got bones, dontcha?”
“Can you give me a nickname?” Jayce asked.
Jinx squinted at him. They were rounding the first loop. “Eh—no. I’ve got nothin’, sorry, buddy. You’re just not very nicknameable. No quirks or eccentricities.”
“He has quirks,” said Viktor. He’d spent a lot of time staring at Jayce two rows in front of him in history class, where he often bounced his leg and drew intricate doodles in the margins of his notes. Viktor also saw him write down a lot of interesting questions which he never asked the teacher for some reason. Sometimes he’d pretend he had to go to the bathroom so he could get a closer glimpse of Jayce’s notebook on his way out of the classroom.
Jayce looked over. “You think I have quirks?”
“I mean,” Viktor looked at his shoes. “Everyone has quirks.”
“Nah,” said Jinx. “Some people are quirkless. Like Caitlyn. Best my sister could come up with for her was ‘cupcake,’ ‘cuz she’s “sweet and pretty.” Even her nickname is so boring it makes me wanna throw up.”
“Well, surely you and your big brain can come up with something for him,” Viktor said. “It’s not fair that I get so many and he doesn’t get any.”
“Nothin’ that’s not obvious. Pretty boy, there’s one.”
“You can do better,” said Jayce.
“I know, I know, I’m thinkin’. Hm. Howsabout Golden Boy?”
Jayce made a face.
“Jinx, come on. That’s not him at all.”
“Ain’t it? I mean, he’s all golden and stuff. Everybody wants ‘im. He’s the star. Et cetera.”
“Yeah, but he’s not—,” Viktor stopped. Jayce was looking at him.
Jinx’s eyes lit up. “I’ve got it.”
Jayce looked a little disappointed.
“Big bones. J-bones. Because I did the bones thing with Viktor. And you’re big, and your name starts with ‘J.’”
Viktor sighed. “It’s like you don’t even know him.”
“Oh?” said Jayce.
Viktor straightened up, started walking a little faster. Jayce kept pace with him. “What would your nickname for me be?”
“I don’t come up with nicknames.”
“It’s a thought experiment,” Jayce said. “I hear all the cool kids are doing it.”
Viktor grit his teeth, looked over his shoulder. Jinx had stopped to suspiciously tie her shoe. Viktor knew very well that Jinx’s gym shoes didn’t have laces, because of that time she’d tripped over them and faceplanted and everyone had laughed at her.
Jayce was looking at him expectantly.
“Fine. Well, how about Defender?”
“Defender?”
“Because you’re always defending the—eh—little guy. And whatnot.”
“Are you the little guy?”
Viktor stared down at his shoes. “Sure. I’m the little guy, who you always stay back to walk the mile with, despite the fact that you’re a big guy, out of pity or something, I don’t know.”
“Out of pity?”
“I assume.”
“That’s not why.”
Viktor looked up. “Well, enlighten me.”
“I mean, I like talking to you. You’re fun to talk to.”
“Because I say silly things.”
“Not really. You are funny, but that’s not the main reason I like talking to you.”
“Well, I don’t know what else it would be.”
“I mean, you came up with a story earlier about us being mad scientists together. You were talking about a bunch of interesting stuff. You’re always reading interesting books at lunch.”
Viktor stopped walking. “I—what?”
“Yeah, I mean, I google them sometimes.”
“Why were you looking up the titles of the books I read during lunch?”
“Because I figure you’re pretty interesting, so you probably read interesting stuff. And most of my friends don’t read the kind of stuff I like. But I like the kind of stuff you read. I checked out a few of them from the library to be sure, and I was right, so.”
“So you like me because we have similar taste in books?”
“I mean, I guess that’s part of it, yeah.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me about the books instead of slowing down to walk the mile with me every time?”
“Oh. Well. You’re kind of intimidating. I didn’t really know what to say. Honestly, I feel kind of awkward around you when Jinx isn’t there. I was worried there’d be an awkward silence or something, and you’d think I was being weird.”
“I—Jayce, you’re one of the most popular guys in school.”
“Okay. Well, I’m still allowed to feel kind of awkward around you, aren’t I?”
“I—guess.”
“So can we be friends now?”
“I mean, we could have been friends this whole time.”
“Well, I didn’t want to assume.”
“Yes, we can be friends.”
Jayce smiled. “Sweet. Oh, here’s Jinx.”
Jinx jogged up to them, draped an arm around both their shoulders. “Hey guys, what’d I miss?”
Jayce turned to her, smiling. “Viktor and I agreed to be friends.”
Jinx dropped her arms. “Oh, come on.”
Jayce looked confused. Jinx faked a smile. “No, this is great news. Official friends! Big step in every relationship, of any kind, regardless of what it becomes later. You know, you just got me thinking about friendship, and how important it is.”
“Yeah. Friendship is really important,” said Jayce.
“And how much I love my friends,” Jinx continued.
Jayce nodded. “Yeah, I love all my friends too.”
Jinx looked at Viktor. Viktor shrugged.
“And you know what I love doing with my friends, when they’re not around?”
Viktor wasn’t following.
Jinx sighed. “I love texting them. On my cell phone. So now that you guys are friends, you guys can text each other on your cell phones.”
“But I don’t have Viktor’s phone number,” Jayce said.
Jinx shot Viktor a pointed look.
Viktor got it now. Jinx’s methods were mysterious, but effective. She was in fact, very smart. Viktor turned to Jayce. “I’ll give it to you, after class.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Wow,” said Jayce. “That’s great.”
Jinx sighed. “‘Wow, that’s great,’ you know, that’s exactly what I say, when all my new friends give me their phone numbers. Same dreamy tone and everything.”
Jayce tilted his head. “Did I have a dreamy tone?”
“You kind of did,” Viktor confirmed.
“Huh,” said Jayce. “Guess I was just really excited to get your phone number.”
Jayce looked across the track, where Cait and Vi were neck-and-neck, close to finishing. “Ah, I should probably speed up now. Viktor, I’ll meet you by the lockers after class and we can exchange phone numbers, okay?”
“Yes. Definitely. That sounds great, Jayce.”
Jayce waved goodbye and jogged off.
Jinx turned to Viktor.
“Well? Lemme hear it.”
Viktor ducked his head. “Thank you, Jinx. You’re very smart, Jinx.”
“Damn right. Think Ambessa’s feeling generous to give us C’s today?”
Viktor glanced over at Ambessa, who was frowning as she checked her timer, then at Jayce, as he sprinted past the majority of the class.
“Probably not.”