Page 10 of Ancient Obsession

“A lot?” They nodded. “Yeah. That’s how I roll. Whatcha working on? Getting a jump on our journalism homework?”

“No, I’m trying to come up with some marketing ideas for a site I manage.” Oliver furrowed his brow. “We have homework for Professor Garrity? Did I miss an assignment?”

“Not yet, but it’s listed in the online syllabus. I read through it yesterday to see what I might be able to get done early.”

“Oh crap, there’s an online syllabus? How did I miss that?”

Robin chuckled as they took another drink. “Maybe you missed it while you were chipping away at your stone tablet like Fred Flintstone.”

“Hey!” Oliver couldn’t help a grin. “How the hell do you know about The Flintstones?”

“I’ve been deep in 60s and 70s nostalgia for years. There are some great YouTube channels showing that stuff. And there’s usually a table or two at the cons about them.”

“Good God, nostalgia? You’re making me feel even older than I did my first day here.”

“No thanks needed.”

Oliver scowled. “I wasn’t thanking you.”

He caught himself frowning as a prickle of heat flashed across the back of his neck. Was this how Cody felt when Oliver gave him a hard time? Over the top of the laptop screen, Oliver watched Robin focus on their mobile phone, swiping through videos on an app and sometimes pausing long enough to actually watch one most of the way through.

“Are you on TikTok?”

Robin glanced up. “You know about it?”

Oliver gave them a gentle glare. “Yes, I know about it. Do you share a lot of content?”

Robin shrugged. “Some. It’s not my side hustle.” They smirked. “A side hustle is⁠—”

“I know what a side hustle is, thank you very much. I’ve been thinking about doing some TikTok videos.”

“Yeah? About what?”

“Creepy stuff that happens around my town.”

Robin leaned in, eyes wide. “That would be fire. Is all of it true?”

“Probably half of what the rumors say,” Oliver said.

“Seriously? Wow. Why do you live there?”

Oliver grimaced. “Okay, it’s not that bad. Sometimes really creepy and dangerous things happen, but I met my fiancé because of one of those creepy…events.”

“What happened?”

“It’s a long story. Let’s save that for another time. Do you think something like that might get views on TikTok?”

“Sure. A lot of people like the spooky videos and stuff. A friend of mine follows a lot of channels that show that found footage type of stuff. It’s all about how you tag it and if the algorithm picks it up.”

“It’s all about the algorithm, isn’t it?”

“You know about the algorithm?”

Oliver checked the time and closed his laptop. “Like Gloria Estefan says, the algorithm is gonna get ya.”

Robin grabbed their backpack and fell into step beside Oliver. “Who’s Gloria Estefan?”

“Lord have mercy,” Oliver whispered.