Page 57 of The Fall Classic

The only Red Rising in this apartment is my blood pressure, mija.

Get rid of this junk!

These are common complaints. Last week, she left two separate notes:

I almost broke an ankle trying to get around two of your book towers.

Why do you have two copies of every Jane Austen book?

I never take her seriously. If she truly had a problem, she’d throw it all away without a second thought. Alma’s a “Don’t ask for permission, don’t ask for forgiveness” kind of gal.

I eat the tacos gratefully, thinking about my godmother.

How does she give so much but also command so much respect?

If Alma were an apple tree and that boy got anywhere near her, she’d state the obvious truth.

A stump cannot give apples.

My phone buzzes before I can give that thought any more attention, and then I groan.

Dad

Hey sweet pea, just checking in. Business in Atlanta is almost done but there’s a huge show I can’t miss in Columbia soon. I’ll make a ton of new contacts closer to home!

I’ll call when I find a few minutes. Hope you’re well, Georgie Girl.

I set my phone face down. My dad doesn’t get same-day responses anymore. It’s my way of proving to myself that I don’t need him and that my time matters too much to waste it pining for someone incapable of real love.

I open my laptop and navigate to the week’s assignment, but the letters look fuzzy.

Wow, I’m tired.

I make it four paragraphs before the words start swimming on the screen and my eyes insist on closing between sentences, so I rest them for a second …

And then it’s four twenty-three in the morning, and my alarm is going off, and my neck is bent at an unnatural angle, and the laptop is still open on the table, and holy cow, I’m tired.

I yawn, roll out my neck, and rub the sleep from my eyes before shuffling around the apartment, getting ready as quickly as my foggy head will allow.

At four thirty, I stand at my door with my purse, my keys, my to-go cup.

Something’s missing.

I scratch my head and⁠—

Logan’s hat!

Where is it? He has a game this afternoon!

I take a few brisk steps and find it behind the laptop, where I put it last night before I sat down.

I exhale in a relieved huff, stick it on my head, and run out the door.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Logan

On Tuesday, Georgie sends me a selfie of her in my hat an hour before the game.