“Thanks.”
“Where are you two headed?” Laila asks.
Duke points in the general direction of the parking lot. “Off-campus.”
“Really?” Laila says as though this is the biggest coincidence ever. “We were just going to get something from my car. Mind if we walk with you?”
I could murder Laila right now. If only I could get my hands on a weapon—a size-fifteen shoe might work.
“Of course not.”
And of course Laila squeezes herself between Duke and Ray, leaving me with no other option but to walk next to Duke. After only a few steps she has managed to become so engrossed in a quiet conversation with Ray that Duke and I are left in awkward silence.
“Sorry,” I finally say, because unless he’s an idiot, it’s pretty obvious what Laila just did.
“I’m not. Now I don’t have to make up some sorry excuse to talk to you.”
I’m confused. “Don’t you have man code?” I don’t know why I said it; it just flew out, but I can’t take it back.
“What do you mean?”
Now I have to explain and I don’t want to. I let myself get distracted for a moment by a backpack floating through the air in front of me. Eventually it lands in its owner’s arms, and I look over at Duke, who is waiting for me to speak. “You and Bobby are good friends.”
“Yes.”
“Bobby asked me to homecoming.”
“And you said no.”
“So don’t you have that thing where if your best friend likes a girl, she’s off-limits?”
“If every girl Bobby liked was off-limits, I’d never get to go out with anyone. The only girls Bobby restricts me from are those he’s kissed. You haven’t kissed him, right?”
“No!” At least not in my real life. I had in my Search, but Bobby didn’t know that. I feel my face go bright red.
Duke lowers his brow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I haven’t kissed him.”
“Well, then there you go. Man code does not apply.”
I’m trying my best not to be flattered, but it’s hard. This is Duke Rivers. He smiles, and I find myself smiling back.
“What do I have to do to get you to come to one of my games?”
“Play on a Norm team,” I say before thinking.
He tilts his head. “Really? So that’s what this is about? You don’t like people using their abilities to win at sports? Are you a Naturalist? Do you want us to merge with Normal society?”
We round a brick building and walk down a wide hall toward the parking lot. “No, not at all. I fully support abilities. People can use them to advance in any areas of their lives. I know mine has helped me. I can’t imagine life without abilities. I just personally find Para-football boring.”
“Ouch. So you want to see more bodies slamming into each other? Is that it? Wait,” he says, before I can answer. “Are you telling me you regularly watch Norm football?”
“Not regularly.”
“This is getting worse. Tell me one thing: Have you ever seen me play?”
I rub my forehead. The welt has long since disappeared, but I wince for his sake.
He laughs and nudges my arm with his elbow. “That doesn’t count. I mean, in a game.”
“No. I haven’t been since my freshman year.”
The contagious smile is back on his face. “You’re not very good for my ego.”
“I think I’m perfect for your ego.” I smile sweetly.
“Addie, you’re a different girl, aren’t you?”
Rude. I try to nudge my shoulder into his arm, like he had done to me. Only it doesn’t work and the act of trying almost causes me to trip.
He reaches his hand out. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” I look over my shoulder, pretending to search for what tripped me.
“How has your ability helped you advance?” he asks.
“What?”
“You said earlier that you’re perfectly fine with people using their abilities to advance. You said yours has helped you. How?”
“Sometimes I’ll see which classes I’m better at, which projects work out better. Things like that.”
“So you’re Clairvoyant?”
“Oh.” I’m surprised because I assumed Bobby had told him my ability. “Yeah. Sort of.” My ability is actually called Divergence, which means extending in different directions from a common point. It was one of the first words I looked up back when I Presented. But I don’t feel like explaining that to Duke. I stopped correcting people a long time ago. Clairvoyance is a Time Manipulation ability as well, so close enough.
“With an ability like yours, you’ve probably never made a mistake in your life. You always know what you want.” He meets my eyes.
That’s mostly true. I generally know exactly what I want, and the steps I’m going to take to get it, but not necessarily because of my ability. “I don’t Search everything. I’ve made plenty of mistakes. But you’re right, I’ve avoided many.” Like Bobby, I want to say.
“Have you ever Searched me?”
“No. I’ve never had to make a choice regarding you.”
He stops abruptly, and I watch helplessly as Ray and Laila keep walking. He steps in front of me, putting his back to the ever-increasing distance between our friends and us. “What if I gave you a choice? How long would it take to Search it?”