“I guess I'd better go study,” I muttered after gathering my thoughts.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Angelica asked. “You just received some shocking information.”

  “That’s true… but what am I supposed to do about it? The one person in the world who could clarify just took off down the street like a criminal running from the cops, and the alternative is to lie around my room, moping, until he comes back,” I said calmly. “That won’t solve anything, and besides, Olivia is expecting me, and I still have to do my homework.”

  “If you say so…” Angelica replied. It didn’t sound like she was quite convinced by my argument, but that was okay. It was only partially true anyway. The truth was, I really didn’t feel like being alone right now, and because I wasn’t quite sure what was going on with her, hairy, and Tyberius right now, I didn’t feel comfortable staying alone with her while I was upset. That meant my best option was going to see Olivia.

  Clenching the shoulder strap of my backpack with one hand, I turned back to the house and silently waited for Angelica to clear the doorway so I could lock up. I was glad I didn’t have to handle any keys, because my hand was trembling and the jingling would have brought more attention to my situation.

  Once the door was locked, I sprinted across the space between the two houses and politely knocked on the door. A part of me wanted to bang on it, really slam my fist against the inanimate object to work out some of the confusion, but I restrained myself.

  After a few seconds, I heard the sound of someone running across the floor, just before Olivia yanked open the door.

  For the second time in as many minutes, my brain shut down, and I wasn’t sure what to say. She was wearing a cute knee-length green dress with a brown floral pattern, paired with a matching brown headscarf. She looked amazing.

  “Tamera, hi!” she chirped. “Sorry it took me so long to answer the door.”

  She paused and leaned a little closer. “Is something wrong? You don’t look that good.”

  “You mean besides feeling like someone beat my legs with a baseball bat?” I joked humourlessly. When she didn’t laugh or even smile, I sighed. “I just had Hairy spring some world-shaking news on me, then run off. I’m still trying to process it. Mind if I come in?”

  “Of course,” Olivia exclaimed, stepping out of the way. “You okay?”

  “I will after I have a chance to process, I think,” I replied as I stepped inside. While I took off my shoes and placed them neatly on the storage rack, Olivia held the door open long enough for Angelica to slip in.

  “You want to head to my room, to talk about it, or over to the office so we can do our homework?” Olivia asked quietly.

  “I think the office might be better,” I replied. “I haven’t had many close friends, so I’m not used to sharing my problems with others, and I think I still need a few minutes to work through everything.”

  “Alright, your choice,” she said, patting my arm. “If you want to talk, just let me know.”

  After I nodded, she smiled lightly before pivoting on her heel and stepping further into the small main area. “Mom, Tamera’s here. We’re going to borrow the office, and get a start on our homework before dinner, okay?”

  I hadn’t even registered that Mrs. Taylor was in the kitchen until she turned away from whatever she was working on at the stove and came over to the counter.

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  “Usually I have to prod you a couple of times before you start your homework,” she said. “Maybe we should have Tamera over more often. She seems like she’s a good influence on you.”

  Olivia blushed. “Mom… don’t say stuff like that in front of my friends, it’s embarrassing.”

  “If you find it so embarrassing, then you should get used to doing your homework without me reminding you,” her mother countered. The woman turned her head slightly, changing her focus from Olivia to me. “Good afternoon, Tamera. Is your mother back yet?”

  “Not yet. Even though I’d like to believe that her interview is going exceptionally well, and was extended because of it, I find it equally likely that she’s fighting to get that oversized pile of rust she calls a car started again,” I replied. “She promised to be home for dinner, and she’ll do her absolute best to keep that promise.”

  I glanced around for a moment, looking for something to write with, until I remembered I was carrying my backpack. Fishing a notebook and pen out of my bag, I jotted the number seared into my memory onto a page, then ripped it out and passed it to the woman. “This is her cellphone number. It’s normally for emergencies, but if it’s getting close to dinner time and we haven’t heard from her, you can try and give her a call.”

  “Thank you, dear, I’ll add it to my phone when I’m done here,” she replied, taking the paper and pinning it to the fridge, out of the way. “Now, you two should run along and get your homework started, before my daughter gets distracted by one of her mangas again.”

  “Mom…” Olivia groaned again before grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the office.

  As we stepped into the office, I was immediately struck by how different it was from the one back at my house. Instead of a small fiberboard desk, a matching bookcase, and a tiny, cheap office chair, there was a massive hardwood L-shaped desk that completely took up two walls, and a couple of massive matching bookcases full of thick leather-bound books.

  The middle of the desk was dominated by an expensive-looking office chair, a pair of large flat-screen monitors suspended by monitor arms, an oversized drawing tablet, and a sketchbook, which Olivia snatched up. “Sorry about the mess. My mother’s an architect and spends most of the day either drawing blueprints or attending remote conferences. She got permission to remove the existing furniture and bring in her own desk. It’s a little cramped, but there should be enough room for us to work on either side of the computer.”

  “Sounds good,” I replied, gently placing my bag on one side of the desk. “What about chairs? There only seems to be one in here.”

  “Oh! I have a spare in my room. Give me a minute,” Olivia exclaimed, before sprinting out of the room. She returned a couple of seconds later, wheeling an equally impressive chair into the room. Although she had her backpack, the sketchbook was conspicuously missing.

  She rolled the oversized chair up to the opposite side of the desk, then paused for a moment. “I like your blouse, it looks pretty on you,” she said without looking my way.

  “Thanks,” I replied, a little surprised by the compliment. “I wanted to wear something nice for dinner. I really like your dress too, it fits you.”

  She glanced back at me just long enough for me to see the blush spreading across her face, before turning back towards the desk and pulling out her books. “Thanks!”

  While I organized my books, Olivia settled into her chair and flipped open her English notes, only to groan immediately. “Look at this mess! I tried so hard to keep up with the lecture that my handwriting deteriorated to the point where it’s practically unreadable. How am I supposed to review when I can’t read it?”

  I wandered over and glanced at her book. Her handwriting was nice and legible, at least at first. As she flipped through the pages, I could see how it deteriorated as Olivia scrambled to keep up, ending with a page of scribbles.

  “If that’s Mr. Palmer’s regular pace, I’m doomed,” she wailed, letting her head fall to the desk. “I’ll never keep up.”

  “Stop being dramatic,” I chuckled, walking over to the other side of the desk and grabbing my own notebook. “I already said you could borrow my notes.”

  After accepting my own book, Olivia flipped it open and gasped. “I still can’t believe you managed to keep up with both what Mr. Palmer was saying and what was on the slides. And your printing is so neat. What’s your secret?”

  I scratched the back of my neck. “Practice. Since no one in my class would talk to me, I never had access to other people’s notes. I had to make sure I got everything down, or I’d miss something.”

  “Well, their loss is my gain,” Olivia declared. “Taking all this down would take hours, but thankfully, we have a shortcut.”

  She rolled over to the end of the desk and tapped the power button on the oversized printer sitting there. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Scanning your notes and making a digital copy. Since we have software that’ll pull the text off an image and put it into a text, I’ll be able to store it in a single, easily formatable file,” Olivia explained, pressing a button and causing a light to flash on the top of the device. It reminded me of a photocopier. “I can even give you and Amelia a copy once I’m done.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t have anywhere to read it,” I replied.

  Olivia winced slightly as she flipped the page and pressed the button again. “Sorry, I forgot you didn’t grow up with all the advantages I did.”

  “It’s fine,” I replied dryly. “I’m used to it.”

  Olivia flinched again, but didn’t reply.

  “So, how long will this take?” I asked.

  “Just a minute or two, then we can start our review,” Olivia replied. “With your notes ,it’ll be a snap.”

  I smiled. “Good, I’m looking forward to it.”

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