After Math Read Free Page B

and take my long, dark hair out of its ponytail, then run my fingers through the strands. I’m imagining things. That’s the thing about people: you never really know where they stand. You have to rely on gestures and social cues, and still, you really don’t know.
    I move to the desk and get out my homework. Anxious prickles have poked the back of my neck since I began thinking about Tucker. I pull out my book and study the equation for my linear algebra class. As I write the numbers onto the paper, my shoulders begin to unfurl, my tension fading away. Some people knit or read to relax. I do math problems. My mother and little sister never let me live it down when I was younger, making fun of my love of arithmetic. With math, as long as you have all the necessary factors, you can find the answer. Life, on the other hand, is so much messier.
    I stay up another two hours working on my equations before I quit for the night. When I go into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, Caroline’s exactly where I left her hours ago. She doesn’t comment when I pass her on my way to the kitchen.
    I grab a pint of Ben & Jerry’s from the freezer along with two spoons and sit next to her on the sofa, throwing the afghan over my legs. I toss the lid onto the coffee table and hand Caroline a spoon.
    She digs in, eating several bites before she finally talks. “I saw him today. With someone else. It’s been three months, Scarlett. Why is it so hard to see him?”
    I’ve never been in a relationship that I wanted to stay in, but I know the pain she went through when they broke up. The pain she still goes through. “Three years is a long time to be with someone, Caroline. I’m sure it takes time to get over it.”
    “I don’t like feeling this way. It hurts too much.”
    “Maybe you should start dating again.” I’m not really sure it’s an appropriate response, but I can’t stand to see her this miserable. This moping person isn’t the vivacious girl that took the campus by storm her freshman year. The girl I knew when we grew up together. Hiding out in our apartment for the last several months has made her more like me, a terrifying thought. “If nothing else, you need to get out and at least go to parties again.”
    She sits up and points her spoon at me. “You know, Scarlett. I think you’re on to something. It just so happens I’ve been invited to a party at a guy named Kyle’s house Friday night.”
    “Well, there you go. Tina was invited to the same party.”
    Her eyes light up. “Oh really? Then the fates have aligned. I’m going to the party, and you’re coming with me.”
    My breath caught. “What? Oh, no. No way.”
    “Yes! Come on! You never go to parties. You need to loosen up and have some fun.”
    “I do have fun.” Caroline went out all the time when she was with Justin. Our freshman year, she invited me to parties, but she soon gave up after my many refusals. Plus, Justin began to suck up more and more of her time, and my lack of a social life was simply accepted.
    She scrunches her nose. “With math problems. Don’t you want any boy problems?”
    “Look how well that’s worked out for you.” I immediately regret my words, but they are at the root of my hesitancy to date.  I can’t afford to get close to someone, to let him get close to me, only to have him break my heart. I’ve made too much progress over the last two years to throw it away over the risk of potential heartbreak. But Caroline thrives on human contact and connections. Staying holed up in our apartment is making her worse.
    Tilting her head to the side, her lips pucker. “True. That’s because I stuck with one guy for so long.” Her eyes widen with excitement. “Let’s make it the semester of boys. We’ll go out with a different boy every week.”
    “Are you drunk? When was the last time I went on a date?”
    “My point exactly! When was the last time either one of us went on a date?” She puts the back of her hand