Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson

Author:Lily Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

23

After Lumberjack Beard read through the first drafts of our essays on Tuesday, attacking each with a tangle of red ink slashes and cursive, he retrieved a single Rubik’s Cube from a battered army green messenger bag. The clack of the bag’s buckle hitting the floor echoed throughout the dining hall, which Lumberjack Beard seemed to have sole dominion over. It was entirely possible that he was sleeping there. His hair was slicked back with what could have been the same grease that he’d cooked our breakfast in that morning. He certainly smelled of bacon and syrup, but I supposed it could have been a hipster cologne with a name like Brunch Bro or IHOP Fiend.

“If you decide to compete, you will be timed solving this Rubik’s Cube. Every team is being tested during this period and the winner will be announced at lunch.” He held the cube forward, letting it balance delicately on the tips of his fingers. Its sides were scrambled into a jumble of colors. “Any takers?”

I raised my hand, knowing that my teammates would do likewise. The list of Cheeseman events had become as important as our binders. Knowing that we were going to have to solve a Rubik’s Cube meant that Leigh and I had spent the last two nights watching dozens of videos on my laptop and memorizing algorithms. Since we both had one blue ribbon displayed above our beds, we had a vested interest in racking up more wins.

“Why don’t you give it a shot first, Brandon?” Lumberjack Beard said. He tossed the cube to Brandon, who caught it in the crook of his arm.

Lumberjack Beard kicked his feet up onto the table, displaying the muddy bottoms of his battered brown boots. Not exactly seasonally appropriate, but way better than the cracked sandals that Hari had been wearing for the last two days. Although it seemed, from the way Perla was audibly gagging, that she didn’t agree.

“People have to eat here, you know,” she said.

“I have to eat here. This is the big kids’ table,” Lumberjack Beard corrected, sweeping a hand over the table. He pointed both index fingers toward the door. “You have to eat over there somewhere. But it’s Taco Tuesday. Get pumped.”

“I bet it’s the same tacos we ate on Friday,” Jams said under his breath.

“Possible,” Lumberjack Beard said with a jovial shrug. “Go on, B. We’re waiting.”

“My hand wasn’t up,” Brandon said.

“Come on. It’s the prodigy litmus test,” he said, his lips appearing in a smile from the depths of bushy brown beard. He held up his phone, the timer displayed on the screen. “Ready when you are.”

Brandon let out a puff of a sigh that sent a strand of hair flying up off his forehead like an elephant’s trunk. Wedging his tongue into his bottom lip, he spun the Rubik’s Cube dexterously between his fingers.

I tried to imagine how I would describe Brandon to my friends when I got home. Already, it was easy to describe the rest of the team.

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