Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“Okay, so this is the starting point, right?” he asked, and pointed in the direction they’d be going. “We’ll be walking back and forth with you as promised, but just in case, this is where you go. Hang a right at the corner.”
Jean kept pace with him easily enough, so Jeremy filled the silence with talk of the local area: which houses tended to have the loudest parties, where the nearest grocery store was if Jean needed just a couple things, and where the closest bubble tea place was if that was something Jean was into. Jeremy wasn’t entirely sure he was listening, but then Jean frowned and asked,
“Carbonated tea?”
“What? No, boba tea,” Jeremy said. It didn’t seem to clear anything up, so he said, “Flavored teas with tapioca balls? Really? If I tell Laila you’ve never had it, she’ll lose her mind. Every cafe in a two-mile radius knows her name and face. Next time you’re in the kitchen just take a look at the fridge. Half of her magnets are from tea shops.”
“Does Coach Lisinski know?” Jean asked.
“That she likes bubble tea?” Jeremy asked, lost. “I… assume so?”
“And she lets her drink it?”
“What?”
“It shouldn’t have made it onto a nutrition plan,” Jean said, not at all aware he was saying something strange. He was still studying the nearby houses with their tiny yards and decorated porches. Jeremy almost forgot what they were talking about, distracted by the blatant curiosity in Jean’s wandering stare. “Either they’ve given her an unreasonable number of allowances because she is trapped in goal, or they do not care enough about her wellbeing. It’s unforgivable either way.”
“I take it the Ravens were very keen on their diets,” Jeremy said, because how else was he supposed to respond to that? “Can you tell me about it?”
Jean considered that, then began counting off on his fingertips. He listed each of the Ravens’ regimented meals down to the exact proportions they were expected to ingest. Jeremy felt cold all over listening to him. He could see the reasoning behind the decisions made by the Ravens’ staff, but that didn’t make any of this okay. That the Ravens couldn’t choose their majors or what they put in their own bodies spoke to a level of control he didn’t want to consider. Surely they had some autonomy?
“Okay,” he said, because Jean was looking expectantly at him. He was waiting for a summary of the Trojans’ diet, Jeremy realized, so he’d know how to adjust his meals accordingly. “First off, we don’t do that here. We get a lecture once a semester about good nutrition, but the coaches trust us to make the right decision most of the time. If we go a little wild and have some bubble tea or some fast food, then who really cares? We’re going to burn it off at practice anyway.”
“Who cares?” Jean echoed. “You should care.”
“You can’t tell me you’ve never had something fun just for the sake of it. Pizza? Pie? A cheeseburger?” Jeremy waited for a confession that didn’t come; Jean only looked annoyed. “I don’t know whether to be impressed by your self-control or depressed. Just… keep in mind that now you can have those things. If you want, I mean. No one’s going to say anything if you indulge now and again, and the coaches won’t care or ask. Okay?”
Jean looked at the intersection they’d stopped at. “Across?”
Jeremy gave up the argument for now and sighed. “Yeah, we’re crossing.” He tapped the button for the pedestrian light and pointed across the street. “If you keep going straight, you’ll pass the fitness center eventually. I’ll take us home that way so you can get a good look at it. For now we’re crossing and going right. Three rights so far, got it? Right out of the apartment, right at the first corner, right on Vermont.”
Jean didn’t answer, but he followed Jeremy across the street and south down Vermont. “This is the western edge of campus,” Jeremy told him. “Once we’ve got you registered for your classes I’ll bring you back through here and show you campus proper, okay? We’ll make a grand tour of it. Check it out,” he said, and gestured to the open gates they were passing. “You can technically cut through here and still make it to the court, but I figure the most straightforward route is the easiest to remember.”
At Vermont and Exposition, Jeremy had Jean cross the street and cut left. He had half a mind to cut through the park, but the sight of cops lounging at the nearer entrance had him sticking to the sidewalk along Exposition. There was little to no chance he’d know them, and no reason they’d recognize him, but Jeremy kept his gaze forward and his mouth shut until they were past.