Chapter 25….
Erik shrugged and looked at me, as if to say the question had been meant for me all along.
Since Olivia’s seat would still be available even if Erik sat down, well…
“Uh, sure.”
And so, the three of us sat together.
But why was it that when we went from two to three, things somehow got quieter?
Between the strangely silent pair, I tried to think of a common topic to bring up.
…Rowing.
Should I bring up rowing after all?
But suddenly, Erik asked,
“Where should we have the lesson on Saturday?”
Ah, logarithmic functions…
“Well… I don’t mind anywhere. Where could we do it?”
“The library works, or we could do it in my room or your room.”
I barely managed to close my mouth before it dropped open.
In your room or my room?
Those were about the last places I wanted.
“Wouldn’t the library… be better?”
I asked nervously, but Liam cut in.
“What lesson on Saturday?”
In the end, I had to confess about the lowest math score of my life and explain that Erik had agreed to help me.
Liam looked at me with a slightly hurt expression.
“Wow, so you’re going to get lessons from Erik Brangell, your classmate, while Liam Gardy, a third-year, is sitting right here?”
Before I could answer, Erik jumped in.
“Liam, even if you’re in Year 3, I’m HL.”
“So you’re really going to play the level card?”
Liam protested, but soon wrinkled his nose in resignation.
“Too bad. That could’ve been a perfect excuse to slack off.”
Erik gave him a look that said, pathetic.
“Don’t you have your IA deadline coming up?”
At that, Liam dropped his fork like he’d lost his appetite.
Yeah, maybe that was crossing a line—asking a third-year about their IA.
“Hey, Brangell. ‘IA’ is a forbidden word in front of Year 3s this month.”
It was true.
In Year 3, the hell called Internal Assessments—IA—opened up. If you messed up, it stayed stamped on your final grade forever.
For subjects like math, the IA made up 20% of the grade, so it was especially bad.
When Erik finally smirked, Liam thrust out his fist.
“You’d better teach her well.”
“Is he your brother?”
Erik sneered, but still bumped fists with him.
Liam suddenly glanced at me, hesitated, then smiled awkwardly.
“Though if you called me your brother, Vivi might be the one offended.”
I didn’t understand why they were acting like they were competing over the hassle of a math lesson, but for once I had something I could agree with.
“Obviously. If we were family, I’d have to be the older sister. Boys are always less mature.”
Liam widened his eyes in disbelief.
“But I’m at least one stair-step taller than you. Maybe even more?”
“Bringing up height is cheating. I told you, age is measured by maturity.”
While we bickered pointlessly, Erik wrapped things up.
“Anyway, lesson is Saturday at noon. Meet in front of the gym first.”
“Yeah, fine.”
But my smile toward Erik froze instantly.
Because Christina was standing at the cafeteria door, staring straight at the three of us.
Indeed, Oxenstierna never lets things slide.
That very evening at dinner, Christina proudly asked in front of everyone:
“Oh, right. Vivi, what’s the deal with you and Liam? You looked really close with his father at Parents’ Day.”
Almost every kid at the table turned to look at me.
Christina had spoken the words, but it was obvious they were all dying of curiosity.
Of course. Even if I’d deleted them from my phone, the word “transfer student” must still be circulating on the dorm bulletin board like a lingering storm cloud.
Still, when it came to Liam, I had absolutely nothing to hide.
So I smiled brightly at Christina.
“Didn’t you hear his dad explain that day? Liam and I are childhood friends. We even went to elementary school together.”
“No wonder…!”
It wasn’t much of a statement, but Christina clasped her hands before her chest as if moved.
“You wouldn’t know, since you transferred, but Liam Gardy is basically the symbol of our school’s rowing club.”
Right then, Karin chimed in.
“Exactly! And whenever he seems to treat someone special, it’s always a guy! Do you know why?”
“Well…”
I remembered the posts I’d seen on the bulletin board. Rumors about Liam being gay.
Not wanting to acknowledge them, I answered vaguely.
Karin, however, pounced on it like it was the juiciest gossip in the world.
“It’s because he’s recruiting for rowing! Liam eats, sleeps, and breathes rowing! That’s why everyone wondered if he might be gay!”
“Really? As for Liam’s orientation, I really don’t—”
But I didn’t get the chance to finish. Christina cut me off.
“No. Judging by the way he looks at you, Liam’s definitely not gay. I’d bet my entire fortune he’s completely straight.”
Why are you betting your money on Liam’s orientation? And what was so special about the way he looked at me?
I couldn’t hide my growing annoyance, but Christina smiled like she’d crowned herself Stockholm’s most oblivious 17-year-old.
“Vivi, do you actually believe guys and girls can just be friends?”
What did I just hear?
I bristled, as if she had denied my long friendship with Liam.
“Christina, I was six when I first met Liam. We were the kind of kids who dug in the dirt with our fingers to find ant nests.”
“Exactly.”
Christina nodded.
“That was when you were six. Now it’s been eleven years.”
Karin added her two cents.
“Vivi, you need to get your head straight! Liam won’t be here in a year. Where else are you going to find such a hot guy?”
“Guys, thanks for worrying, but I really don’t think of Liam that way—”
Christina cut me off again, shrugging.
“Look at me and Erik. We even graduated kindergarten together.”
That’s the worst example you could’ve given. You two aren’t even friends.
Thankfully, I swallowed the words before they escaped my mouth.
Instead, Karin declared:
“My queen, you two will be Sweden’s longest-lasting couple. I guarantee it.”
My queen?
Never mind that my ears were rotting; if Erik overheard that last part, Karin might get sued.
I finally stood up, ending the torture.
“Well, even if Liam isn’t gay, that doesn’t mean he’s going to like me…”
I picked up my plate, half-full, and turned to Christina.
“Still, thanks for the advice. You’re right—if I only have one year left with Liam, I should make it more meaningful.”
As I walked away, Christina called after me.
“Tell us first if you two become a couple! Then we can have a double-date group hangout!”
With Erik Brangell as your partner?
Maybe you should ask him about that first.
On my way out of the cafeteria, trying hard not to cover my ears, I overheard their new topic already.
“Hey, did you see? Valderis Tech finally filed for bankruptcy.”
To them, I was nothing more than a crossword puzzle.
Something to poke at when boredom hit and their phone battery died—fun if you solved it, meaningless if you didn’t.
“Really? No wonder they looked so gloomy lately…”
“I knew it when they spent everything on R&D. And now a divorce suit on top of that? Insane.”
Whose gossip was it this time?
Swallowing down the bitterness in my throat, I left the cafeteria and stepped into the hallway.
The next day at noon, I went to the gym as promised. The very same place where, in the first week, I had been waiting for Liam and bumped into Erik instead.
This time, Liam came out with his arm slung around Erik’s shoulder, but the moment he saw me, he let go and walked over to hug me lightly.
“Hey.”
“Liam, how was practice?”
He sighed, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“Don’t ask, Vivi. I feel like I’m going to puke. Couldn’t even eat lunch. And we still have to go to the library after this…”
