The Sophomore (College Years #2) - Monica Murphy Page 0,35
battery since I bought it,” she admits.
She’s only owned it a year, so that’s not too big an issue. I suppose I could look under the hood. Don’t batteries have a purchase date on them?
Feeling like a macho asshole who secretly doesn’t know what he’s doing, I pop the hood and check the battery, squinting at the faded letters and numbers engraved on top of it. Ellie watches me from her spot under the tree, her brows furrowed, as if she’s confused by what I’m doing.
I get it. I don’t know shit about cars. I’m not dressed for what I’m doing either, clad in black basketball shorts and a torn, faded Tame Impala T-shirt with Nike slides on my feet.
“It might be your battery,” I tell her once I slam the hood down. “Do you have an emergency tow service? Triple A?”
She slowly shakes her head.
I get pissed. Why wouldn’t her parents give her something like that? She’s all alone down here, driving a shitty car, working at a restaurant until late at night. She needs some extra protection.
“I have Triple A,” I tell her. “I could have them tow it to a mechanic.”
“I don’t know,” she says warily. “How about we test the gas theory first?”
We drive to a Pep Boys close by and I buy a gas tank for her. She insists on paying, but I won’t let her, which irritates her.
I don’t really care.
We go to a gas station next, and she literally pushes me out of the way at the pump, shoving her debit card into the reader before I can manage to pull out my credit card.
“You shouldn’t use a debit card at the pump,” I tell her as she punches in all her information.
“Why not?” She glances over her shoulder at me.
“People put skimmers on those things. Scam card readers so they can make new cards out of your number and charge it up.”
“They won’t get far. I don’t have a lot of money in my account,” she says, her voice wry.
“Yeah, but they could wipe you out fast and then your bank won’t replace it for a couple of weeks while they investigate it,” I point out.
She turns to face me. “Guess it’s the chance I have to take.”
“You should try and get a credit card,” I say, remaining outwardly calm. Inside, I want to scream at her, why doesn’t anyone explain these things to you? Why doesn’t anyone take care of you?
Like I want to be the one to take care of her, but sometimes I can barely take care of myself.
“I tried. I didn’t get one.” She shrugs. “I don’t make enough. Or they want me to pay two hundred dollars so I can have a four-hundred-dollar credit limit or whatever. I can’t afford to have two hundred dollars just tied up in some weird credit card that feels like a scam.”
I unscrew the top of the gas can before inserting the nozzle inside. “Wait a few months. You can probably get a credit card on campus. The companies always seem to have booths in the quad, trying to get you to sign up. The student offers are pretty good.”
Diego got one and they gave him a fifteen-hundred-dollar credit limit. He couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. Credit cards scare me. What if I run up a balance that I can’t afford?” she asks, frowning.
“Then you make the minimum payment and pay it off,” I explain.
“Right and pay sky high interest on stuff that I don’t need.” She shakes her head.
“Sometimes we need things we can’t afford,” I point out.
“I’m sure you know so much about that.” Her tone is laced with faint hostility.
As calmly as I can, I finish filling the plastic can, put the lid back on it and set it carefully in the trunk of my car. If that thing spills, that’ll suck major ass, but like precious Ellie just said, it’s the chance I’ll have to take.
It’s only when we’re finally back in my car do I speak again.
“What exactly did you mean by that?”
“Mean by what?” she asks, sounding genuinely confused.
“When you said I know so much about needing things we can’t afford?” I start the engine and pull away from the gas pumps, turning onto the street and stopping at the intersection, waiting for the light to change.
A sigh escapes her. “Jackson, you never have to wait for anything. You get whatever you want, whenever you want it.”