was back home and unpacked Sunday night, he sat downstairs at Tall House with Richie and Keith, talking.
“You seem different,” Keith said.
“Yeah. Less weird.”
“Nice, Richie,” Keith said.
“Whaaaat?” Richie put his hands up defensively.
“Thanks, guys. I’m recharged a little,” Ollie said.
“I mean,” Keith said, “you look happier.”
“Good thing,” Richie said. “You weren’t exactly the most exciting person to be around last week.”
“Yeah, well,” Ollie said.
“So how was the weekend?” Keith asked.
“It was good. Nothing momentous.” Ollie was still thinking of Joy and dreading, at least a little, the wild unknown of the new job he would apply for tomorrow. The drive up into the Colorado mountains had been the best part of the trip. Not only did he get to know Joy a little better— with whom he was hoping to be spending his free time— but he also got to know Lynn a little better as well, and she was going to be around for a lot of his working hours. All in all, the trip was a success, but everything was changing, everything was new, and that meant that it was hard to tell where he stood, really.
“I think I like this girl Joy,” Ollie said.
“Yeah?” Richie and Keith said in unison.
“She’s in my history class,” Ollie said. “That’s how we met.”
“And that’s what you have in common,” Richie said. “History class. C’mon, you just spent a few days in the car together and all you’ve got to build on is history class?”
“That’s more than you’ve ever had in common with any girl, Richie,” Keith said.
“I have girls in my history class,” Richie said.
“Um,” Ollie said, standing up, “I’m pretty sure we all have girls in our history classes.”
“Yeah, but Ollie,” Richie said, “did you, ya know, make a move? Or something?”
Ollie looked at him blankly, shaking his head, not wanting to try to explain the impossible to him.
“Richie, sometimes I don’t know how you survive in this world,” Keith said.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Ollie said, “I’m gonna go tomorrow to this place called Ascend, and apply for a job.”
“What for?” Richie asked. “I thought you earned enough last summer to cover your entire school year.”
“I know. I did,” Ollie said. “It just seemed like it would be a good thing to do. I’ll be working with people who have special needs.”
Richie and Keith stared in disbelief. Ollie was hoping they would at least look a little more excited, that they would find it interesting enough to ask a few questions about it. He was scared to death, and though he’d mostly kept his best friends out of his life for the last year or so, he suddenly realized how hungry he was for their validation.
“Are you serious?” Keith said. “I don’t think either of us expected that.”
“Yeah,” Richie added. “You don’t know anything about doing that kind of stuff.”
“I’ll learn,” Ollie said. “The other girl who rode with us on the trip does it. She’s a manager there, and she’s gonna hire me. I’ll go in tomorrow to the office for an application.”
“So…” Richie said. “You said you were interested in Joy, but it seems like you’re trying to impress this other girl. Which is it?”
“If I didn’t know any better, Richie, I’d start to wonder if you were getting interested in Joy,” Ollie said. “Why, did you call Anne and she shot you down? I could give you Lynn’s number.”
“That’s not it,” Richie said.
Keith grinned mischievously. “Oh you gotta tell us about that conversation. What did Anne say, exactly? Word-for-word.”
Richie looked back and forth between the two of them. “You guys are leeches. Ya know that? Get off me.”
***
Ollie tapped his pen on the job application. For someone who was completely uncomfortable, wanting nothing more than to finish his stack of paperwork so he could get out of the Ascend office, he sure was taking his time. He was still weighing his options about whether or not he’d take the job, but every time he’d brought it up with Sparks, it was clear he’d be chasing Joy alone if he didn’t follow through with his end of the bargain.
But was that really a bad thing? Couldn’t he get the girl on his own? He’d done it a handful of times in his life, but it seemed like a lifetime ago that he’d succeeded in catching Anne. He was out of practice, to say the least. He couldn’t deny that he could use a little help. He knew what he needed from Sparks and he knew basically what