The Smartest Girl in the Room (27 page)

He put his drink down. "Was there something
you wanted to say to me?"

"Well... yes. I think. I just wanted to know,
um, how things were with you and Zainab."

"Things?"

"Uh huh." She smiled widely. "Things. In
general."

"I’m pretty fond of her."

"Of course. Because she’s so wonderful."

"Mm hmm."

"And you’re wonderful. Because you care so
much. About everyone. And you try to do the right thing."

"And the right thing in this case would
be...?"

"Oh, I don’t know. You know, the nice guy
thing."

Richard nodded. Emily was pretty sure he was
trying not to laugh. "And do you want to make sure that I’m being
a, um, nice guy?"

A bunch of images of Zainab and Richard
flashed through her mind. She shook her head to make them go away.
"Ugh. No. I mean, yes. I mean, I know you’re a nice guy. I just
want to make sure- that- you, um..."

"That I what?"

"Oh, Jesus. I think you know what I’m trying
to say."

"Is there a reason you don’t want to say
it?"

"Are you trying to get me to say that it’s
none of my business?"

"Is it?"

"It sort of is." He leaned back and she
leaned forward. "She’s my best friend."

"I know."

"And I don’t want to see anything happen to
her."

"I haven’t forgotten anything."

She looked away. "Great."

"And she told me."

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "Good." But.
"What did you tell her?"

"She knows I knew. She figured you must have
told me before we met."

Emily bit her lip. "She’s not mad?"

"Of course not."

Of course she wouldn’t be. "What else did you
tell her?"

"I didn’t tell her anything that might
endanger her."

She sighed. "Thank you. I don’t want her to
take on anymore than she already did."

He leaned in and patted her head. "Me
neither." He picked up his latte. "So was that all?"

She laughed. "No. I’ve been dying to ask you
why you’re not pursuing hybrid instead of solar."

He shook his head. "Do we want to stop using
oil or not?"

~~~

A few days later Emily was walking through
the quad on her lunch break and heard someone say her name. She
turned around and saw Miranda. "It is you!" Miranda exclaimed as
she hugged Emily.

Emily hugged her back. "I didn’t know you
went to school here."

Miranda grinned. "I’m just back from ‘co-op’,
which was really just an excuse to visit Israel. What have you been
up to?"

"You mean Jessie and Richard didn’t tell you
everything?"

"Richard never says anything unless you ask
him really specific questions, and Jessie exaggerates all the
time."

"In this case, if she said I was an idiot,
she was right."

"If you were with the guy I think you were
with, you weren’t the first one he snowed. Sophie and I were best
friends for a couple of years before that. But then-"

"Michael ruined it."

"How did you know that?"

"Richard. And it’s also a good guess."

"I think we were both hoping we could
reconnect with her here, but then she was with Drew."

"I hope you guys reached out to her
afterward." Emily couldn’t stand the thought that someone had been
with Drew and didn’t have someone there to catch her afterward.

Miranda shrugged. "I tried, but I think being
with Drew made her even more spooked about... everything."

"I’m so sorry. Losing a friend is much worse
than losing a boyfriend."

Miranda sighed. "Enough about that. What’s
this about Richard and your friend Zainab? That can’t possibly be
true."

Emily laughed. "Oh, it’s true. They’ve been
inseparable for about three weeks now."

Miranda put her hand on her heart. "Who’d
have thought Richard would fall in love at first sight?"

"It’s nice to know that exists."

"Never happened to you?"

"It sort of did, but I didn’t even get to the
week mark, much less three weeks." She thought about the last time
she saw Mitch and pushed away any regret. "It’s better that way. He
wasn’t what I thought he was."

"So why bring him up?"

"Because I thought he was everything I’d ever
wanted. If nothing else, Mitchell Graham talks a really good game.
Best part of his schtick is that he makes it looks like he means
it."

Miranda blinked. "Oh my God, you’re
Emily."

Emily blinked, looked to the side, then
raised her eyebrows. "Thank you... for noticing. I thought we had
that established at Christmas, but I guess it’s sort of a common
name-"

"No! You’re Emily. You’re Mitch’s Emily."

She stopped breathing. "How do you know
him?"

"The Hillel." Miranda smiled. "And the
Student Center. Wherever he’s been when he needed to cry over
you."

She knew she was blushing. "Next time you see
him, tell him not to bother."

"Well, not exactly crying- male pride thing-
but he’s been pretty miserable."

"Yes," Emily nodded. "He is miserable."

"Oh no, don’t say that!" Miranda said
quickly. "I know he was a jerk with that Kyra person, but he knew
it was a mistake even then. He just-"

"Couldn’t help himself because she was some
kind of sex goddess, right?"

"What? No! I mean, I never met her, but that
wasn’t what was going on."

The best way to keep from crying right then
was to smirk. "I’m sure that never went on. Ever."

"That isn’t what I meant-"

Emily took a deep breath and forced herself
to smile. "Miranda, I think you’re a nice person, despite what
Jessie says, or maybe because of it. But I cannot talk to you
about... him. I don’t talk to Zainab about him. I don’t want to
talk about him- at all. I want to pretend he doesn’t exist and
forget I ever met him. Okay? Because... I just can’t."

Emily couldn’t tell if Miranda was
disappointed, upset or offended. It looked for a moment like she
was all three. After a moment, she smiled and put her hand on
Emily’s. "Of course, I didn’t mean to upset you. I hope you’re not
mad."

"I’m not." She sighed and leaned back against
the building. "I just... things finally feel good. I don’t want to
go back to the rest of it."

Miranda leaned next to her. "I know what it’s
like when someone really gets to you."

Emily stifled her desire to protest Mitch’s
importance. "Yeah? What’s his name?"

Miranda looked down. "I’d rather not
say."

"Anyone I know? Anyone Jessie knows?
Richard?"

Miranda sighed. "Yes. And they sort of... no,
they definitely know. And they don’t approve."

Emily tapped Miranda’s shoulder lightly with
the back of her fist. "You know, sometimes it’s good to listen to
your friends."

Miranda looked up and smiled. "So if Zainab
and I like Mitch-"

"Oh, shut up!" Emily pushed herself off the
wall.

Miranda laughed. "Come on, I’ll walk you to
class."

"I don’t have class, I have library."

"Then aren’t you lucky I’m here? I have class
enough for us both."

"Oh, God."

Mitch finally met Zainab at Princess
Cappuccino. He hugged her tight before either could say a word.
"Are you okay?"

Zainab smiled and squeezed his arm. "I’m
fine. I’m being well taken care of."

"Where have you been? I’ve come in here a
lot, and the Student Center, but you’re never around."

"I was a little afraid," Zainab said softly.
"But I’m not anymore. Now I’m just in classes, hanging out with my
friends in smaller doses, eating a lot, and living life." She took
a deep breath. "Listen, it’s really sweet of you to check up on me,
but you don’t have to –"

"Hey, you’re my friend." He rubbed her back.
"I’m not just checking up on you. I want to see how you are because
I like you. I’m sorry we haven’t spent more time together, and I
want to change that."

Zainab smiled. "I’d like that. Especially
since we didn’t part on the best of terms."

Mitch was confused, then laughed when he
remembered. "I really deserved it. You’re a good friend, to
everyone." He was silent for a moment. "Yeah, you earned her
loyalty."

"Huh?"

"You know- Emily." He wasn’t sure if it was
okay to say her name in Zainab’s presence.

"How do you know about Emily?"

"What do you mean? I saw it. Well, I saw
after the fact, but it didn’t take a lot of imagination to figure
out what happened."

"You saw her move in with me?"

"She’s living with you? How long has she been
living with you?"

"No, back up. What are you talking
about?"

"Me- what? I was talking about when Emily
punched that loser in the face."

"Which loser?" Zainab’s eyes widened. "Emily
punched Joe?"

"Um, yeah." It dawned on Mitch that he
shouldn’t have brought that up.

"When?"

"I don’t- it was maybe right at the very
beginning of the quarter- maybe a little bit before."

Zainab looked like she was remembering
something. "How do you know she punched him?"

"Because I saw him. And she must have punched
him pretty well, because- "

"Because then Joe disappeared."

"Good riddance, he was scum." He thought he
shouldn’t mention that he went to the police and they couldn’t find
him either. Mitch clenched his jaw. "Zainab, don’t be mad at her. I
mean, I know you must have been worse off, but she looked like...
she was going to kill someone. It was scary."

Zainab exhaled. "Yeah, I know that look."

"How is she?" He couldn’t help himself.

"Well. Now. Why do you ask? Aren’t you
with-"

"My big mistake?" Mitch shook his head in
disgust. "I just needed to get kicked around a little before I came
to my senses." He looked down. "I’m not proud of myself. I know I
hurt her."

"I guess it was just bad timing," she said
after a moment.

"Yeah, story of my life because she’s with
someone now, right?"

Now it was Zainab’s turn to laugh. "No. I
would say that as bad as you might feel about your ex, Emily feels
ten times worse. And she should. He treated her like a toy. She
won’t talk about how it ended, but Richard has some idea of what
happened. He’s dropped a couple of hints, and it makes me wish
that, well, I’d punched him too when I had the chance."

"What did he do?"

"Richard said something about shaking her.
Really shaking her, as in, she should have gone to the emergency
room." Mitch clenched his fist under the table. "And then there was
some awful dinner party at Richard's house with Jessie, and not
letting her leave the apartment once. And don’t get me started on
the library. He was a bully and a coward." Zainab shuddered.
"Here’s to everyone making better choices the next time
around."

"Sounds like you already have. Who’s
Richard?"

Zainab brightened up. "He’s great. I don’t
know where this is going, but it’s nice, it’s fun, it’s happy. And,
oh yeah, he’s smart and handsome."

"What's he like?"

Mitch’s smile faded as Zainab described
Richard. "You don’t approve?" she said when she was done.

"Oh- no. Sorry, I’m a poor judge, I guess."
He looked at the ground, trying not to remember the day he saw
Emily with what must have been Richard in the quad. "So... Emily
isn’t with anyone now?"

"No," Zainab said slowly. "And neither are
you, I guess."

"But?" Mitch asked.

"But I don’t know if it’s a good idea. Emily
is still... I love her, but you don’t spend months with someone who
keeps you locked up like that and not change. She may not be the
person you remember."

"And?"

"And I don’t know if you deserve her."

Mitch raised his eyebrow. "Then I’ll just
have to prove that I do."

Emily hadn’t been at the library for more
than an hour when Miranda started texting her.

You should really talk to him.

I don’t have anything to say.

Really? That was all one-sided on his
part?

It was as soon as he blew me off. Now leave
me alone, I’m working.

Miranda sent another text an hour later.

I know he’d love a chance to talk to you
again.

Did you say something to him?

No, I don’t have to. I know he would.

Since you’re so in tune with him, you talk to
him. Or whatever else you want to do with him.

I told you, there’s someone else.

Then text him!

Emily turned off her phone until she left the
library five hours later. She could have left two hours earlier if
she hadn’t been so distracted.

She was surprised when she came home to find
Zainab and Richard there. "Hey!" she smiled. "What am I making for
dinner?"

Richard grinned. "I haven’t been able to get
over that Korean black bean thing-"

"Hey!" Zainab frowned.

"If she’s taking suggestions-" Richard
protested.

Zainab shook her head. "Anyway... guess who I
saw today?"

"Oh, is that what Miranda did after I turned
off my phone?"

Richard knit his brow. "Huh?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "She figured out that
she knew some... jerk I used to know. Never mind."

"I didn’t see Miranda," Zainab said
softly.

Emily looked at Zainab. She blinked after a
moment then nodded. "Yeah, that Korean dish is called jajeung myun.
I might have enough black bean paste left." Emily turned and went
into the kitchen.

Zainab came in as she was gathering the
potatoes and onions. "So you’re not going to ask?"

"If you want to be friends with him that’s
fine. You don’t have to tell me every time you see him. In fact,
don’t."

"I think I should if he wants to spend a lot
of time talking about you."