Nao Summers hates drama, but life becomes full of it when he's paired with the school delinquent on a film project. He's also in dire need of a way to break up with his girlfriend who wants to have lots of sex, while Nao would prefer to die. To crow...
"Wait, really?" I stumbled forward, finally forgetting the embarrassing moment Seth had just caught us in. (He would 100 % interrogate me about the details later that week).
My friend nodded, eyes eager, but face somber. A tired drag in his cheeks suggested he'd been overexerting himself — I guessed not only with the school project. The things I'd give for a relaxing night at home right now... It had felt like such a long time since Seth and I went to that concert.
"You guys talked to some of the girls in Axel's class, right?" Seth asked.
Axel was standing behind me now, tall and present and probably kind of hot. Yep. My thoughts swirled around in my brain, mixing topics and situations while I tried to calculate where Seth was going with this.
"We did," Axel answered on my behalf.
"Well." Seth crossed his arms. "I think you're barking up the wrong tree."
"You're gonna have to explain that." I felt like a bowl of overcooked spaghetti. Things were slipping from my mind as stress and worries piled on top of my already overflowing mental filing cabinet. I'd have to sort through these things before I imploded.
"Right, so the rat — malicious as hell, right?" Seth backed away until he hit the alcove seat, and settled in a cross-legged position while he faced us. There was an eager air of anticipation emanating off of him. "But those sports guys, they don't really go for that kind of revenge."
"Yeah, they seem to be more into kicking my ass," I added.
"Exactly," Seth Said. "No one on that team is clever enough to get away with this kind of vandalism. They don't have a single sneaky bone in their bodies."
Axel stepped sideways and leaned against the closest wall. The light from the window illuminated his sullen expression. "We already figured as much," he said. "Still doesn't help us catch the one who did it."
A wide smile appeared on Seth's face. "No, but it certainly narrows the suspect pool."
"Please get to the point." I regarded him with a quiet desperation. Seth had been really into true crime documentaries lately, and if he planned on dragging this out like one of his favorite shows, I'd rather press the fast-forward button on his explanation.
"So the suspect needs to be someone who's smart," Seth continued, urged on by my look. "They also have to harbor a really intense grudge on you, Nao. To top it off, they have to be someone sneaky."
Axel narrowed his eyes and sent a long stare in my direction. He seemed to be thinking the same thing I was.
"I guess the most timely question to ask now is, how many people hate you, Nao?"
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An hour later, the list had been put together. Thinking about all the people that disliked, and potentially wanted to hurt me was an odd experience. Seth had been very helpful with coming up with new suspects, and Axel had a talent for measuring said people's eligibility as a suspect. I was mostly just a fifth wheel who felt rather trapped and lost in the whole process. Our final list had been scribbled down on one of Seth's mother's grocery lists:
