Half Life: A Novel

Chapter 4

                                                           Chapter 4

                                                           - James - 

“Hey there, Pyromaniac. I heard you lit a table on fire in chem.”

James shrugged unapologetically and slid into the booth beside his best friend. “News sure does travel fast around here.”

“Well, what did you expect?” Spencer asked playfully. “You lit up the chem lab like a roman candle on your first day back.”

“That was an accident,” James clarified. “And I really can’t take all the credit.”

“That’s right,” Spencer agreed. “You had some help from little-miss-what’s-her-name.” She smiled. “Rumor is she gave you quite the earful afterwards.”

James shook his head. “I thought you didn’t listen to rumors…” He really didn’t want to get into this – particularly not with Spencer – and especially not when he had so many other things he wanted to tell her. Like the headway he’d made in finding his brother…

But Spencer was nothing if not relentless. And maybe a bit overly meddlesome. And once she got an idea in her head, there was simply no telling her “no.” 

“Come on,” Spencer replied, true-to-form, as she playfully nudged James’s arm. “What’d she say?”

“It really wasn’t all that exciting,” James said vaguely. He’d learned long ago – mostly through trial and error – that the best way to deal with an overly curious Spencer was to give her just enough information to make her shut up. “She called me an incompetent asshole – and a few other choice adjectives – and that’s about when I stopped listening.”

Spencer pursed her lips. “Why do I feel like you’re not telling me everything?”

Because I’m not, James thought wryly. But he couldn’t tell her that.

So, instead, he just smiled. “Because you’re paranoid.” 

At that, James felt a hard slap on the back of his head. “And violent.” He added teasingly. “Do you really think that hitting me is going to help your case?”

“I’m sorry,” Spencer said. “But your selective memory is driving me crazy.” 

James shrugged. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get over it eventually…" Spencer may have been his best friend, but he wasn’t about to let her batter her way to a victory…  

“Unlikely,” Spencer replied. “I mean, it was bad enough that you went off to god-knows-where without me…”

James frowned. He had gotten enough of this from Brynn this morning. He didn’t need it from Spencer as well. Especially because – unlike Brynn – Spencer knew exactly where he’d gone and exactly what he’d been after.

“Come on, Spence. You know I had to—“

Immediately, Spencer put up her hands in surrender. “I know,” she said seriously. “Look, no worries, OK? I’m over it.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “But at least give me some dirt on… What did you say her name was?”  

“Brynn?” James supplied.

“Right,” Spencer said. “I’m thinking… Evil bitch ice queen, no?”

“Nah,” James replied. “I like her. She’s… Spirited.”

“Spirited?” Spencer raised an eyebrow. “So, in other words, you think she’s hot.”