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Finally, summer had arrived, and it had been quite a while since I'd seen Lip through a romantic lens. Not that I was dwelling on it, especially after he ended up gravitating back to Karen. I suppose what Irked me more was the lack of an explanation on his part, considering everything. Deep down, I knew Lip had an asshole streak in him, a trait seemingly ingrained. And I had come to terms with the fact that there was no magic fix for that. To while away the summer, I teamed up with Ian, ensuring that my days weren't spent idly.
As I trudged home from work one day, I bumped into Karen on her way out of the house. She paused, attempting to engage in friendly chit-chat, oblivious to the fact I wanted zero to do with her.
"Hey, Mabel, how's things?" She inquired, attempting to sound casual.
"I'm good," I replied curtly, unlocking the door and slipping in side.
A simple nod followed from her side, "Cool," and with that, she sauntered away. I couldn't help but roll my eyes before heading into the house. Fiona and her friend Jasmine were in the kitchen, caught up in a conversation that tapered off as Jasmine made her way upstairs. I trailed behind, ascending the stairs and entering Ian and Lip's room. Ian was perched on his bed, engrossed in some school work.
His gaze lifted to me as I settled down. "Did you know that the trigonometric moment problem has infinitely many solutions if the Toeplitz matrix A is invertible?" He posed, his question laden with a mix of genuine curiosity and academic intrigue.
My brow furrowed, bewildered by the jargon. "What on earth does that even mean?" I quizzed, my tone lace with bemusement as I glanced at the paragraph he had indicated. "You're in a whole different realm of intelligence," I chuckled, marveling at his comprehension.
Meanwhile, Lip occupied himself with a stack of papers, frustration evident as he held up one of them. "Just a bunch of parking tickets," He mused, my attention drawn to his handiwork---an obvious background check on someone.
Ian glanced at the paper then dismissed it, his focus reverting back to his studies. "You did a background check?"
Lip's annoyance was palpable. "Yeah, and most interesting thing is a restraining order from his ex-girlfriend." He lamented, his tone a mix of vexation and disbelief. "She chucked a camera at him!"
I bent down to pick up Ian's pencil from the floor, offering a hand in his academic endeavor. "Is this where you're at?" I murmured, pointing out a page in his book. He nodded in appreciation, and I scribbled a few notes for him. In the midst of my assistance, my curiosity got the better of me. "So, what's eating at you, Lip?" I inquired, my eyes flitting between the paper and the task at hand.
"This guy, he's a total joke," Lip dismissed my question for a moment. "Karen's all over him now, despite the fact that he's as exciting as a damp napkin."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at Lip's assessment. Ian leaned casually against the wall, his voice mellow as he quipped, "You're like Liam when someone messes with his toys." He proceeded to light a joint, taking a drag before offering it my way. I indulged in a quick puff before I handed it back to him.
