Page 62 of Ruthless Court
“Pencil. I’m not a criminal.”
She presses one hand to her chest.
“Thank you.”
Lila spots my tortoiseshell glasses.
“Those are amazing.”
I wait for the joke.
It doesn’t come.
“Really?”
“Yeah. They make you look like you solve murders in old libraries.”
Noor nods. “In a good way.”
“There’s a bad way?”
“Only if you’re the murderer.”
I set down my bag.
The faucet drips behind me. The radiator knocks twice. Outside, leaves scrape gently against the window.
No music rattling the walls.
No shouting from the quad.
No one discussing which athlete might become rich enough to marry.
Lila pulls a book from her pile.
“We were about to go find coffee and check out the used bookstore near campus.”
“There’s a used bookstore?”
Noor loops her arm through mine.
“There are two.”
Lila links onto my other side.
I look between them.
“Did I just find my roommate soulmates?”
The words slip out under my breath.
Both girls hear.
Noor laughs.
“Yeah, girl. You might have.”
Lila tugs me toward the hall.
