Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 116759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116759 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 467(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“I’m voting you,” Maddie cracked.
“Uh, why me? It could be Lily.”
“No. Never. Lily is like the nicest person ever.”
“Shucks, thanks.” I grinned as I shoved my bestie affectionately.
While she chuckled, Sierra huffed. “And I’m not?”
“You’re awesome,” Maddie insisted. “But nice is not your moniker.”
Sierra considered that. “Yeah, fair enough. It’s probably me. But that gives me a starting point. I’m making a list of everyone I think might have a problem with me.”
“Is that a very long list, then?” I teased.
“Hey, you’re supposed to be the nice one.”
Laughing, I turned to Kenny to see if we were ready for our first caller. He gave me the thumbs-up, and I glanced at the laptop to see who was first in line. “Let’s get back to doing what we do best and actually help some people. Our first caller today is Hayley.” As Hayley started to tell us about the problem she was having with a boyfriend who didn’t want to have sex in any position but missionary, I tried not to let my mind wander to Elijah. To the rival podcast.
Our ratings had been down the last few weeks, and I knew it was because of them. If we weren’t going to achieve a ceasefire, our next move was to ignore their existence and try to pull our listeners back in with good content.
CHAPTER FOUR
LILY
Present Day
“Just breathe,” the redhead said, rubbing a soothing hand over her friend’s back. I recognized her and the blond. We were in the same Human Personality course last year.
The blond wiped away tears. “I’m sorry. I just … got overwhelmed. It’s a lot.”
“I know.” Her friend patted. “But we’ve got this. We can do this.”
Sympathy coursed through me as I turned away so they didn’t catch me being nosy. The first week of fourth year was overwhelming.
We had an eight-thousand-word dissertation to write this year, advanced option courses, and two compulsory courses to take. I was the weirdo who wasn’t, in fact, overwhelmed with the workload. I liked knowing what was expected of me, so I could schedule it all out. I might be a wee bit more stressed out if I didn’t have it so cushy with my podcast job. The girls and I were able to cover for one another when things were too busy.
And honestly, I was relieved Jan and Aiysha were joining the podcast this year. I was weary of dating. So bloody weary. And yet I had to for the show. This year, however, maybe I’d get to take a break from the revolving door of zero-chemistry dates I’d found myself on for the past few years.
Thankfully, I’d quit my tutoring job at the library. However, I had promised Mum—the university’s head librarian—I’d help her out whenever I could, and she’d pay me for hours worked rather than a set salary. It was nice to be able to see her whenever I wanted, and I was happy I’d still get some opportunity to this year.
I scanned the notice board in the main entrance of the psychology building, looking for the sign-up sheet I’d been told was pinned here. It had tickled me that the sign-up form wasn’t digital until I discovered the psych experiment was being run by Arthur Banks, a teaching assistant who was a postgrad student. He’d been the teaching assistant in my Thinking and Reasoning course last year and he abhorred modern technology. I suspected his abhorrence was more about being thought of as eccentric than actual loathing for the digital world.
There was no information on what the experiment was, other than it was a social psychology experiment. Considering I was writing my dissertation on the impact of social media on self-esteem across genders, a social psych experiment was in my wheelhouse. Did I already have enough on my plate? Yes. But I’d most likely be running my own experiments in grad school and I considered this research for that. I was reaching into my bag for a pen when someone drew up beside me.
Lifting my head, I tensed.
Sebastian.
He stood far too close and peered at me like I was something in a petri dish.
“What?” I snapped.
“Give me five minutes.” Sebastian leaned in, his cologne tickling my senses, a woodsy spice that just a few months ago made me want to rip off his clothes. Now I’d quite like to find the bottle of surely expensive fragrance and stick it where the sun didn’t shine.
“Goodbye, Sebastian.” I turned from him, reaching up to sign my name on the form.
“Lily, please. Just give me a chance to explain.”
“Explain what exactly?” I capped the pen and dropped it in my bag, not meeting his eyes. “That you are a bully, a snake, a wee turd.”
“Turd?” Laughter trembled in the word, and I glowered up at him.
“Do you think this is funny?”