Down the hallway, Mike headed to the library with the other half of his thick sandwich in hand.
Compared to the noisy school cafeteria, the library was a pretty solid spot for lunch—at least it was quiet, and nobody bothered you.
All those perks made it a go-to place for the school's loners and outsiders to eat.
Right now, in the library, young Sheldon was having lunch with his friends.
Yeah, friends—plural.
Today, besides Sheldon and his buddy Dan, there was a girl sitting at their table too.
"Libby, could I borrow your twelfth-grade books for a while?" Sheldon asked the girl across from him, mid-bite of his hot dog sandwich.
Libby was a sturdy, healthy-looking Black girl with curly hair and full lips.
"No problem. I'll bring them this afternoon," Libby said with a warm smile, flashing a set of perfect white teeth. She seemed super approachable.
She also had these bright, lively eyes that made it obvious right away she was sharp.
And that's exactly why Sheldon had become friends with her—a big part of it was her crazy talent for geology.
Of course, the other reason she was sitting there? Dan had a bit of a crush on her—more than just friendly feelings.
"Thanks!" Sheldon said earnestly.
Twelfth-grade textbooks were huge for him right now. He was determined to master them fast so he could crush Mike on the next test and get his revenge.
In American schools, textbooks are basically public property—passed down to the next grade every year.
Plus, the school always kept extras on hand for replacements if any got damaged.
So getting an extra set wasn't a big deal for a twelfth-grader like Libby.
Anyway, her attention wasn't really on Sheldon at the moment.
She casually glanced toward the library entrance and spotted someone walking in. Her face lit up with surprise and excitement, her big eyes practically sparkling.
She covered her mouth and whispered, "Sheldon, isn't that Mike?"
Sheldon turned just in time to see Mike come in. The two exchanged a quick hello.
Then Mike headed toward an empty table.
Seeing he wasn't coming over, Libby looked a little surprised. She deliberately asked, "Sheldon, isn't Mike your friend?"
Everybody in school knew Mike was staying with Sheldon's grandma and got along great with the Cooper brothers.
"Yeah, we're friends," Sheldon admitted without hesitation.
"Then why don't you invite him to eat with us?" Libby asked, getting to what she really wanted to know.
"Why would we eat together?" Sheldon shot back, totally serious.
In Sheldon's mind, unless it was necessary, he preferred eating alone.
By that logic, Mike choosing to eat solo made perfect sense—no issue at all.
"Uh..." Libby was stumped; a bunch of stuff she wanted to say got stuck in her throat.
Dan jumped in to ease the awkwardness. "Actually, Mike and I get along pretty well. He's a really nice guy."
Ever since Dan scored an autograph from Mike, he'd thought the guy was awesome.
Libby immediately turned to him. "Really? As Mike's friend, you should totally call him over to eat with us. It's way more fun with more people—creates a real lunch vibe."
"I-Is that so?" Dan hadn't expected her to say that. Now he was kinda stuck and embarrassed.
Truth was, he and Mike had barely talked. They weren't actually friends.
As one of the school's outsiders, if it weren't for Sheldon, Dan probably wouldn't even have a chance to speak to Mike.
His earlier bragging was just to impress Libby. Who knew she'd take it seriously?
"It's true—one person eating alone is so boring," Libby said. Then she nudged him. "Go on, invite Mike over. We can all chat."
"O-Okay..." With things going this far, Dan had no choice. He got up and headed toward Mike.
He was nervous inside, but to prove he was reliable in front of a girl, he had to do it.
Plus, as a school loner himself, Dan really did think eating with friends beat going solo.
On the other side, Sheldon watched Dan walk away and noticed the subtle smile creeping onto Libby's face. He frowned a little.
His EQ might be low, but he wasn't dumb.
No typo edition here! First release of this novel.
Deep down, Sheldon had a feeling things weren't as straightforward as they seemed.
By now, Dan had nervously made it to Mike's table.
Facing Mike's gaze, Dan stammered, "M-Mike, wanna eat with us?"
He forced a stiff smile.
"Thanks, but I'm almost done," Mike said, holding up his sandwich—only about a third left.
"Oh, okay then." Dan was so tense he could barely breathe. Getting turned down actually made him relax, and he turned to head back.
But when he glanced over and saw Libby's hopeful look, he stopped again.
"Mike, come sit with us anyway? We can talk a bit. Sheldon's over there too." Dan was basically pleading now.
"Huh?" Mike gave Dan a curious look, then glanced toward the corner.
There was Sheldon and the Black girl sitting quietly, but their expressions were totally different.
"Interesting. Sure, I'll come hang out," Mike said, intrigued.
He'd noticed the girl when he walked in. Anyone who could sit with Sheldon had to be special.
He figured it was worth meeting Sheldon's new friend.
Dan pumped his fist in excitement when Mike stood up. Pulling this off for Libby made him thrilled.
Over at the table, Libby quickly scooted over to make space next to her.
Mike saw the little move, but he still chose to sit next to Sheldon.
"Sheldon, is she your new friend?" Mike asked curiously once he sat down.
Sheldon gave a tiny nod. "Her name's Libby. She's smart—really gifted in geology."
Then he introduced Mike to her: "This is Mike. He's pretty well-known around school."
Since Mike had aced that math test, Sheldon was still a bit salty about it. So when introducing him, he deliberately skipped anything about academics.