The Girl Who Dared to Think by Bella Forrest (e reader for manga TXT) 📕

My best friend looked at me, the torn page dangling from her fingertips, and gave me a defiant look. “The book is too heavy,” she said calmly, folding the wide sheet. “And my father always told me that human lives were more valuable than books.”

“He did not,” I shot back, and the corner of her mouth quirked up.

“Fine, he never said that per se, but he did say something along those lines.” She slipped the piece of paper into a plastic bag that sealed shut, making it watertight, and then slipped the bag inside her uniform. She handed me the book, which I obediently put back on the shelf.

“Let’s go,” she said over the hiss of the door, and I turned to see her already heading out. I quickly followed.

“Zoe?” Her mother’s voice called from her room as we passed, and I hesitated, but Zoe didn’t, continuing back through the kitchen. I followed her, realizing that her mother had managed to whip together a stew while Zoe was looking for the pipe chart. It was bubbling on the stove, making my stomach growl, but I ignored it as I followed Zoe to the door.

“Zoe.”

Zoe pushed the button to the door, ignoring her mother’s insistent calls, and stepped out, almost plowing right into Eric. He reached out to steady her, and she froze, tipping her head up toward him. I slid through the space around them and closed the door before her mother could call her again, worried that Eric might wonder what was going on.

The two of them stared at each other for a long moment, and I suppressed a sigh, looking around for a clock. I wanted my friends to finally admit their feelings to each other, but now wasn’t exactly the best time. Grey was waiting, without food and trapped against his will, probably scared and very much alone. Maybe it was insensitive of me, but we needed to speed this along—without getting Eric involved.

“Hey, Eric,” I said, managing to put a teasing note in my voice. “What are you doing at Zoe’s house?”

Eric blinked, the dreamy look on his face evaporating as he realized he and Zoe had a witness, and removed his hands from her shoulders so fast you’d have thought she was toxic. Running a sheepish hand through his hair, he looked over at me and forced a nervous smile on his face.

“Hey, Liana,” he said. “Were you invited to dinner too?”

This time Zoe blinked, and her face filtered through a series of expressions, from confusion to consideration to recollection, and in spite of the gravity of the situation, I found myself smiling. The awkwardness between Zoe and Eric was something I didn’t have time for, but I wasn’t really sure how to put a stop to it.

“Dinner,” she groaned, placing a hand on her forehead. “I forgot.”

There was a flash of hurt on Eric’s face, and I recognized the beginnings of an episode from one of their dramatic lovers-but-not-actually-lovers fights beginning to form. This was the best moment I was ever going to get.

“She forgot to net you that her mother had to cancel,” I slid in smoothly, taking a step closer to them. “And that’s my fault. I showed up unexpectedly.”

“Oh.” Eric ran his hand down his neck. “Do you want to come over to my place for dinner?”

Zoe looked at me and then snapped her gaze back to Eric. “I can’t,” she said. “I want to, but Liana came by to ask me for some help.”

“Oh? With what? Can I tag along?”

My heart pounded, but Zoe didn’t panic. “No,” she said, an apologetic smile on her face, “because I already gave it to her.”

“Oh.” He looked around awkwardly, shuffling his feet. “Then why can’t you come for dinner?”

My heart stopped. It flat-out stopped as Eric picked apart Zoe’s statements, trying to find a way to squeeze in some time with her. It would’ve been sweet, but his timing was just so bad.

“Because helping Liana set me back on my own work,” Zoe explained effortlessly, once again surprising me with the smoothness of her invented alibi. “I’ve got some parts that I need to take apart, clean, and repair before the next shift.”

“Oh, well, I can help you with that!” Eric exclaimed, a broad smile on his face. I couldn’t stop myself; I grabbed hold of the first plausible idea I could to get rid of him as quickly as possible.

“She’s lying,” I said, and Zoe gave me a wide-eyed look of warning that told me she’d be giving me a piece of her mind shortly, depending on what I said. I ignored her, focusing on Eric’s surprised face. “Sort of. I came over to talk to her about a boy.”

I let the statement lie flat, and waited for Eric’s reaction.

“A boy?” he asked, clearly confused.

“Liana isn’t sure if he likes her, or likes her likes her, y’know?” Zoe said, and I nodded, thinking of Grey and borrowing some of the emotions that were there to bring a blush to my cheeks.

“I came over to ask Zoe to, um... watch us interact and give me her opinion.”

This time the blush was genuine. I couldn’t help it. The idea that I would ever ask anyone to watch me interact with Grey, or any boy I liked, was mortifying. The last thing I needed was my faux pas recited back to me.

“Oh, now this I’ve got to see.” My head snapped up to look into Eric’s amused face. Anticipation was already gleaming in his eyes, and I froze, my mind fumbling for some sort of explanation.

“Are you kidding me?” Zoe asked loudly, placing a hand on her hip. “How obtuse are you?”

Eric blinked, his wide smile faltering and then disappearing as he looked at both of us. “I... What do you mean?”

“Whatever Liana has with this guy is fragile! The last thing she needs is to show up with another guy around! It would send the wrong message.”

“Oh. Yeah. I hadn’t