The Exchange

Chapter 12

A few more days of school passed, and Viktor was beginning to adjust to the American public school setting. He had reluctantly made a few friends on the hockey team with Matt's help, although three days seemed much more like an acquaintanceship to me. Loyalty couldn't have been possibly tested that quickly.

Despite his new pals, Viktor and Arti still sat with Blaine, Eleanor, and me at lunch that Thursday.

"So, Blaine, I've gotten to know Candy Cane and Arti pretty well—" Viktor said, but Blaine cut him off.

"What? What candy cane?"

"Oh, that's my nickname for her." Viktor smiled and nodded at me. "Isn't it smart?"

"And she didn't kill you immediately?" Blaine looked over at me. "What's wrong with you? Are you dying?"

"I can't kill my brother's best friend. It really sucks when you lose one, doesn't it, Arti?" I said.

Arti frowned. "I thought we were over this. What do you want from me? A fucking apology letter? Because that shit ain't happening."

"Hey." Blaine pointed at me. "Keep the passive-aggressive shit to a minimum. And you," he pointed to Arti, "stop acting innocent."

"What would we do without our peacekeeping leader?" I rolled my eyes.

"I guess they don't call us Blaine and His Bitches for nothing," Arti said.

"I always thought that was a horrible squad nickname anyway. Everyone knows that we're Amanda's bitches," Blaine said.

I took a sip of my water. "Damn straight."

"Are you guys done now? I was trying to talk to Blaine," Viktor said.

I looked over at Arti, and she looked back at me. We both nodded.

"Go ahead," Arti said.

"I just wanted to get to know you better. Can you tell me about yourself?" Viktor said.

Arti jumped in, even though we said we were done. "What about Eleanor? You can't just forget about her because she's quiet."

"No, it's okay. I like listening," Eleanor said.

"We'll get to you next. Blaine?" Viktor said.

Blaine thought for a second. "Uh, sure. My name is Blaine Jacobs. I hate springtime because it makes me feel like death, I bought a box of five thousand popsicle sticks with my mom's credit card when I was eight, I used to think that I was the only human who produces saliva constantly, and I only watch car races to see the wrecks." He smiled.

I laughed. Viktor didn't.

"Blaine is a very private person. He doesn't like to talk about himself, except for literally all the fucking time. There are times when he just tells a story, and it doesn't have anything to do with anything," Arti said.

Blaine nodded. "One time, I woke up with a squirrel in my bed. I don't know how it got there, but everyone thinks I was hallucinating. I wasn't, though. It was real as shit, man."

Viktor stared at Blaine for a moment. "Okay, what about you Eleanor?"

I laughed. What would I do without Blaine's stupid ass?

Before Eleanor could go into a long-winded retelling of her entire life, one of those hockey player friends of Viktor's walked up to our lunch table. David Koehler was Matt's American best friend, and he also captained the team. He wasn't the sharpest individual, but his hockey IQ was beyond his years.

"Viktor, buddy, how's it going?" David said and patted him on the back.

"It's good. This is macaroni and cheese. We don't have that in Sweden, so that's exciting," Viktor said.