The Exchange

Chapter 21

On the day of homecoming, I practically had to drag Viktor out of the house to the rink, even though the dance didn't start for another eight hours.

I was incredibly proud of the lie I came up with so no one would know our true intentions.

"Hey Mom, is it okay if I take Viktor to IKEA?" I asked.

She looked up from her phone. "Why?"

"He's a little homesick, and IKEA is Swedish, so I figured it might help him a little. I also hate the stupid chair he sits in because it's different, so we'll see if we can find one that matches the rest of ours."

"How dumb do you think I am?" she asked.

I hesitated. "Yeah, that was a bad lie." I moved in closer to her and began to whisper. "Okay, so we're actually going to the ice rink, but please don't tell Matt. It's a surprise, and he'll never let me hear the end of it if he finds out I'm trying to be nice."

"You sneaky weasel." Mom laughed. "I knew it! I knew you were up to something!"

I shushed her. "Keep it down, Mom. I don't want Matt to find out."

"You can't shush me. I'm your mother."

"I'm sorry, but if I don't drag Viktor out of this house now, we're never going to make it out. You know how he is. He's whiny."

She gestured to the door, where Viktor was waiting for me. "Go, but I'm going to need an in-depth description of your plan once you get back."

I smiled. "Of course. I think you'll be proud of me. I came up with my own crazy idea."

"Genetics are funny like that, aren't they?"

I laughed. I had inherited a lot from my mother: her brown hair, her smile, and most importantly, her desire to formulate ridiculous ideas that definitely weren't needed.

"I'll see you later." She kissed the side of my head. "Be safe and don't wear him out too much. Homecoming is tonight, and even though you're a party pooper for not going, he's really looking forward to it."

"No promises," I said and headed to the door.

9. I like pushing you. Your capabilities, your patience, you off of a cliff, it doesn't matter. And I hope you're smart enough to realize that is a compliment, mostly.

Fifteen minutes later, we got to the ice rink, and we walked inside. It felt almost like it was ours since we'd spent so much time there. I didn't walk ahead of him anymore, and instead of letting me do all of the planning, Viktor suggested ideas that he thought I could help him work on.

There were a few restrictions, of course. I refused to let him shoot pucks at me, even though he assured me a million times that he wouldn't hit me, and I didn't let him do any sort of checking. I didn't want to be responsible if he hurt himself again.

After he got himself warmed up, I took over the show. "You said you wanted to do passing today, right?"

He nodded. "I know that we can't, though. You can't skate."

"I managed to get someone who can help you. David should be here any minute now."

David was one of Matt's hockey friends and the captain of the team. A slacker in everything but hockey, he had grades that were far from the best, but sports were his saving grace. He wasn't stupid, but he had his priorities.

Viktor smiled. "Did you really?"

"I'm pretty persuasive when I want to be."

There wasn't actually much persuading that needed to be done. When I told him that it was for Viktor, he gladly decided to help us out.