Dead Politician Society

Chapter 5: Jonathan

Jonathan Whyte watched the object of his dreams float across the grassy quad. He felt like he was in a movie. The campus could be anywhere—Princeton, Cambridge—and he could be any virgin computer geek with a crush on the football star’s girlfriend.

Except Jessica wasn’t the football star’s girlfriend. She’d dated her fair share of campus VIPs—including the chancellor’s son and the president of last year’s student body. But now she was single—he overheard her tell Susannah that the previous night, when they’d been working. And Jonathan wasn’t just any computer geek—he was her teammate on the Tree-Huggers. They had a common goal. A reason to talk to each other.

He took a deep breath and dove in.

“Hey, Jessica,” he shouted. “Wait up.”

He watched her stop walking, turn slightly, and give a small frown when she saw that it was him.

“What is it?” She brushed a pale strand of hair from her face. She had freckles from the summer. Not a lot, just a few on her nose. It was cute.

“Well…” He’d lost his words. Of course she was busy, had someplace to be. What could he say that she might possibly find interesting? And then—just in time—he remembered. “I was thinking we could get together later. Talk over our tree-hugging strategy?”

Did she know that he’d sat beside her so he could copy her answers to the questionnaire?

The sun was in her eyes, and Jessica squinted. “You’re not bone tired from working so late last night?”

“Nah.” Jonathan was exhausted, not from working, but from tossing and turning in his bed for hours afterward. A man had died at the party. Not just any man—the mayor. It couldn’t be long before the police questioned the catering staff. “I overheard the other groups making plans to meet. I wouldn’t want to fall behind, be less prepared.”

“Oh.” Jessica’s frown relaxed. “Have you asked our other group members if they’re free?”

“Right. Them. No—I mean not yet—I mean I just thought, maybe you could use a right hand man?” God, why couldn’t he sound anything but lame?

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to get together for a coffee. Tomorrow afternoon works better for me.”

“Tomorrow?” Jonathan scanned his schedule in his head. “I think I’m working again. The Leighton-Cray house party.”

“I’m working that too. I was thinking before the party, maybe around three. Maybe we could invite the other Tree-Huggers.”

“Yeah, okay.” He didn’t love the addition of the other group members, but he had to start somewhere. “It’s a date.”

“It’s a meeting.” Jessica smirked.

“L-O-L. That’s what I meant.”

“Did you say ‘L-O-L’ out loud?”

He laughed. “Um, yeah. How lame is that?”

She shrugged. “I said B-R-B to my grandfather the other day. He gave me a worried look like maybe I was on drugs.”

“Were you?”

“No. I’m just online a lot.”

He relaxed a bit. “Yeah, me too. What do you do online? Facebook and stuff?”

“Don’t tell anyone.” She leaned in closer, and he could smell her vanilla berry body spray. “I’m addicted to this simulation game. It’s called Who’s Got the Power? You find a random opponent and play until you dominate the world. I spend at least half my free time playing it.”

Of course Jonathan already knew she played. He loved facing off with her from the safety of his bedroom, where even if he typed something dumb into the comment section, she’d never know it was him. He only knew her screen name because he’d designed the game as an independent study the year before, so he not only had access to all the back channels, he was unbeatable. But he didn’t want to let on yet. So he said, “For real? You don’t look like a computer geek.”

“I know. I look like a tree-hugger. Does this shatter your image of me?”

“Are you kidding?” Jonathan felt his breathing get faster. This was happening; this was a real conversation, not a scenario in his head. “Which country do you play? Or do you switch it up?”

Jessica’s eyebrows shot up. “You know the game? I play the States. Always.”

“It’s easier to win as China.”

“Sure.” Jessica’s voice lifted playfully. “If you can suspend your morals and keep your citizens suppressed.”

“We should get online together, lock in for a face-off.”

“I’ll crush you,” she said.

“I’ll make you weep.”

Jessica grinned. “Now that’s a date.”

He watched her walk away, a little bounce in her step, a little sway side to side. Even in ripped jeans and a baggy sweater, she was the most feminine thing he had ever seen.