Game Theory × NH

054 | xenon

× Mercury

The smell of bacon and onions hung in the warm, thick air as my friends and I sat at the counter inside the Johnny Rockets diner. Conversation spun around them in a mad jumble of laughs and shrieks, only the thunder of motorcycles outside was loud enough to drown the loud sing-songy music from the fifties.

"How's London?" Jamie asked, her strawberry blonde hair falling in perfect spirals around her freckled face.

"Cold," I admitted.

"I don't doubt it," Emily said. Her bronze skin and golden brown eyes were as clear as the California sky outside. "Did you have to go out and buy yourself a winter coat?"

"Actually, no," I said. "Nike was kind enough to give me one for free because I've been wearing their stuff out in public. I guess it was a thank you."

Macey snorted. "I fucking hate that," she said as she flipped through the song titles on the tiny jukebox on the counter. Once a song was selected, she slipped two dollar bills into the slot. "I get free stuff from companies all the time because of my mom. I never use them so it seems like a waste."

Jamie raised her hand. "I'll take what you don't want."

"Stop by my place and it's all yours."

Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley boomed through the speakers, challenging with the sizzle of the hamburgers frying on the grill. A group of bikers in leather and windblown hair walked in and straddled the red seats at the counter a few feet away from us.

"Have you guys heard anything from Lucy?" I asked a little shyly. The last I heard about her was when Jamie called me saying she was pregnant.

"She's doing okay from what I could tell," Emily said. "We don't talk to her as much as we used to when she was on the team, but every once and awhile we chat. I passed her in the hall at campus the other day and she's starting to show."

"Bradley's as much as a dick as he always was," Macey said with her mouth full of French fries.

"He's still not giving Lucy the time of day?"

"Nope."

Jamie tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear. "Coach Sharp said that if Lucy wants, there would be a spot open for her on the team after the baby is born," she said. "But everyone thinks that she won't take it with new responsibilities and all."

"I honestly can't wait," Macey said with a whimsical grin that made her ever-so-blue eyes sparkle. "Imagine having a little boy or girl running around in baby UCLA clothes like our very own little mascot! Fuck the bear; bears are overrated with the Bruins and the Chicago Cubs."

"Don't forget about the Chicago Bears," Emily added.

"Right!"

I placed my elbow on the counter and leaned my head into my hand as I absentmindedly twirled the spoon in my milkshake. "I'm not too excited to meet the baby," I told them honestly. "I mean, what am I supposed to say? 'Hey, I interrupted your parents when you were being made. And oh, by the way, your father and I were dating at the time."

"Well, then it's a good thing you don't like kids," Jamie said with a grin.

I took a sip of my shake. "I was hoping to see Lucy while I was visiting. But I didn't have any time."