Chapter 6: Don't Stop Reading

By breakfast the photo was on every phone in the dining hall.

Linus saw it over a freshman's shoulder on the way to the toaster.

It showed Mattias at the top of the stairs, looking back.

Behind him, the bathroom door was open and a boy in glasses stood in it.

Someone had captioned it: CHANCELLOR'S SON GOES ACADEMIC.

He took his tray to the long table by the windows because he refused to be seen moving.

The hockey team was waiting for him.

"Here he is," Brock Coyle said, grinning around a mouthful of toast. "The tutor."

"Good morning," Linus said.

Mattias sat at the end with his jaw tight and his eyes on his plate.

"Come on, Pehrson," said a defenseman. "You and the library cardigan? What was it, a study session?"

"Maybe he wants to learn how to read," said someone else.

The table roared.

Mattias did not look up.

Linus watched his hand close around the fork until the knuckles whitened.

"Tell them," Brock said. "It's a joke, right? Say it's a joke."

Mattias raised his head.

His face was perfectly smooth, and his eyes found Linus's across the table and held for one long second.

"I wouldn't touch him with Brock's stick," Mattias said. "He's a rumor."

The table exploded.

Linus's face stayed still.

He picked up a slice of toast and buttered it, edge to edge, carefully, while the laughter went on around him.

"Eat your toast, Pehrson," he said.

Mattias's gaze flicked to him, and flicked away.

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