Freshman Just Wanted Dinner — Until Three Bullies Made a Mistake That Cost Them Everything
Chapter 4
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Behind Brandon came Marcus Reed: twenty-one, sophomore, thin, the kind of face that looked unremarkable until it was doing something mean, and then it became very memorable. Marcus was not the leader; he was not the muscle either. Marcus was the one who said the things the others were thinking and then laughed at his own words before anyone else could react.The three of them stood in the doorway of Miller's Diner like they were deciding whether it was worth their time.Tyler scanned the room. His eyes moved across the older couple, the table of men in the back, the waitress, the jukebox, and then they landed on Claire. More specifically, they landed on the back of Claire's laptop, which was now open beside her notebook.There was a sticker on the back: a blue and gold sticker with the Hartwell logo, and beneath the logo, in small letters, the words Eleanor Matthews Scholar.Tyler's expression did not change in any visible way, but something behind his eyes shifted."Here's good," he said.He chose the booth directly beside Claire. Not across the diner, not a booth with more space—the one right next to her. Marcus slid in first, Brandon followed, and Tyler took the outside seat, which put him closest to Claire's table.Dot came over. She did not look at the three men with any particular expression. After thirty-five years, she had seen every version of every kind of customer. She handed them menus."Evening," she said."Yeah," said Marcus, already looking at his phone.For a few minutes, nothing happened. Claire kept her eyes on her notebook. She was aware of them, of course she was; she was not unobservant. She noticed the way they sat, the volume of their voices, the easy carelessness of people who have never been asked to quiet down in public, the way they spoke to each other in a code of references she did not have access to. She kept studying.Tyler ordered a burger and fries. Brandon got the same. Marcus ordered coffee and nothing else, which is the kind of order that means you are not there to eat.Marcus put his phone face down on the table. He looked at Claire, then he looked at Tyler. Tyler was already looking at Claire's laptop."Eleanor Matthews Scholar," Tyler said, not quietly.Claire did not look up."Is that the one," Marcus said, "where they take people who couldn't afford to apply anywhere else?"Brandon looked at his menu; he did not say anything."It's a need-based thing," Tyler said. He said it the way someone says a fact, like he was just sharing information. "My uncle was on the committee that reviewed the fund a couple years back. Said the applications were kind of all over the place."