“How many jobs do you have?” I followed behind him as he walked to the candy aisle and picked up a bag of Skittles and a bag of M&Ms—peanut butter.

He paused and tilted his head to the side, like he was thinking. “Right now? Six. Six if you count helping my uncle out, even though it doesn’t pay in money.”

He made his way up toward the counter, and I glanced at the crooked clock on the wall. I was relieved to see that there was still just over two hours before I had to be at the Echo Theater—I was still good on time. “What does it pay in, then?” I asked, turning to him. “Gold bars? Experience?”

“Ha,” Cary said with a smile, but without actually laughing. “No, I just meant—I live with my aunt and uncle, so it pays in room and board.”

“Oh, right,” I said. My cheeks get hot, and wished I’d never tried to make a stupid joke. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about,” he said cheerfully. “And—fun fact—do you know where the expression ‘room and board’ comes from?”

“I don’t,” I said, hoping that my tone conveyed that I was actually okay with keeping it this way. “But wait—what are the other jobs?”

“I water plants,” Cary said, setting his things down on the counter, “help my uncle—”

“Elwes!” the counter guy said, smiling wide at Cary. He and Cary did a multistep handshake that ended with bumping shoulders—Cary jumped up slightly to reach him over the counter. “How’s it going? How’s the scrivening?”

“Hey, Pete,” Cary said, rolling his eyes. “You know, I’ve been in here for, like, ten minutes. I’m kind of worried that someone could be robbing you and you wouldn’t notice because you’d be focused on your Kant.”

“Wittgenstein,” the guy—Pete—said, sounding disdainful. “We covered Kant practically the first week. And these classes are no joke. If I’m not studying, I’m falling behind. You’ll find out next year.”

“No way I’m taking moral philosophy,” Cary said as he set a pack of gum down on the counter too. “Or any kind of philosophy, for that matter.”

“You don’t want to learn how to be a better person and understand your place in the universe?”

“I’m covered with horoscopes, fortune cookies, and Lord and Miller,” Cary said with a smile. “Thanks, though.” He nodded toward me. “Oh, this is Kat,” he said, and I gave Pete a wave, even though we’d very much met already.

“No hundreds,” Pete said immediately.

“I know!” I said, slightly offended, since I wasn’t even trying to use my apparently radioactive bill. Maybe that was why Mallory had been so eager to give it away. Maybe she was—literally—trying to pass the buck.