I just looked at her. My face didn't move.
"So what if I don't have a phone? Back home in the mountains we don't even get signal. What would I need one for? This one was my grandpa's. As long as it makes calls, that's enough."
My dad had given me money to buy a new phone when I came to college.
But the city had too many ways to get scammed, and I didn't trust myself not to fall for one. Everything on campus ran on meal cards anyway, so I just never bought one.
Susan wasn't having it. Her voice went sharp.
"Drop the act—you definitely have a phone!"
"Then what are you messing with under your blanket every single night? I've seen the light coming off it!"
I answered honestly: "Reading novels with a flashlight. You don't do that?"
Susan's mouth opened, then closed. Nothing came out.
Mr. Pierce was getting frantic now, his face flushed red.
"Your name's Rebecca James, right? Avery University, School of Business and Economics. That's you?"
I nodded.
"Then it IS you!"
He shoved his phone screen right in my face. "My online girlfriend's name is Rebecca James!"