Free Degrees of Wrong by Anna Scarlett

that strategy in favor of gawking like the rest of them.
    Sadly, Nicoli Marek was still as breathtaking as ever.
    I couldn’t help frowning at his companion. Apparently, Lt. Sheldon was the stunning blonde woman standing next to him in line. She placed her hand on his shoulder while she talked. He smiled but never made a contribution to the conversation.
    “Who’s Lt. Sheldon? The one with the big—er—hands?” Stanley asked.
    Liz rolled her eyes. “Yes. Only, rumor has it that her hands haven’t always been quite so big.” She grinned, proud that she’d imparted yet another scandal.
    I observed Lt. Sheldon and agreed with my lunch mates—even as a doctor, I couldn’t find a single, medically sound reason for the woman to have such large breasts. The set was disproportionate to her small waist, her slight bone structure. Would’ve been disproportionate to any bone structure.
    “Geez,” said Ebony, and I felt the same way—intimidated. We gaped at Lt. Sheldon like a group of freshman who’d just beheld the head cheerleader for the first time.
    “Apparently,” Liz continued, “she’s infatuated with Captain Marek. I’m friends with someone assigned to her, and she told me that Lt. Sheldon’s always throwing herself at him, every chance she gets.”
    “Can you blame her?” Chong asked, brushing aside jet-black bangs from her eyes. “Look at him.”
    I was glad I wasn’t the only one bothered by his appearance—he was an icon here.
    “Oh, I know. He’s gorgeous, without a doubt. But,” Liz said, whispering again, “it doesn’t say much for her character. He’s engaged .” She grinned, patting herself on the back for another contribution of slanderous hearsay.
    “Everyone knows he’s engaged,” hissed Ebony, giving in to the drama that was Liz. I glanced at her, surprised she’d been hooked and reeled. I had to win her back.
    “I didn’t know that.” I told myself the disappointment I fended off with a bite of brownie was from losing Ebony to gossip, not from learning of the captain’s engagement. Everyone eyeballed me, incredulous. Good grief, had it been announced at a press conference or something?
    “How could you not know that?” Liz asked, petulant.
    In that moment, I decided I’d grown sick of her company and would treat her presence like an allergy—whether Ebony approved, or not.
    I shrugged. “I guess I need to brush up on my skills at minding other people’s business. Listen, are you busy later? Maybe you could show me the ropes.” You mud-slinging snippet.
    Stanley snickered, Liz narrowed her eyes and Ebony kicked me under the table. How the devil could she have reached me? I must have misjudged the distance. My shin throbbed.
    Because our table was situated in front of the exit, Captain Marek and Lt. Sheldon would pass it in order to leave with their lunches. All of us watched, in varying degrees of unashamed, as they approached.
    As he passed, his gaze found mine and he inclined his head toward me. Etiquette nodded my head in return, amid four pairs of eyes burning questions into my person. I had, however, practiced my poker face since boarding, so they couldn’t discern my thoughts about the polite exchange.
    Also, I didn’t know what to think about it anyway. I had wanted to thank him for my toothbrush but stopped myself dozens of times from actually following through. I couldn’t decide if I owed him gratitude since technically it was his fault mine got ruined in the first place. Also, thanking him might imply that I thought he personally delivered it—while I showered. Which would make me blush and forget my name or something more important, like breathing. Besides, I couldn’t be sure that Dr. Folsom hadn’t brought it. I never asked, and she never told.
    Lt. Sheldon frowned at me as they passed. Although stunning, frowning did not complement her.
    Liz almost fidgeted herself right out of her chair, my previous snub all but forgotten. “What was that all