The Love Hypothesis

Taken aback that Adam and Tom know each other, Olive decides not to mention she’s dating Adam, but her plan is foiled when Tom asks if she’s Adam’s “Girlfriend I’ve heard so much about” (85). Evidently, Olive and Adam’s relationship is news all over Harvard. Olive introduces herself as the student Tom’s supposed to meet later that day. Tom’s surprise at Olive and Adam’s relationship turns to acceptance, and he invites them both back into the coffee shop to discuss Olive’s research. Feeling awkward but not knowing what else to do, they both join him.

Tom asks Olive about her project, and Olive gets tongue-tied, unable to answer. Adam then asks more concrete questions, which help Olive organize her thoughts. She explains how she may have found a blood biomarker that would allow them to detect pancreatic cancer much earlier and improve prognosis for the disease. Tom asks why she’s studying such a unique line of research, and Olive reluctantly admits her mother died from pancreatic cancer. Tom presses for more details, but Adam threateningly tells him to “stop harassing my girlfriend” (91).

Tom apologizes and offers Olive two weeks to compile a report on her most recent research so he can decide about taking on her project. Though it will mean even less sleep than the very little Olive normally gets, she agrees. While Tom’s away from the table, Olive promises not to tell anyone but Malcolm and Anh if she decides to go to Harvard because if the university found out, they’d never believe Adam was staying, and they wouldn’t unfreeze his funds.

Olive and Anh attend Tom’s lecture, which is ridiculously overcrowded. The crowd pushes them toward where Adam sits, and Anh proposes Olive sit on his lap to give Anh some standing room. Olive tries not to, but Adam doesn’t seem to mind. Freaking out a little, she complies, all the while thinking how she would murder Anh for this and “be jailed for bestfriendicide” (99).

The lecture is nowhere near as interesting as Olive hoped, and she finds herself drifting off. To stay awake, she talks to Adam about their fake relationship. It’s working out well for them both. Olive notices that much of the room has cleared out and that there’s plenty of room for her to stand or find another seat, but she doesn’t because she’s comfortable where she is.

After the lecture, Anh and Olive are walking to the parking lot when they notice a traffic jam. A truck is stalled in the lot exit, and the entire gathered crowd watches as Adam pushes it into an empty spot so the backup of cars can move.

Anh tells Olive to go kiss her boyfriend after such a display of strength. Olive doesn’t want to but has no reason she shouldn’t. She goes to Adam and proposes the kiss, which ends up being much more enjoyable than she anticipated. Olive reminds him about the department picnic on Monday that Adam doesn’t want to go to. Olive wisecracks that at least she’ll be there, to which Adam replies “at least there’s that” (110). The response makes Olive smile.