“Psst!” Jennica hissed. I glanced to my right, where she had angled her desk closer to mine and was holding out a folded square of paper.
I glanced to the front of the room, where Mrs. Bost, our twentysomething teacher, was jotting a series of cosine problems on the board. In the few weeks we’d been in school, I’d already discovered that she had superhuman hearing. I suspected she could hear a note unfolding from miles away. So I coughed loudly to cover up the crinkling sound as I quickly unfolded Jennica’s message.
You’ll never believe this: Brian told me he LOVES ME last night! she’d written. I could feel Jennica’s eyes on my face, so I was careful not to do anything inappropriate like, say, wrinkle my nose or stick out my tongue. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Brian. He was okay. But he and Jennica were so lovey-dovey with each other that I felt nauseated half the time I was around them. And much as I hated to admit it, I was a little jealous. I was the one Jennica had done everything with and told all her secrets to since we met in the first grade. And now Brian was her constant companion, and I felt like the third wheel.
It was like I’d lost my best friend. But it was selfish to feel that way, so I told myself not to. I’d gotten good at deciding how I should and shouldn’t feel. Sometimes I felt like the director of the movie of my own life, yelling action in my head and then setting scenes in motion the way I’d decided they’d go.
I pulled out my cell phone, checked to make sure Mrs. Bost wasn’t looking, and quietly texted Jennica: great. I watched as she silently pulled her cell from her purse, read my text, and frowned. She thought for a second, and I tried to tune back in to Mrs. Bost while Jennica typed. But the lecture was boring, and I was tired of thinking about trig and boyfriends and all the other dumb stuff that went along with eleventh grade. I was itching to graduate and get out of this place, to move on to the next phase of my life and leave Plymouth East behind, but I had a year and nine more months to go. It was endless.
The new-message indicator lit up on my phone. i know u’ve never been in love b4 but this is a REALLY BIG DEAL, Jennica had written, complete with a smiley face at the end of the sentence, to let me know she wasn’t trying to be mean. Still, the words stung. I knew it was a big deal to her. But in my world, having a boy tell you he loved you wasn’t exactly as earth-shattering as, say, your dad dying. it was when we were watching grey’s antmy on dvd, the message continued. mcdrmy told mrdth he luved her & B turned 2 me & said, I luv u like derek luvs mer. sooo romantic, right?
I was just about to write something back when the door to the classroom creaked open. Mr. Dorsett, the assistant principal, was standing there with someone behind him. Mrs. Bost smiled and set down the marker she’d been using.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” Mr. Dorsett said. He glanced over the room and then back at Mrs. Bost. “But we have a late addition to your class.”
Twenty-four pairs of eyes strained to see the tall guy in a faded leather jacket and dark jeans who followed Mr. Dorsett through the doorway, his eyes focused coolly above our heads. His hair was dark, and it looked like he needed a haircut—or at least a comb. It stuck up wildly in some places and grazed his collar in others, making him look a bit like a mad scientist who forgot to go to the barber. His skin was tan, which made his pale green, thick-lashed eyes seem unusually bright.
A buzz went around the classroom. Plymouth was a pretty small town, and most of us had gone to elementary school or junior high together, so it wasn’t very often that we saw an unfamiliar face. Maybe he’d transferred from the Catholic high school. Sometimes we got new students from there.
“Who’s that?” Jennica whispered urgently, like everyone else in the room wasn’t wondering the same thing. I shrugged without taking my eyes off the guy. I didn’t usually notice things like this, but his eyes were unbelievable. They were almost the exact color of the ocean right before a storm. That had always been my favorite time to gaze out from the shore, while the wind whipped through my hair and the sky rumbled, getting ready to change the earth below it.
While Mr. Dorsett held an inaudible conversation with Mrs. Bost, the new guy shifted from foot to foot and avoided looking at anyone. I couldn’t figure out whether he thought he was too cool for us or whether he was just nervous.
“Okay,” Mrs. Bost finally began, pulling away from Mr. Dorsett. He nodded once at us, clapped the new guy on the back awkwardly, and headed out the door.
“This is Samuel Stone,” Mrs. Bost continued once Mr. Dorsett was gone. “He’ll be joining our class. I’d like you all to give him a warm welcome.”
Jennica and I exchanged glances. The room was silent for a few seconds, then someone in the back started clapping slowly, and the rest of the class joined in. The new guy took a step forward and whispered something to Mrs. Bost.
“What?” she asked. She glanced at us. “Class! Shhh!”