Page 37 of Spelling Disaster

I say I’m a goner.

I say I’m the world’s biggest idiot.

And what comes out of my mouth sounds suspiciously like, “Yes.”

ChapterTwelve

Ifloat solidly on cloud nine for the rest of the day because the boy of my dreams knows my name. He wants to meet me. He wants me to tutor him.

Me, not Helena. Not any of the other girls who want to hang off his arm.

I manage to get through the rest of my classes wondering the entire time what Theo’s offer might be. It’s one thing to want him to know my name. But now? To even consider meeting with him after dark?

I’m asking to get jumped on the way there.

The looks his groupies shot me when I hurried off to the dorm had been both maddening and frightening at the same time. If one of them met me alone on the green?

I’m not sure who would make it out of the encounter.

Not to mention all the other things that take place after dark. If I don’t stop thinking about romance, I’ll be setting myself up for disappointment and getting severely ahead of myself.

What had Mom always said?

I need to stay grounded inthisreality and not the one I want to create.

The one where Theo learns he just can’t live without me and we’re together forever.

My first real crush, I think as I hustle to get cleaned up after dinner.

No wonder I’m getting carried away.

Basically, wishes aren’t going to get me anywhere far and it’s not good to lose myself in fantasies. I always took Mom’s warnings about daydreams with a grain of salt but this time, she’s totally right. Theo is a fantasy. The two of us together? The absolute opposite of reality and he only wants to meet me for help.

Case closed.

Shortly before curfew, making excuses to Blaire about needing a breath of air and a walk, I make my way toward the monument at the center of campus.

I’ve passed the statue a number of times but never really given it much thought until tonight.

I spot Theo waiting for me at the base of the statue, pacing. He runs his hands through his auburn hair and his steps kick up a fair amount of dust from the ground.

He’s been at it for a while.

What’s going on in his mind right now?

It’s pointless to wonder, just like there’s no telling why he’s getting behind in his classes when he struck me as intelligent.

I really don’t know much about him besides whatever I’ve picked up through the rumor mill and from Blaire. The usual stuff. Like the fact that Theo is the first-born son of his family and the position puts a lot of pressure on him to do well.

Like he has to succeed in the face of everything.

Doesn’t everyone have some kind of problem? Well, unless the person is me and my very small, tiny problem regarding the still ongoing criminal investigation.

The thought is enough to stop me in my tracks a few paces away. My stomach drops and my mouth goes dry. He won’t want to be anywhere near me if he finds out about the arson, and my inability to control myself.

Theo sees me while I’m still lost in my head and his frantic pacing stops at the same time his face splits in a smile. This is a completely different side of him and nothing I’ve seen before. Not directed at me, anyway.

The smile lights him from the inside out and changes the entire set of his features.

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