Page 38 of As the Rain Falls
“I know I am.” I take another bite, the crunchy apple melting on my tongue. “What else is new?”
“Well, I know for certain somebody else does.” She motions towards the other side of the room with a cute head tilt. “Caleb Monteiro hasn’t kept his eyes off you since we walked in.”
My eyes follow, going from head to head until I find Caleb sitting next to his friends, shooting glances at me.
“He is newly single.”
“Hold on. Caleb? As in Caleb Monteiro, the guy who sits at the back of the class?” I fix my hair again, suddenly really nervous. “Caleb and Maria are, like,theperfect couple.”
“Not anymore, they aren’t!” Kayla claps her hands together. “I’ve been waiting for hours to tell you this!”
“Tell me what? That he likes me? Bitch, please. They’re probably getting back together before the year ends,” I breathe out. “Why would I want to mess with that?”
“Because he’s going to ask you out.”
“What?”
“I heard him and the new guy. What’s his name again?”
“Gabriel. Wait, no. That’s his first name. He goes by Mateo, actually. Mateo Pereira, I think.”
It’s hard to remember his name. Transfers are unusual in Sainte Madeleine, at least for kids going through their final high school year. The transfer is costly, and our program is intense, which makes it tough for students to keep up with unless they’re used to how things work.
“Yes, him! They were chitchatting behind the science building. Mateo asked him if the thing with Maria was over for real, and Caleb said he had his eyes set on someone else,” she giggles excitedly. “He’ssogoing to ask you out. I’m sure of it!”
And when I look back, Caleb Monteiro hasn’t stopped staring at me just yet. Something dreadful rises in my throat.
Bile.
Nerves.
Anticipation.
I’ve never had a guy ask me out on a real date before. They text me, we hide behind the trees after school to kiss, and wesneak into empty classrooms when the teachers aren’t looking, but boysneverofficially ask me out.
Caleb smirks from afar like he knows just how much I want to be the kind of girl that gets taken on dates. He even winks my way, for sure the biggest sign indicating just how easily he can read my mind and hear my thoughts.
“This is so dangerous,” I recognize the feeling with a soft head shake. It feels like a shot of adrenaline in my veins, but the wrong kind. His staring makes me self-conscious. “I’m not wrong for thinking so, right?”
“Oh, please. Come on, Cassie!” Kayla gives me a mischievous grin. “You know how it is!”
“Yeah.” I shake my head, fighting back the urge to smile. “I think I do.”
All the best things are.
CHEATING AND CREATING BONDS
Cassandra
OCTOBER, 2016
Mr. Yun hands methe test, and I quickly write my name down on top of the page so neatly, half-hoping that if my brain fails me, maybe my pretty handwriting will earn me some extra points.
Cassandra Isabella Rivera Alonso.
The equations stare back at me like they know I won’t solve them, but at least half of the class seems to share the same level of apprehension. EventheKayla Saint-Louis has the decency to look somewhat stressed out.
Alice Chartrand is by her side, sitting a few rows ahead of me. She keeps flipping the page back and forth and cursing loudly in her native language. I don’t understand a single bit of Mandarin, but she doesn’t sound happy about the test either.
