“What?” Her head whipped in my direction once more, and she narrowed her eyes. “Please tell me you’re not one of those guys that think pretty girls can’t have brains. Are you?”
“N-no-no,” I stuttered as my stomach sank to my feet. If I weren’t standing in front of a beautiful girl, I would totally facepalm. But alas, I stood there like a fish out of water, mouth gaping as I tried to defend myself. I thought back to the classes I had with Ella in the past. There were few, and so I couldn’t recall how smart she seemed. The preconceived notion that she’d be of average intelligence because of her beauty was admittedly short-sighted and judgmental. Still, how did one remove a foot once it was firmly planted in their mouth?
“I just . . . what I meant to say is . . . I mean, Columbia is impressive for anyone, is it not?”
Ella hummed under her breath in response. “And where areyougoing?”
I glanced away from her, both shamed because I’d made poor assumptions and because I hated talking about myself. Probably because I was so unused to people caring enough to ask me questions. “Princeton,” I mumbled.
“Whoa, look at you. Number one in the country.”
“Depending on who’s ranking.” I shrugged and felt the flush of heat rise to my face, and I pictured my body hard at work, releasing the adrenaline that caused my blood vessels to dilate and increase blood-flow. Which turned my cheeks the shade of beet red they inevitably were.
Thanks, sympathetic nervous system.
“Well, congrats. That’s amazing,” she added.
I nodded because my stomach was currently folding in on itself like origami. I began adding the solution to the first well plate with the metal. I needed something to do with my hands, some way to channel this nervous energy bubbling inside me.
Ella must have caught on that I didn’t want to talk about myself because she took the second solution and added it to the well plate. We worked together in tandem, neither of us having to say much to the other as we continued the experiment and discussed our observations, then recorded them. We’d just finished and cleaned our stations when the bell rang, leaving me sorry it was over. I’d never worked with someone so seamlessly before.
“Well, thanks for partnering with me,” Ella said, turning to me as she threw her bag over her shoulder. “It’s always intimidating walking in late to a new class like that.”
For a moment, I said nothing, so struck that someone like Ella could possibly feel intimidated by such a thing, but her bold admittance of it endeared me to her further. Her confidence reminded me of Thorne and his advice.
“Yeah, no problem.” I shoved my hands in my pockets, and maybe it was my imagination or wishful thinking, but she seemed to be hovering, as if waiting for me to say something else.
My insides screamed at me to prolong the conversation. I could ask her if she wanted to have lunch together, or maybe I could walk her to her next class. Thorne would chastise me at this very moment to stop being an idiot and DO SOMETHING. So, I opened mouth and said, “Um, actually—”
“Hey, Ella!”
The words died in the back of my throat as Luca sidled up beside me, and my insides sank.
“Hey back.” She glanced up at him, cool as a cucumber.
“Can I walk you to your next class?” Luca hooked a thumb toward the door, and all I could think was,He stole my line. But I’d been too slow on the draw, and if I were a girl, and I had my choice between Luca and myself, I’d choose him too.
So when she nodded her head and agreed, I didn’t hold it against her.
I took a step back. Luca was already reaching for her bag. Taking it in his hands, he slung it over his shoulder and nodded toward the door. “Come on. Where to? I promise not to get you lost,” he said as they headed for the door, and she giggled.
“Oh. Bye, Barry,” she called out, glancing over her shoulder, and I was appreciative of that much. At least she hadn’t entirely forgotten about me.
With a sigh, I stared after them as a hand clamped down over my shoulder. “Glick, please don’t tell me you thought you actually had a shot with her.” JT’s voice grated in my ears, and when I said nothing, he barked out a laugh. “Oh, that’s sweet,” he said. “Too bad.”
Then he removed his hand and laughed as he told Gabby, “Casper, here, has a crush.”
Her snicker followed them out the door while I shot daggers at them with my eyes. Not that it did any good. If I could have one superpower, it would definitely be to kill with just a look. But alas, all my glaring did was make them laugh even harder, and as JT left the classroom with an arm wrapped around Gabby’s shoulders, he confirmed everything I already knew when he said, “Dream on, buddy. Girls like Ella like guys like us.”
Chapter 2
ELLA
Iwaitedoutsidethegiant stone archway of Lakeview Prep and glanced at my watch. Several girls passed by, chatting as they descended the grand stairs of the entryway, down to the parking lot below.
Where was she?I wondered.
School ended twenty minutes ago, and though I’d had a good day, I was ready to leave. Maybe it was the fact that I was in my last semester of high school with college at the finish line. Or maybe it was the fact that I was still adjusting to being single, but each day seemed to drag longer than the next. And home offered little reprieve. Instead of a safe haven, these days it was more like a war zone.