• “So where did you live before Florida?” Meena asked Reese. She smiled at him, showing all of her perfect pearl white teeth. I watched the two of them talk and I sighed. I wish I had Meena’s charisma.
    Reese scratched the back of his head and looked off into the distance, like he was trying to remember. “San Francisco.” He grinned at me and then looked at Meena.
    I had no idea why he was sitting with us for one thing. I bet he had gotten a lot of invitations. Also he kept looking at me even though he was talking to her.
    “Ooh…” Meena smiled again, clearly interested. “I think Tess has been there a few times. Haven’t you, Tess?” She looked at me.
    I looked up at her with wide eyes-I was spacing out again. “Huh? Yeah, a few times…It’s really cool.” I nodded and tried not to make eye contact. If you haven’t noticed already, I’m really bad with guys. When I looked up he gave me that crooked smile and I rolled my eyes. I hoped he wasn’t one of those guys that expected all the girls to fall for him. I knew a lot of those guys and I didn’t like them.
    “That’s cool.” Reese laughed. He was still smiling at me, showing his teeth.
    Meena continued with her questions. “Why did your family move?” She asked. My eyes wandered over to her lunch tray. She hadn’t taken one bite of her salad since he sat down.
    Reese shrugged. “Like any normal kid…” He had emphasized the word normal a little too much. “Dad got a new job down here.” I also looked at his tray. His pizza was in perfect condition. Why was I surrounded by people who didn’t eat? “Where do you guys live? I have to walk home alone.”
    Meena’s eyes brightened. “Tess lives in walking distance! She lives in Foxglove Pointe.”
    “Foxglove Pointe?” Reese had repeated. “I live there too!” He had grinned and I tried to smile back. I moved a strand of my hair behind my ear nervously. Meena glanced at me and I looked back at her. My eyes narrowed and I shook my head slowly but not enough for Reese to see.
    Meena laughed. “Maybe Tess can walk home with you! I know she would love to!” She looked back at me and smirked. My eyes widened.
    “Sounds like a plan!” Reese beamed.
    When the lunch bell rang for the next class I literally rang out of the cafeteria. Why did Meena always have to try to hook me up? Didn’t she know how embarrassing it was? What about Reese? Why did he smile at me so much? It was kind of freaky. But those crystal blue eyes made me melt inside.
    To make matters worse for me, Reese was in most of my classes. I counted on my fingers during sixth period. He was in my French Language, Physical Education, AP U.S. History, Algebra II Honors and AP Chemistry. I sighed even though I was grateful that I had one class where I was free. I didn’t exactly know why I didn’t like him. He was nice and good-looking, but something about him was weird. He was just too perfect.
    When the bell rung I exited the classroom and walked down the hallway, staring at all of the maroon colored lockers like I always did. I stepped down each stair, watching my step. I looked up and saw him standing there, waiting for me. He made me jump.
    “You should’ve seen your face, Tess!” Reese said and started to laugh. He grabbed his stomach and pointed at me. My eyes knitted together angrily and put my hands on my hips. “Oh sorry…I should’ve laughed at you like that.” Reese apologized.
    I calmed down and then smiled. “You’re lucky that I don’t have volleyball practice mister. You could’ve been walking home alone today.”
    We both walked off of the school campus and down the street. It was silent for awhile but I guess he wasn’t a big fan of silence. He put his hands in his pockets and began to whistle. It was some unknown tune. I looked up at him for a second, my eyes knitting together in curiosity.
    “Do you own a cat, Reese?” I asked him and tilted my head to the side. I examined his reaction.
    He shook his dark-haired head. “No. Why?” Reese looked at me with worried expression on his beautiful face.
    “Oh, just a stray was wondering around my house the other night. He had black fur and crystal blue eyes. Also, he had a silver chain around his neck.” I examined Reese once more. “Kind of like yours.” I nodded to his necklace.
    He laughed nervously. “Wow…that’s interesting...” He looked up at the dark sky when there was thunder. “Oh no…” He murmured.
    “What?” I asked him, my eyes wide. I felt cold raindrops hit my face.
    Just then I heard a strange noise. I looked at where Reese was. He was gone. I looked around, worried. “Reese?”
    “I’m over here.”
    He was standing under a tree nearby. I rolled my eyes and walked over him. My t-shirt was stained with rain. “I have an umbrella, you know.” I quickly turned to my messenger bag and pulled one out. I opened it and held it over us.
    “Ready?” I asked with a smile.
    He nodded, the drops on his hair flicking all over the place. “Yeah, ready.”
    We both walked to the entrance of our neighborhood. His house was the fifth one of our right. I walked him to his door and he waved goodbye. I smiled and waved back. I walked to my house, grinning to myself.