“Do you think he has a girlfriend, like back home or whatever?”
Margie threw the butt into the toilet with a sizzle and flushed the incriminating evidence away. “Guys like that always do. Why? You think you have a shot at him? As if.”
Penelope huffed at her friend’s assessment and made her way over to the sink next to me. “That’s not why I asked. I already have a boyfriend anyway. I was just curious, is all.” Then she directed her next words to me. “Layla!”
I turned toward her all innocence, as if I hadn’t spent the past minutes chafing my face and hands on the scratchy excuse for a paper towel just so I could eavesdrop.
Penelope asked, “What do you think? Have you seen him yet?”
“Who’s that?” I asked unconvincingly.
She rolled her eyes. “The new kid. Terrence C. Williesomething.”
Before I could stop myself, I found myself saying, “His name’s Trip,” and then probably blushed twelve different shades of red.
Penelope raised knowing brows at me as she pumped the dispenser lever of the paper towel holder, tearing off a three-foot length of recycled brown sandpaper.
I added quickly, “He’s in Mason’s class with me right now.”
Penelope said, “Yeah. I had him in Biology.”
“You wish,” Margie piped in.
Penelope threw her towel in the trashcan, asking, “I wonder what the C stands for.”
To which a quick-witted Margie shot back, “Hmm. Crumptious?”
*
When I got back to class, I avoided all eye contact as I tried to slide unnoticed back into my seat. I opened my book to the current page and was trying to concentrate on Capulets and Montagues when there was an electric shock against my shoulder blade; a finger poking me in the back. Trip was apparently trying to get my attention. Like he hadn’t already.
I snuck a quick glance to make sure Mason was still at the blackboard before twisting around sideways in my seat. If I were Lisa, I could have come up with the perfect thing to say to him. But I was me, so the wittiest remark I could come up with was, “What is it, New Kid?”
At first, this brought a staggered look to Trip’s face, but then he rewarded my jab with a smirk. Seeing his lip curl into a crooked smile while getting a close-up view of his gorgeous blue eyes for the first time made my composure slip just the slightest notch. I guess he didn’t notice, because he simply asked, “You okay?”
I supposed it shouldn’t have been a big surprise to find out my coughing fit hadn’t gone undetected. “Yeah. Fine, thanks. How about you?”
Trip furrowed confused brows at me, compelling me to clarify. “The dog-and-pony show Mason forced you into, making you get up there and introduce yourself to the class. Was it awful? It didn’t really seem to bother you.”
Trip leaned back in his seat, tapping a pencil across his unopened notebook. “Yeah, well. Third time today. Guess I’m getting used to it.”
I thought about what a nightmare this poor guy’s first day had been. Although, he didn’t seem too fazed by it. I guess it would have just been a nightmare for me. I gave him a sympathetic smile which was interrupted by Mrs. Mason saying, “Layla! Eyes up here, please.”
I turned to face front, registering the few, sly glances I received from my classmates, busting me for ogling the cute new kid.
Kill. Me. Now.
The class’s attentions went back to Mason’s chalk diagrams, but my thoughts were entirely elsewhere. It didn’t help matters when I heard Trip give a snicker and whisper, “Layla... Nice.”
*
I met up with Lisa in the halls on our way to the gymnasium. Before I could even fill her in on the day’s drama, she launched right in. “Oh my God, Layla! I can’t believe I haven’t talked to you all day. Did you see him?”
With the girls in the bathroom, I felt the need to play it cool. But this was Lisa, my best friend in the entire world, so there was no need to be coy. “Yes. He’s in Mason’s class with me.”