Chapter 1 #2
I glance up at Adam and realize he’s waiting for me to answer his question.
“My friends and I would be in the water or lounging on the sand all summer. And then, we’d have a bonfire on the beach to celebrate the start of school.
” I try to keep my voice buoyant, like those bonfires are a fond memory, and not something that breaks my heart because they’re over—at least for me.
If I ever go back, it won’t be the same—my friends and classmates will have headed for the mainland for college or jobs.
They’ll go abroad in the summers or find internships in the city instead of coming home to the island. They’ll move on without me.
I remember my texts with my friends yesterday. Their breezy We miss you! Got to go! messages. They’ve already moved on without me.
Despite my best efforts, Adam must sense my mood shift because he stops walking. “It must have been rough to leave.”
I’m tempted to brush it off. But something about the way he’s looking at me tells me he knows the truth. “It was really hard. I’m still kind of in shock.”
“Are you a senior this year?”
I nod.
“It’s too bad you couldn’t have stayed one more year to finish high school there.
I’m really sorry.” He tilts his head. “I mean, not that I’m sorry you’re here.
I’m definitely glad you’re here.” His lips quirk.
“Except for the fact that I’ve known you for five minutes and you’ve already threatened to kill me. ”
I laugh, and a warmth rushes over me that’s different from the heat I felt when he touched me earlier. For the first time since I moved to this town, I feel a tiny flicker of hope that it won’t be as bad as I’ve been imagining.
“We just have regular house parties around here,” Adam says.
“Not nearly as much fun as a beach bonfire. But maybe—” His cheeks have turned a tiny bit pink, as if he’s suddenly nervous.
But whatever he’s about to say is cut off by a broad-shouldered guy in a Maple Ridge Swim Team T-shirt crossing our path.
“Dude, Jay was looking for you,” the guy says.
Adam clears his throat. “I’ll look for him after class.”
The guy shrugs and wanders off. I glance at Adam. Was he about to ask me to a party?
We’re at the door to the building now, so instead of finishing whatever it was he was about to say, he pulls it open and holds it for me.
Inside, hundreds of students’ voices echo in the halls and I’m jostled by kids weaving around me in search of classes and friends.
My school on Sandy Harbor was small, less than a hundred kids per class, and the student body at Maple Ridge High is huge in comparison. Suddenly, I’m overwhelmed again.
And then Adam does that thing where he gently takes me by the elbow, this time guiding me off to one side, out of the fray. “It’s a lot at first, but once you’ve been here for a few days, you’ll get used to it.”
I stare up at him. How did he know what I was feeling? “Do you think so?”
“Absolutely.” He nods. “What room is your first class? I’ll help you find it.”
I pull my schedule from my bag and hand it over.
He waves a hand down a hallway. “Okay, it’s this way. Most of the senior core classes are down one hallway. I’ll show you.”
This time when he takes me by the elbow, I lean in under the guise of avoiding hitting kids walking toward me in the opposite direction. A few minutes later, we’re standing in front of the classroom door.
“Thank you,” I say, looking up into those piercing blue eyes again.
“You’re welcome.” He hesitates as if he doesn’t want to leave, but the bell rings, and the apples of his cheeks take on that pink hue again. “Well, I should go.”
I glance into the classroom. “I’d hate for you to be late,” I say, wishing he was in this class with me, and not just so I’d have someone to sit next to. In a school this big, it might be a month before I run into him again.
He turns to head down the hall and then quickly spins back around toward me. “Any plans for lunch?”
I shake my head. Lunch is the period I’ve been dreading the most. At least in class, I can put my head down and pretend I’m not totally alone at a new school.
But it’s going to be obvious I have no friends when I have to sit all by myself in the cafeteria.
“My only hope is to find the lunchroom at all,” I joke to hide my nerves.
“If I manage that, it will be a success.”
Adam’s eyes focus on mine, and I get that feeling again like he’s really seeing me. “Come and sit with me and my friend. We’re always at the table in the back on the left side of the cafeteria. Just go past the drink station, and we’re right there.”
A huge weight lifts. “I’d love that. Thanks. I’ll look for you.”
This time when he turns around, he really does leave. But I catch a glimpse of him looking back at me before I head into the classroom, a smile tugging at his lips.
Maybe starting at a new school my senior year won’t be so bad after all.
My first class is AP English. I slide into a seat in the back of the room next to a blond guy in another swim team T-shirt, and he glances in my direction.
His gaze goes back to the front of the room, and then almost as if he’s realized he’s never seen me before, he turns back again.
From the corner of my eye, I watch him look me up and down. I shift in my seat uncomfortably.
“Hey,” he murmurs under his breath, drawing the vowel in the word into two syllables.
“Hey,” I whisper back, keeping my gaze to the front of the room as the teacher introduces herself as Ms. Maddox and starts scribbling on the whiteboard.
“I’m Jason.”
I don’t want to get in trouble talking in my very first class, but I also don’t want to seem stuck up on my first day.
It’s not exactly the best way to make friends.
I remember Adam, and my face heats. I press my hands to my cheeks, and Jason’s eyebrows shoot up.
Maybe he thinks I’m blushing because he’s talking to me.
I steal a glance in his direction, and I’m immediately struck by his muscular arms and broad shoulders.
He has the solid neck of a swimmer, which would explain the T-shirt, and his short blond hair looks like it’s still damp from practice this morning.
As his lips curve into a wide smile that shows off straight, white teeth, his hazel eyes crinkle at the corners.
This is the second really good-looking guy that’s talked to me in the last five minutes, which was not a regular occurrence back on Sandy Harbor.
It’s also the second time in the last five minutes I wish I had a friend I could analyze it with.
Unlike Adam from the parking lot, something about Jason gives me the feeling that he knows he’s attractive.
He reminds me of the wealthy private school kids on Sandy Harbor who sailed at the country club where Josie worked as a server.
“I’m Madeline,” I whisper back and then sit up straight in my chair and try to look like I’m concentrating on what the teacher is saying.
But at this moment, she’s instructing us to pair up with a partner and tell each other about a book we read over the summer.
The girl to my right turns toward the person on the other side of her, so I spin in my chair and face Jason.
“Hi, Madeline,” he says, his grin widening. “Looks like we’re partners.”
“I guess so.” I blink at the gleam of his white teeth against golden skin. Those private school boys on Sandy Harbor didn’t pay much attention to me and my friends, and Jason’s scrutiny is leaving me flustered. I look down at my notebook. “Why don’t you tell me about the last book you read?”
“Why don’t you start?” He stretches his arms back, tilting his head back and forth on his thick neck like he’s sore from working out. “I’m on the baseball team and swim team, so I don’t have a lot of time for reading over the summer.”
Is he trying to impress me? I can’t help comparing his energy to Adam’s. I get the feeling Jason won’t be able to laugh at himself if I call him out on his cheesy line.
“Okay, well, I did read a lot over the summer,” I admit. Mom was busy with her new job and Josie was getting ready to go to Berkeley. I didn’t have much else to do besides reading. “The last book I read was called The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.”
“Sounds very Jesus-y.”
I look at him sideways. “Why? Because it has ‘bible’ in the name?”
He nods.
“Well, it’s not. Or at least not like it sounds. It’s about a missionary family who goes to the Congo to spread Christianity.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, his eyebrows wag, and I wish I’d used a different word.
“Missionary, did you say? Not my favorite position, but okay.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. The girl next to me is talking about The Goldfinch , and I wish she were my partner instead.
Jason seems oblivious to my annoyance, and he gives me a grin. “So, tell me about this book.”
“No, thank you.” I bend my head over my notebook and doodle a flower on the cover.
His grin fades. “Seriously? I was only kidding. I’m sorry.”
He sounds sincere, and I glance up at him skeptically.
“I mean it,” he urges. “I really want to hear about the book.”
I spot Ms. Maddox heading in our direction as she circles the room checking in on the groups.
“Fine.” I give him a summary of the story, and the more I talk about it, the more I remember how much I loved it. I probably go on a bit too long, but when I’m done, his eyes don’t seem to have glazed over.
He leans in, his gaze trained on my face, and he even asks a few questions about the characters. “It sounds really good,” he says. “The way you talk about it, it makes me want to read it.”
“Really?” I’m still skeptical.
“Maybe you could lend it to me?” His smile seems genuine instead of smarmy, and I wonder if I’ve misjudged him.
Maybe he’s not such a bad guy. Ms. Maddox calls for the class’s attention, and I focus on her instructions for the first assignment.
When the bell rings, I pack up my things and head for my next class.
“Hey, Madeline.” I turn around to find Jason jogging to catch up to me.
“I know you’re new here,” he says. “Do you have anyone to sit with at lunch?”
My heart flips at the thought of seeing Adam again. “Oh… I do, actually. I met someone earlier today who invited me to sit with him.”
“Come on. Ditch whoever it is and sit with me.”
I bite my lip. “I really shouldn’t. I told him I’d be there.”
“Okay.” His jaw twitches. “Well, see you tomorrow.”
Is he annoyed that I turned him down? But why would he be?
We barely even know each other. I’m sure he doesn’t care.
Again, I find myself wishing I had a friend who I could talk to about everything that happened this morning.
I glance at my schedule. Maybe I’ll meet someone in my next class, which is…
Ugh. In the gym. I don’t even know how to find the gym.
“Jason?” I call to his retreating back. “Could you help me find my next class?”
But Jason must not hear me because he keeps walking away.