by Leigh Walker
“What’s up, girl?” A loud voice boomed, making me jump.
A tall, dark-haired, coffee-colored skin boy stood next to me, all bones and bright-white teeth, sporting a black hoodie and smiling expectantly.
I opened my mouth then closed it.
“You speak English? Or…” He furrowed his large eyebrows. “¿Hablas español? ’Cause I’m half-Puerto Rican. I can roll with that.”
“I speak English. You just surprised me.”
He smiled again, easily. “Oh, okay. I wasn’t sure. You looked a little lost.” He held out his hand. “I’m Josh. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Riley. Are you…a student?” I’d never seen him before. He was so tall and smiley. I would’ve noticed him if I’d seen him around town.
Josh shrugged. “Something like that. I’m here for the summer work-study program. You?”
“Yeah. I just transferred here for my senior year. I’m checking in for the summer work-study program, too.”
He flashed those teeth again. “Ah, I get it. You’re poor.”
“Uh,” I stammered, flustered.
“I’m just teasing you, sheesh!” He eyed my bike. “Are you local?”
I nodded. “I’m from Hanover.”
He patted my shoulder, which was way below his, and beamed at me. I might need sunglasses to look at those teeth. “Riley Payne from Hanover…wow. I’m honored to meet you.”
“Huh?” I swallowed hard. “Why are you honored to meet me? How do you know my last name?”
“I never met anybody from here before. And I saw your name on the list, of course.” He flashed me another megawatt smile. “I have to get going, but I’m looking forward to seeing you around. You’re my newest friend.” Josh got on his iPhone and sauntered off. I watched his big thumbs as they fired off a rapid text.
“Nice to meet you,” I mumbled.
The sun warmed my face as I headed toward the steps of the administration building. Josh seemed nice, but he was definitely weird. Still, he’d called me his friend, and friends were something I’d been in woefully short supply of at Hanover High.
Maybe Hollingsworth would be good. Maybe I’d make friends. Maybe I could salvage my thus-far painful high-school experience.
I started up the stairs. That’s when I saw him.
3
The Cutest Boy Ever
He—whoever he was—wore a backpack with both straps over his muscular shoulders. He stood on the steps of Fallon Hall, staring at me, all six-foot-three, tall, dark and handsome of him. He had on a snug-fitting T-shirt with his ripped torso visible beneath it.
My mouth went dry. If I could create an ideal boy out of my imagination, here he was. Here he was, and he stared in my direction.
I looked over my shoulder to see who he was looking at. But there was no one behind me, so…
I turned back. He was still staring.
“Hi?” I made it a question. Hi, you are the cutest boy EVER. Are you staring at ME?
He didn’t answer. Instead, he scratched his head and kept staring, as if something didn’t compute.
I looked wildly around for whatever had stymied him, but there was no one near us, no one except little old me. “Are you…okay?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Not at all.”
“Can I help?”
“Definitely not.” He turned, cursed, and stalked up the steps.
My stomach clenched. What had I done to offend him?
Why did you say ‘hi’ to him, LOSER? When had a guy like that, or any guy for that matter, ever stared at me?
Never. Never ever.
I groaned, trying to shrink back into myself as I watched him go into the administrative building. I needed to go in there, too. I needed to go in there, and I’d just said ‘hi’ to him, the cutest boy ever, and he’d looked at me like I’d offered him a plague sandwich.
I sighed as I went up the stairs, a pit in my stomach.
The boy was already at the desk. The secretary laughed at something he’d said. She smiled at him, visibly charmed, as they chatted easily.
“Can I please see the student list for the summer program?” he asked.
She twisted a lock of her hair. “Of course, dear.”
The boy looked at the list. From behind, I swear I saw his shoulders tense as he read the names. He thanked her, and she practically fanned herself. When he finally turned around, he gave me the once-over with his dark-brown eyes but didn’t say hello.
I shivered, feeling my face turn beet red.
“Miss? Miss?” The secretary sounded annoyed, probably that I wasn’t tall, dark and handsome—and an asshole.
I shuffled up to the desk as the boy left the building. “Hey. I’m here to check in for the summer work-study program.”
She peered at me over her glasses. “Don’t sound so excited about it.”
“I am excited… I guess I’m just nervous.” I forced myself to smile at her.
“Don’t be nervous. Everybody’s nice. Here, take these.” She handed me a stack of papers, a map, and a schedule. “The place I circled is your dormitory, which is the Tate building. You’re in the west wing.” She gave me directions through the green. “And you have orientation this afternoon, which they’ll do on the quad. Any questions?”
I gathered the papers together and put them into my backpack. “Are all the other students here for the work-study program? Or are some of them just taking summer classes?” I hoped I sounded nonchalant.
“Some are here for classes.” She smiled. “Don’t be nervous. You’re going to love Hollingsworth, and everybody says good things about the summer-work program. If you ever need any help, I’m Gina.”
“Thanks, Gina.”
I grabbed my map and headed out the door, wondering if I’d ever seen the Tate building before.
The handsome boy was out on the green, talking to a group of other students. I mentally crossed my fingers that he was a summer student and wouldn’t be on the grounds crew.
Although seeing him sweat in a tight-fitting T-shirt wouldn’t suck, my mind argued, but he wasn’t nice enough to even say hello, so I wasn’t interested.
I held my head high as I followed the map to Tate. When I finally found it, nestled among the other dormitories, my heart soared. It was red brick with black shutters and skylights—the perfect blend of classic and modern. This was my new home. I smiled as I slid my key card in the slot and went through the doors. The lobby was sunny, immaculate, and best of all, silent—no drunk moms waiting to spring out at me.
I headed to my room—number three—and put my hand over my heart when I got inside. It was spacious and sunny with enormous windows facing the quad. I unpacked my things, carefully spreading my sleeping bag out on the mattress. I’d go home at some point, preferably when my mother was at work, for a set of sheets and my comforter.
I sat on the bed and looked at my schedule. I had two hours before the meeting. Tired from my run, my mom waking me up last night, and the weird encounter with the handsome boy at the office, I got into my sleeping bag. It smelled like home, which surprisingly, made me ache.
My eyelids drooped, so I grabbed my phone to set the alarm in case I fell asleep. I curled around a patch of sunshine on my bed, letting the heat seep into me, feeling warm and comfortable. I didn’t know if I was the only person already in the dorm, and I didn’t care. I thought about the boy again, wondering why he’d looked at me that way, wondering if I’d imagined it. I probably had. I possessed a very wild, overactive imagination, probably a side effect of having no social life.
I started to drift off. Maybe, now that I’d started Hollingsworth, things would be different…
I knew I’d fallen asleep because my dad was there. He was unpacking groceries in the kitchen of our old house. My heart hurt. I yearned both for him and that house. The white kitchen cabinets were nicked, the refrigerator sagged, the old pine floor planks were warped, but it was home.
Dad smiled at me, his eyes c
rinkling. “I’m going to make soup, pumpkin. Do you want to help?”
“No,” my dream-self said. I wanted to slap her, to jump in and say, “Of course!” It was my dad, and he was so close to me, and he wasn’t dead…
He picked up the milk and smiled. “Go have fun. I understand.”
I left the kitchen, but part of me screamed to go back, just let me go back to see him for a little while longer! But instead, I ran outside, to the dirt driveway and picked up rocks. My hands got dusty as I piled them high.
A shadow appeared across the pile I’d assembled.
I looked up to find the man with the silver crew cut from my run that morning. He stood over me, looking unimpressed. Then he opened his mouth and bleated. Like a sheep.
I sat up suddenly, yanking myself from sleep. What the heck? I looked at the time—crap. I’d fallen asleep for almost two hours. I’d accidentally muted my phone. The meeting started in fifteen minutes. I got up and hustled to the shared bathroom on the floor, trying to shake off the dream. I brushed my teeth and hair as fast as I could. A toilet flushed. I grabbed my things to flee, but a girl sprung out from the stall.
“Hey. I thought I heard someone out here.” She was a little taller than me with gorgeous, porcelain skin and a short, strawberry-blonde pixie haircut. She washed her hands. “I’m Emma.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Riley.”
She dried her hands, looking me up and down, and I had the odd sensation I’d somehow disappointed her. “I’m Emma West. I’m from Indiana.”
“Huh. I’ve never been to Indiana…”
“You’re not missing anything. Except for the Hoosiers—they’re pretty awesome.” She looked at me, as though she were waiting for me to say something.
“Huh,” I said again.
She continued to inspect me, her sharp, green-eyed gaze cataloging every detail. “Are you a student or part of the grounds crew?”
“I’m both. But I won’t start classes until the fall.”
“What did you say your name was, again?”
I licked my lips. “Riley. Riley Payne.”
Her gaze laser-focused on me, as if it were about to gamma ray my face off to see behind it. “And where are you from?”
“From here—from Hanover.”
“Wow.” She didn’t sound wowed.
“Um, I have to get to that meeting.” I backed out of the bathroom, desperate to get away from her.
“I’ll see you out there.” Emma sounded vaguely disgusted.
Again, I’d offended someone I didn’t even know. I grabbed my phone and my notebook, hustling out to the quad. Maybe life at Hollingsworth wasn’t going to be so different, after all.
4
The Invitation
There were about thirty kids gathered for the meeting, more than I’d expected. I made a beeline toward the back, hoping to avoid Emma and perhaps spy on her, to see if everyone else disgusted her as much as I did.
“Hey, Hanover! Over here!”
Josh waved from the front row, where he sat cross-legged on the ground. I waved but kept heading toward the back.
“HANOVER! Come sit with us!”
I winced as he patted the ground next to him and looked at me, smiling and expectant, a Labrador retriever waiting for his new buddy. I headed toward him and then noticed the person sitting on his other side—Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome, already scowling at me.
Ugh. My stomach dropped as I sat down next to Josh, trying to hide myself in his shadow. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself!” Josh said, his smile blinding. “Did you settle in?”
“Pretty much. How about you?”
“I’m all set. Good to go.”
The boy next to him still scowled, a sharp contrast to Josh’s easy enthusiasm.
I wanted to keep talking to Josh, so I didn’t have to deal with his disapproving sidekick. “Where are you from, originally?”
“Arkansas.”
“Is Arkansas…nice?”
“It’s great.” Josh smiled at me again, and it dawned on me that he might always be this upbeat. “Have you met Finn?” He jerked his thumb in the direction of him.
I swallowed over a sudden lump in my throat. “Not exactly.”
Josh leaned back so Finn’s glorious, glowering countenance was revealed. “Finn, this is Riley. Riley, this is Finn.”
Finn didn’t look up from watching the blade of grass he was ripping with his fingers. “Why did you call her Hanover?”
“’Cause she’s from Hanover. Duh.”
“Ah.” Finn brought his gaze up to meet mine. He was so gorgeous, I almost threw up right there on the quad. “It’s nice to meet you, Hanover.”
“It’s actually Riley—”
“Emma!” he yelled suddenly. “Over here!”
Emma nodded to him, heading our way. She wore a cute, spaghetti-strapped dress that showed off her toned body. She also sported stylish combat boots, which just made her more intimidating. She was in perfect shape to kick my ass, should she be so inclined, all while looking better than me.
She rolled her eyes when she saw me. “I see you guys have met Riley.” She flopped down, sounding thoroughly underwhelmed.
“It’s nice to see you, too,” I said, under my breath.
“Good afternoon,” a female voice called from the front of the quad. “Welcome to your first day of summer session! I’m Mina Yang, and I run the program. I will be calling out your names to send you to your specific group. You’ll meet your other team members and your group leader. You will find out about your summer work-study placement.”
Josh nudged me. “I hope we’re all together!”
I forced myself to smile and be polite. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” I refused to look at either Finn or Emma.
Ms. Yang’s long, dark curls fell over her shoulders. She smiled kindly at us. “When I call your name, go to the appropriate area. They’re marked with signs. Your group leader will explain the expectations for each group.” She went through the list of names, assigning people to groups such as irrigation crew and shrubbery. My name wasn’t called for a while, until she said, “Next is the off-campus crew. Riley Payne, you’re first.”
I dragged myself up and headed to the appropriate sign, wondering who would join my crew. Ms. Yang called Emma West, Josh Lafontaine, and Finnegan Ryan shortly thereafter—the prosecution’s Exhibit A, B and C in support of this turning out to be one of the worst days ever. Well, Josh wasn’t that bad.
Emma glared at me as she came over. Finn looked at the sky. Ugh. Double Ugh.
We stood together awkwardly for a minute. Josh was the only one who looked pleased. No one else’s name was called for our group.
My heart sunk. “This is everyone?”
“Tell me about it.” Emma snorted.
I felt my indignation mounting. “And what does the off-campus crew even do?”
Josh smiled at me. “Don’t worry, Hanover. I’m sure we won’t be bored.”
A man carrying a clipboard headed our way. I recognized him immediately. It was the silver-haired man from my run this morning, the one I’d bumped into, and the same one who’d bleated like a human sheep in my dream. The hair stood up on the back of my neck. This seriously wasn’t turning out to be my day.
Finn watched me, the muscles in his jaw taut. “You okay, Hanover?” He kept his voice low.
“I’m great,” I lied, “and my name’s Riley.”
He went back to ignoring me.
“Ah, now all of our questions will be answered,” Josh said as the man approached.
“That’s our group leader?” I held my breath as the man approached, the silver bristles of his high-and-tight glinting in the sun.
“Well, well, well,” he said. “The off-campus crew. Handpicked to be the best, the finest, of all the grounds-keeping crews. And I am Donald Cranston, your group leader.”
I assumed he was kidding.
“You four were chosen because of your special skill set.”
He checked off something on his clipboard. “Are you ready for a real-life summer of adventure?”
He was kidding, right?
Finn crossed his arms against his chest, and I looked away, trying not to ogle his bulging biceps.
“Can’t wait,” Finn said. “How far off campus are we going?”
“Not far enough.” Emma sounded bored.
Cranston looked down at his clipboard. “So we have Emma, Finn, Josh and, drum roll, please—Riley. Hi, Riley.”
“Um…hi.”
Emma groaned. “You say ‘um’ too much.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it, while Josh elbowed her in the ribs. “It’s annoying,” she explained to him. “Someone needs to tell her. I’m trying to be a friend.”
Cranston frowned at me from under his silver crew cut. “So you’re the new girl, huh?”
I looked at the others, confused. “Aren’t we all new?”
No one answered. Josh shrugged, Emma arched an eyebrow, and Finn looked as though he might feel sorry for me.
“Sure,” Cranston said easily. “Now Riley, are you comfortable coming to a private group meeting? I’ll bring pizza.”
“Sure.” I didn’t feel sure, but also didn’t know what else to say. I just knew I couldn’t say “um.”
“Great. Meet me outside of Tate at zero-eighteen-hundred hours. See you all then.”
Then he was gone, leaving me and my three teammates. “Well—see you.”
Josh smiled, Finn looked at the ground, and Emma groaned.
Can’t wait. No, really.
I changed into my nicest T-shirt, brushed my teeth, and put on some lip-gloss. I headed down the stairs. Voices drifted up from the lobby.
