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Zoe
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During PolySci class, most of the girls huddled together and talked about the new student: what he looked like, where he came from, his class schedule. I had to wonder how they’d gotten so much information. I was his girlfriend, and didn’t know most of it.
Class ended and the girls bolted out of their chairs and spilled into the hallway. I assumed they were trying to catch a glimpse of Shay, wherever he was. I walked into the bathroom so I could use my cell phone without being caught. Fourth period approached, and I still hadn’t seen Shay all day. I’d hoped we would have a few classes together. I dug out my phone and texted him.
Me: Hi. U at school? K told me.
His response came back immediately.
Shay: Yes
Me: Schedule?
Shay: 7 classes and 1 lunch
Me: Smarty pants
Shay: CU soon
“Howdy, Zoe!” Sidelle said as she skipped into the Advanced Bio classroom. “How is Kieran doing now that he’s number two in the Hot Guy Contest?”
I rolled my eyes. “People are acting like we’ve never had a new student before.”
She punched my arm, but I barely felt it. “Come on, Zoe. It’s fun to get a newbie. Plus it’s about time we got a guy.” She plopped into her chair. “The female to male ratio at this school is totally in favor of the guys. It’s almost two girls for every one boy. Lousy odds.”
I giggled. “Here. I wrote down all my classes and teachers in case you were going to switch around, but now we’ll have to coordinate with Shay.” I handed Sidelle the sheet of paper. She looked at it, but didn’t take it.
“Okay, I got it.” She tapped her temple. “Photographic memory. Another special fairy power.” She lowered her voice. “Actually, it’s more like hyperthymesia.”
“What’s that?”
“I remember absolutely everything from the beginning of time.”
“Your head must be crowded. Is that why you never study?”
She laughed. “Zoe, when you live to be my age, school is a thing of the way past. There isn’t anything in these books I don’t know about, or haven’t lived through. So do you have any classes with Shay?”
“No morning ones so far. I texted him, but he didn’t tell me what classes he had. He just said he would see me later.” I looked around the room. “Everyone seems to be talking about him.”
“Does that bother you?”
“No, not really.” I shrugged. “Maybe.”
She grinned.
“Well, it’s not like I can lay my claim to him in front of all these girls when I haven’t even seen him. Some of them already know we’re together, since most of our class attended Cali’s house party, and he and I arrived and left together. That should say something, right?”
She put her face right up to mine. “You gonna dish? I want that double scoop sundae, remember. I need my romance fix!”
Had she lost her mind? “Shhh, keep it down! People are going to think you’re asking me about Kieran, and that just got settled ... I think.”
Sidelle waved her hands. “Oh, it definitely has. They’ve all moved on to greener pastures. The girls around here have the A.S.S. Disease.”
I blinked. “They have what?”
“A.S.S. Disease, the ‘Awww. Something Shiny!’ disease.”
I slapped my hand over my mouth, smothering a laugh. “That’s hysterical! I’ve never heard that one before.”
“Glad I could contribute to your education,” she said. “Now stop being dodgy and tell me about the first watch.”
By now, most of the students had taken their seats and were waiting for the start of Bio.
Bong. “I’ll tell you later.” Saved by the bell.
“What? When later?” she hissed. “I need a time, Zoe Jabril.”
“Later. Not now.”
Ms. Ferber glared at us from the front of the room. “Ahem. Ms. Jabril? Are you and Ms. Amistad finished?”
“Sorry, Ms. Ferber,” I muttered.
Sidelle smiled and waved one delicate hand as if she were the queen. “Of course, Ms. Ferber. You may proceed.”
Sidelle tapped my shoulder twice. She tried passing me a few notes during class, but I kept tossing them back and not reading them. I thought about last night, how much Shay and I had talked, including what wasn’t said, but nevertheless implied. Sidelle said she couldn’t read my mind, but I swear she did, because every now and then a smile appeared on her face as if she were remembering a happy moment. If that wasn’t enough, she’d follow it up with a wink at me. I wasn’t the least bit comfortable about getting my thoughts read that way.
Class ended and she dropped me off at AP English, not seeming to understand that I was completely ignoring her attempts to get me to spill the beans. I looked forward to class, excited to get back to reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As soon as I’d settled into my seat at the back of the middle row, a hush fell over the room, and I looked up. Shay stood at the door, prompting a surge of energy to rush through me. He scanned the room, and when our eyes met he smiled. I waved to him, and he started to walk toward me, but he was immediately surrounded by girls and bombarded with questions.
I watched him answer most, if not all, of their questions, and when a few of them laid their hands on his arms or shoulders, he lightly removed them. He glanced at me, his eyes pleading, but all I could do was smile and shrug.
Mr. Fischer, the substitute for Mr. Anderson, walked in behind Shay, clearing the girls from his path. Shay breathed a sigh.
“Ah, we have a new student,” said Mr. Fischer. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard some of the girls talking about you. You must be Mr. Curator.” He skimmed the room and motioned for the girls to take their seats. “I’m not sure which desks are open, but I think most everyone who should be here is here and seated, ladies, so help yourself.”
The female students hovering around Shay eventually took Mr. Fischer’s cue and found their chairs. I was curious to see where he would sit, since there were six open spots. All eyes moved with Shay as he approached the empty desk on my right and sat.
He extended his hand to shake mine. “Hi, name’s Shay.”
I grinned. “You’re such a dork. I know who you are.”
“Okay class, I’m sure Mr. Curator has done this in all his other classes so far, but since he’s a new student in this class ...” He waived an arm. “Mr. Curator? Would you like to say a few words about yourself?”
Shay looked completely at home standing to address the class. “Name’s Shay. I moved here from California with my mom.” He glanced at his desk, then said, “Oh, and I hear we’re reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’ve been to the Shakespeare Theatre in Paris a few times, and I know the story well.” He sat and smiled at me, pleased with himself.
“Excellent,” Mr. Fischer replied. “Now let’s get back to reading. Who would like to read as Oberon, Puck, Demetrius, and Hermia today?” He frowned. “No one? No takers?”
All eyes dropped to the desks. No one liked reading out loud, myself included. I glanced at Shay, who was perusing the room until his eyes stopped at mine. He smiled wickedly, and I smiled back, then my face fell. Oh no, he planned to do something.
He raised his hand. “I’ll read as Puck, Mr. Fischer.”
Everyone looked at Shay then Mr. Fischer. No one ever volunteered to read.
Mr. Fischer’s expression relaxed so quickly it was almost funny. “That’s great. Thank you, Shay,” he said. “Now I need three more. Choose or be chosen, that is the question.” Someone groaned.
“Mr. Fischer?” Abby asked. “Do the readers have to be the same sex as the characters?”
“If you’d like to read any part, that’s fine. Tick tock, peoples.”
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll read for Hermia.”
“Thank you, Abby. No other takers?”
Five more hands shot up, all girls, who wanted to read for the two remaining characters’ lines. I knew it had to do with the thrill of reading with Shay, but I was still a little shocked people had actually volunteered to read.
As Quinn ended her first lines of Oberon’s speech, I caught a devious smile on Shay’s face. As soon as Quinn said her last word, Shay moved seamlessly into Puck’s lines without even glancing at the book. He spoke the lines with a slight English accent which made him even more alluring. I closed my eyes, feeling his voice run through me, imagining no one was there, but him and me. I almost felt as if I floated on a raft in rolling waters. When I peeked at last, I wasn’t surprised to see all the girls’ faces were turned in his direction, softened by dreamy expressions.
They read the entire act during class, and after the last line had been spoken, the room stayed silent. When the bell rang, the guys headed to lunch, leaving all the girls to stare at Shay as if he’d put them in a trance. He was the last guy in the room and eventually the girls stood. Some lingered, but most made their way out the door, glancing back toward him.
I sat speechless, and he grinned down at me, waiting.
“That was awesome!” I managed.
“Thanks,” Shay said, back to the casual guy I knew. “Do you have lunch now? Wanna go?”
“Sure.” I grabbed my backpack. “I’m meeting Kieran, too. We should discuss the class schedules with Sidelle.”
“Shay?” Abby asked from across the room. She stood with a smaller group of girls. “You should sit with us at lunch.”
“I just made lunch plans. Sorry.”
She looked disappointed, but only shrugged. “That’s okay. Tomorrow, then.”
After she and her friends left, Shay stroked the side of my face, igniting the electrical current. “How’s your day going?”
“Same old crap.” I smiled. “I didn’t know you were going to enroll in school. You never told me!”
“I wanted it to be a surprise.” He placed his hand in mine. “Sorry I couldn’t text you much, but I had so many people around me, and I didn’t want them to see who I was texting.” With his other hand he reached for my backpack, and we walked out the door. “Plus, now you get to see me in all your classes. I had to complete a mountain of paperwork this morning.”
“Is that why you weren’t here in the morning?”
“Yep.”
In the cafeteria, I located Kieran seated at our usual spots across from Sidelle. Cali and Quinn were already situated on either side of her. I felt everyone’s stare on us as Shay and I joined them, but Shay didn’t seem to notice. I was surprised to discover that it wasn’t just the girls who appeared to like Shay. I would have thought the guys would hate him for turning all the girls’ heads, but they were nice. A few of the seniors introduced themselves and others slapped him on the back in passing, saying hello. Shay had been in the school for only five hours and he’d won everyone over already. As Kieran had said, he was a smooth talker.
I set my tray down across from Sidelle’s, and Shay took the seat next to mine.
“So, Shay,” Sidelle said. “How’s it feel to be back in a traditional school?”
“Not at all like I thought it would be. Technology has advanced so much since I was in school.”
As we ate, Shay and I discretely compared schedules with Sidelle and Kieran until it was figured out which classes to switch so I’d be covered at all times. At first I’d thought this was overdoing things, but then I remembered those Marquises. I did not want to walk into any of them on my own.
By the time we finished, most of the kids were done eating. The lunch bell rang and we shuffled out of the cafeteria and to our next class. Letting go of my hand, Shay left for biology, and I walked to Chemistry II with Kieran.
But after Kieran had gone into the classroom, I stood in the doorway a moment, distinctly aware of the same sensation I’d felt in the morning at the Coffee Grind. Someone was watching me. But I still saw no one.
I think I’m going crazy.