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successful at taking my mind
off of Lucas.
    It was as if my life in Tennessee was a
million years ago and the present was all about him.
    I flipped open my phone and fired off a text
to Adrienne.
    What’s up?
    She responded immediately.
    OMG! I miss u!
    Naturally, the texting continued, but only
marginally took my mind off Lucas.
    I didn’t want to forget Nashville and the
life I’d had there. I was a teenager, after all. Wasn’t I supposed
to wallow in self-pity over the things and people I’d been forced
to leave behind? Wasn’t I supposed to be miserable in this new
place out of respect for my former home.
    Yeah, that had never been my style. Self-pity
wasn’t something I allowed myself. And, unlike some kids my age,
I’d already realized that the world didn’t revolve around me one
hundred percent of the time.
    But right at this moment, I’d have gladly
given in to teenage angst and drama if it would make me forget
about Lucas Ellis.
    I aimed the fan toward my bed and snuggled
in, trying in vain not to picture dark blond hair and brown
eyes.
    Trying not to hear that smooth, caramel
voice.
    Sometime later, I finally fell asleep. And
when I did, he was still on my mind.

CHAPTER 4
     
    The next
morning, the fog still lingered, thick and heavy, as I drove to
school. Jessie was waiting in the parking lot for me when I pulled
in. As glad as I was to have company for my inevitable walk into
the front lobby, the look on her face told me that news of
yesterday afternoon’s episode had spread.
    “Is it true that Todd Miller was harassing
you after school yesterday?” she asked.
    So his first name was Todd. Funny, I still
only thought of him as Miller-the-idiot.
    “I suppose,” I grabbed my backpack from the
backseat. “He was just being an jerk.”
    “I heard Lucas Ellis put a stop to it.”
    I considered how best to respond as we walked
toward the building. Clearly, Lucas couldn’t expect his involvement
to remain a secret. Not with the crowd that witnessed the exchange.
But I didn’t want to make more of it than there was. High school
reputations were a tricky balancing act, and you never knew what
was going to tip the scales in one direction. Too much interest in
the “new girl” could cause him problems.
    I was also working very hard to not elevate him to hero status. Trying, but failing miserably.
    “He was just being nice,” I shrugged.
    “Yeah, well,” Jessie giggled. “Luke has a
reputation of being a nice guy, but I’ve never heard of him getting
into a confrontation like that.”
    As if I needed another reason to put him on a
pedestal.
    “Who is Todd Miller anyway?” We’d reached the
front door, so I lowered my voice as I pushed it open. “I hadn’t
even laid eyes on him until yesterday afternoon in the parking
lot.”
    “School jock,” Jessie said. “Big star on the
football and basketball teams. I suppose that’s why so many girls
want to date him, even though he’s a jerk.”
    “What about Lucas?” We shouldered through the
crowd of people in the lobby, working our way down the hall to the
door of our first class. “He looks like he’d be an athlete.”
    “Luke’s a runner. Cross country, track and
field. He does 5Ks and stuff like that in the off-season. Trains
all the time. I heard he’s going to do a marathon this year.”
    “How old is he?” I asked, trying nonchalantly
to scan the hall in search of him.
    “He’s a senior.” The warning bell rang and
the lobby began to empty. Jessie and I headed into the classroom
and took our seats. “And I heard he’s single again.”
    I should not be interested in this. I should not . Yet I couldn’t stop the next question from leaving my
mouth. “Again?”
    “Right.” Jessie leaned closer, whispering.
“He and Kara Jennings have been on and off over the past year. But
I heard they broke up some time over summer break.”
    My curiosity was put on hold when Mr. Hartley
started class, and I decided that was a good thing.