As I slid into the desk, I watched Kari pull Justin to a couple of desks on the other side of the room. He whispered something to her and she shrugged, flashing him a quick smile. My stomach did flip-flops as they headed for the two empty desks in front of me. I’d never had a guy take this much interest in me before. Part of me wondered if I was the butt of another joke.
“You’re a tough girl to keep up with.” Justin slid into the seat in front of me. “How am I supposed to keep Roger away?”
“I don’t see him here, do you?”
He glanced around the classroom and shrugged. “Guess not.” He kept his eyes on mine as if he was waiting for something.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He turned around and started talking to Kari, who was eagerly awaiting his attention.
A man with a red ’fro and a Hawaiian shirt walked into the classroom and tossed a black bag on the desk. “Hey, guys!” he called out just as the bell rang. “Welcome to English Eleven! I’m Mr. Duncan—some of you had me for English Nine.” Apparently Bozo was our teacher.
I looked out the window and zeroed in on a couple leaning against an evergreen tree. It took a few seconds to realize that it was Naomi and Roger, puffing on cigarettes. I wondered if they knew that people could see them from these windows, or if they even cared.
“So what I usually like to do the first day is get to know everyone. I remember faces, but I’m not so good with names.” Mr. Duncan chuckled. “I want you all to find a partner to interview. I’ve got the questions right here.” He wrestled a stack of papers out of his book bag.
Great. Two of my favorite things—partnering up with a stranger and speaking in front of a class. I’d only passed speech class because the teacher felt sorry for me.
Kari spun around and grabbed Justin’s wrist. “Will you be my partner again?”
“Okay, but don’t spill any iodine on me this time,” he said.
I glanced at the guy next to me, but he was already whispering to the girl in front of him. In fact, it seemed everyone but me had a partner. This meant the teacher would pair up with me, or he’d force me into a three-way. Either way, I’d end up the focal point of the class—the one nobody wanted to partner with.
Mr. Duncan handed some papers to the first person in our row. “When you guys are done, I want you to introduce your partner to the class. Clear enough?”
I kept hoping that one teacher out of the bunch would come up with a first-day activity I hadn’t done a zillion times before. Or at least one that had some purpose.
Justin turned around and handed me the last questionnaire, a smile flickering at his lips. “You need a partner, don’t you?”
I shrugged, not really knowing how to respond.
“Scoot your chair up,” he said. “The more the merrier.”
“Okay.”
“She doesn’t have a partner,” Justin said to Kari as I moved my desk next to his.
“Aw, sure—yeah, join us,” she said in a high voice. Too high. It sounded fake, even to me.
I had to look twice at the questions on the paper. They definitely weren’t the normal set, like what’s your name, favorite subject, etc. This one wanted to know our favorite vacation, the best book we’d ever read, what we wanted to be when we grew up, and the first thing we did this morning.
“These are really random,” Justin said.
“Yeah, I had Duncan my freshman year,” Kari said. “He’s a nut job, but he’s entertaining.” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, biting her lower lip. “We’ll just go around in a circle. I’ll ask you.” She nodded at Justin. “You can ask Drea and whatever.”
“That works,” I said, glancing at the clock and counting the minutes left. Thirty-six.
“Okay.” She poked Justin. “Tell me all about your favorite vacation.”
Justin rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “You’ll have to give me a minute to think about that.”
“Sure.” Kari smiled at him. Her eyelashes looked like they belonged in a mascara commercial; every lash was perfectly separated and curled. I’d tried to use my mom’s eyelash curler once, but it ended up being more of an eyelash eradicator.
“Do I have something on my face?” she asked me.
“No. I like your makeup.”
The corner of her glossy mouth perked up. “Uh—thanks.” She glanced at Justin, but he was doodling on his questionnaire. “Got an answer yet?”
He dropped his pen and folded his arms across his chest. “I guess it would be the summers I stayed in Milan with my grandma. She lived right by this gelato place, and they had a coconut and mango combo that rocked.”
“I like coconut,” I said.
“Hold up. You spent summers in Milan and all you can say is you liked the ice cream?” Kari asked.
“It ruined me on pizza in the States too. Can’t eat it unless I use my grandma’s recipe.”
Kari wrinkled her nose at him. “Come on, you gotta give me more than that. Did your parents just, like, put you on a plane every summer?”
