I froze. I couldn’t believe I was going to have to announce to everyone that I had brought along the wrong books to the very first class. How incompetent would I seem? I opened my mouth to begin an apology just as Xavier slid his book inconspicuously across the desk toward me.
I gave him a grateful look and began to read the passage with ease, although I’d never read or spoken the language before. That was just the way it was with us — we only needed to start something before we excelled at it. By the time I was finished, Mr. Collins had come to stand beside our desk. My reading had been fluent — too fluent. I realized that I should have mispronounced a few words or at least stumbled once or twice, but it hadn’t occurred to me to do so. Maybe part of me was trying to show off in front of Xavier Woods to make up for my previous clumsiness.
“You’re as fluent as a native speaker, Miss Church. Have you lived in France?”
“No, sir.”
“Visited perhaps?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
I glanced across at Xavier, whose raised eyebrows indicated he was impressed.
“We must put it down to natural ability then. You might be happier in the advanced class,” Mr. Collins suggested.
“No!” I said, not wanting to attract any more attention and wishing Mr. Collins would let the matter drop. I vowed to be less perfect next time. “I’ve still got plenty to learn,” I assured him. “Pronunciation is my strong point, but grammatically I’m all over the place.”
Mr. Collins seemed satisfied with that explanation. “Woods, continue from where Miss Church left off,” he said, then looked down at Xavier and pursed his lips. “Where’s your textbook, Woods?”
I quickly passed the book back to him, but Xavier made no move to accept it.
“Sorry, sir, I forgot my books today; had a late one last night. Thanks for sharing, Beth.”
I wanted to protest but Xavier’s warning look silenced me. Mr. Collins glared at him, scribbled something in his notebook and muttered all the way back to his desk.
“Not setting much of an example as school captain. See me after class.”
The lesson over, I waited outside for Xavier to finish with Mr. Collins. I felt I at least owed him a thank-you for saving me from embarrassment.
When the door opened Xavier strolled out as casually as someone taking a walk on the beach. He looked at me and smiled, pleased that I had waited for him. I was supposed to be meeting Molly at morning break, but the thought floated into my head and straight out again. When he looked at me it was easy to forget to breathe.
“You’re welcome and it was no big deal,” he said before I could even open my mouth.
“How did you know what I was going to say?” I asked irritably. “What if I wanted to tell you off for getting yourself into trouble?”
He looked at me quizzically. “Are you angry?” he asked. There was that half-smirk again, playing around his lips, as if he was deciding whether the situation was amusing enough to warrant a full smile.
Two girls walked past and looked daggers at me. The taller one waggled her fingers at Xavier.
“Hey, Xavier,” she said in a syrupy voice.
“Hi, Lana,” he replied in a friendly but dispassionate tone.
It seemed obvious to me that he had no interest in talking to her, but Lana didn’t seem to notice.
“How’d you do on the math test?” she persisted. “I thought it was
I couldn’t help but notice the way Xavier looked at her — blankly, like someone might look at the screen of a computer. Lana was chatting away and arching her back so that Xavier could get the full effect of her curvaceous figure. Any other boy would have been unable to resist giving her body an appreciative appraisal, but Xavier’s eyes didn’t move from her face.
“I think I did okay,” he said. “Marcus Mitchell does tutoring; you should ask him if you really think you need it.” Lana’s eyes narrowed in annoyance at having given so much and received so little.
“Thanks,” she snapped before flouncing away.
Xavier didn’t seem to notice that he had offended her, or if he did, he wasn’t perturbed by it. He turned back to me with a very different expression. His face was serious as if he were trying to solve some sort of puzzle. I tried not to feel a rush of pleasure at this; he probably looked at lots of girls in the same way, and Lana was just an unlucky exception. I remembered what I’d been told about Emily and scolded myself for being so conceited as to think he was showing interest in me.
Before our conversation could resume, Molly spotted us with a look of surprise. She approached cautiously, looking a little worried that she might be interrupting something.
“Hi, Molly,” Xavier said when it became apparent that she wasn’t going to initiate conversation.
“Hi,” she replied briskly and gave my sleeve a proprietary tug. When she spoke, it was in the wheedling voice of a small child. “Beth, come to the cafeteria with me — I’m practically dying of starvation! And after school on Friday I want you to come back to my place — we’re all getting facials from Taylah’s sister, who’s a beautician. It’s going to be awesome. She always brings lots of samples so we can do our own at home.”
“That does sound awesome,” said Xavier with a feigned enthusiasm that made me giggle. “What time should I come over?”
Molly ignored him.
“Will you come, Beth?”
“I have to ask Gabriel and let you know,” I said. I saw a look of surprise cross Xavier’s face. Was it the idea of a night spent having facials or my need to ask my sibling for permission that puzzled him?
“Ivy and Gabriel are welcome to come too,” Molly said, her voice picking up.
“I’m not sure it would be their cup of tea.” I saw Molly’s face fall and added quickly, “But I’ll ask anyway.”
She beamed at me.
“Thanks. Hey, can I ask you something?” She glared at Xavier who was still standing there. “In private?”
He raised his hands in mock defeat and walked away. I resisted the urge to call him back. Molly’s voice dropped to a low whisper. “Has Gabriel… um… said anything about me?”
Neither Gabriel nor Ivy had mentioned Molly since our encounter at the ice cream parlor, except to repeat their general warning about the danger of making friends. But I knew from her tone that she was captivated by Gabriel, and I didn’t want to disappoint her. “Actually, yes,” I said, hoping I sounded convincing. There was only one circumstance when lying was permitted: in order to avoid causing someone unnecessary pain. But even then it didn’t come easily.
“Really?” Molly’s face lit up.
“Of course,” I said, thinking that, technically, I hadn’t really lied. Gabriel
“He said that? I can’t believe he even noticed me. He’s so gorgeous! Beth, sorry, I know he’s your brother and all, but he is seriously hot.”
In an elated mood Molly took my arm and pulled me in the direction of the cafeteria. Xavier was there, sitting with a table of athletes. This time when our eyes met, I held his gaze. As I looked at him, I felt my mind go completely blank and I couldn’t think about anything except his smile — that perfect, endearing smile that made his eyes crinkle ever so slightly at the corners.
7
Partay
Molly hadn’t failed to notice my interest in Xavier Woods and decided to offer some unsolicited advice. “I really don’t think he’s your type,” she said, twirling her curls around her fingers as we stood in line at the cafeteria.
