Before Ashley could extract more information from her future groom, or cause my ears to bleed, Ms. Ryder strode onto the stage. The sight of her electric blue legs engulfed in red cowboy boots captured our attention even more effectively than her dramatic recitation of Richard III.

The next hour flew by in a blur as Ms. Ryder excitedly went over the details of the course. The class was small, only a dozen of us, and the local art guild was providing funding for a few field trips to see some live performances. I was so excited by the time the bell rang that I almost forgot about Alex.

“So the new guy is kind of a hottie.” Talley said from one of the cafeteria’s cheerfully colored booths. She was munching on a carrot stick, her latest attempt at going on a diet. I silently predicted that they would be replaced with McDonald’s french fires before she made it home that afternoon.

“When did you start using words like ‘hottie’?”

“You’re avoiding the topic.”

“What topic?”

“The hotness that is Alex Cole. Don’t pretend you didn’t notice.”

Of course I noticed. I was in possession of two functioning eyeballs and an appreciation of the opposite sex.

“He’s one of the beautiful people. God help us all.” Talley gave me what I like to think of as her why-the-Hades-do-I-put-up-with-you look. “Don’t look at me like that. You know you’re the only beautiful person in this school who isn’t completely vapid.”

Talley learned to quit arguing with me over the fact that she was beautiful long ago. On this one fact I was stubbornly certain. Talley’s eyes are a deep blue, set off by her thick, shiny black hair that looks perfect even when she has bedhead. Her skin is as pale as mine, but the sun is much kinder to her. Since it was mid-August, her nose had an adorable scattering of the cutest freckles any human has ever possessed. Couple those features with the fact that she was the kindest and most joyful person alive, and it all added up to a very attractive girl. It was a shame everyone seemed too focused on the fact that she weighed over 200 pounds to notice.

“What about Jase?” Talley asked, looking over my shoulder.

“What about him?

“Don’t you think I’m beautiful?” my brother asked, sliding into the booth next to me.

“Of course you’re beautiful.” Not to be gross or anything, but he actually kind of is. “You’re also completely vapid.” Which is only partially true.

“Aw. You’re just saying that because you know I have no idea what vapid means.”

“It means quit eating all my Doritos.” I snatched my nearly empty bag out of his hand. “What are you doing here, Jase? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Nope. This is my lunch period.”

Talley froze with a carrot stick halfway to her mouth. “No way. How did that happen?”

“Tal, isn’t it obvious? Scout and I are mature, responsible Seniors now. Don’t be so shocked that the school administration has taken notice.”

Since an incident in the third grade, Jase and I were separated at school as much as possible. We were never in the same classes or allowed to join the same clubs. It really hadn’t been an issue since we got to high school. Jase’s interests tended to skew towards athletics while mine had a more academic feel. Yet, I knew for certain the superintendent, who just happened to be our father, still intended for our schedules to never intertwine. Obviously, someone wasn’t paying attention.

“You? Me? The same lunch? That’s going to be odd.”

“Odd?” Jase looked at me, totally confused. “It’s going to be awesome!”

It is common knowledge that things have to work a certain way in the world of high school politics. The super-cool, yet approachable, star athlete was supposed to date the prettiest girls, attend the coolest parties, and eat lunch with the rest of the elite, not his socially awkward sister.

“Shouldn’t you be holding court with Twiddle-Dee, Twiddle-Dum, and Twiddle-Moron over there?” I asked, referring to a table in the middle of the dining area where three of Jase’s teammates - Tyler Burkeen, Seth Roberts, and Jordan Daniels - were hanging all over a cluster of cheerleader types, occasionally tossing a french fry towards the back of James Kiplinger’s head.

“I see those guys all the time.”

“You live with me. Our bedrooms are roughly five feet from each other.”

“Are you trying to say that you don’t want to eat lunch with me, Scout?”

“Of course she wants to eat lunch with you,” Talley said. “She’s just worried that you’re going to make her have an actual conversation with someone other than you or me.”

That wasn’t entirely fair. It wasn’t my fault I wasn’t as affable as they were.

“You know, they really aren’t that bad once you get to know them,” Jase said, watching as Jordan managed to get a ketchup coated fry to stick to James’ shirt.

“Jordan Daniels is not only a complete jerk, but he’s also as dumb as a box of rocks.”

“He doesn’t still call you Al the Albino does he?”

“No.” Not since Jase slammed him into a wall in the boy’s locker room and suggested he quit. “That doesn’t mean that he suddenly stopped being a half-wit. I overheard him asking one of the secretaries where to put a stamp on an envelope last year.”

“Okay, so Jordan is an idiot, but Tyler and Seth are pretty decent, and I think you would like some of the girls if you would just give them a chance.”

Sure, we would become the bestest of friends. We could have sleep-overs where we braided each other’s hair and talked about how super-cute and hunky Jordan is.

Gag.

I was about to turn back to my table when a pair of steely eyes caught my attention. Alex Cole sat two tables away from us, once again staring. Only this time, it wasn’t at me. Instead, he was looking at Jase with an expression which could have easily been interpreted as murderous. His eyes were hard and I could see the muscles in his cheeks jump as he clenched and unclenched his jaw.

I could also see Ashley Johnson babbling on like a ditz beside him. I briefly wondered if she was discussing possible honeymoon locations.

“Earth to Scout,” Jase said, pulling my attention away from Alex’s table.

“Who are you looking at?” Talley glanced over and smiled. “Ah-ha. The new guy. I should have known.”