Css finally ends and everyone gets up to go to lunch. As I get up and turn towards Jay, I see someone familiar.
I gulp.
He’s in this css too.
I realize I’ve been staring when he looks up at me. I look away so fast my neck cracks, but I swear I can feel his grin as he walks out.
I turn to Jay and—yep. Wide eyes.
“What?”
“Girl, you know what.” She smirks.
Wow. I couldn't have been more obvious if I tried.
“He’s not bad,” she says with a shrug. “Not my type though.”
Relief floods through me. At least I know that we don’t have the same type, that would’ve been problematic.
“I was looking out the window,” I lie, even though my cheeks are definitely red.
“Girl, shut up. Nothing outside is that interesting,” she ughs.
How did I let my cru- well. Is he even my crush? I don't know him. All I know is that I’ve never seen a smart teenage boy be that attractive. Where was that in the movies?
Still, how did I let him catch me staring? I basically just boosted his ego for free.
My God.
“Whatever.” I make an annoyed face, but I’m smiling. I guess we’re at that stage—talking about boys and ughing over dumb stuff.
I like it.
We walk to the lunch line. It’s smaller than middle school’s, but everything here is.
We eat. I talk about Santiago. We talk about teachers. Apparently, we’ve got the exact same schedule.
Next up: AP World History
We walk in and there’s a seating chart dispyed on five T.V.s
Why so many?
My seat is right next to Santiago.
Of course it is.
Last names. Rosario. Rodriguez. Makes sense. Unfortunately.
I sit down, hands slightly shaking—not from nerves. Okay, a little. But mostly embarrassment. He caught me staring.
He doesn’t look at me.
Not even a gnce.
Part of me’s relieved. The other part? Kinda offended.
Jay’s behind me, so I gnce back—and instantly regret it.
She’s smiling like she just won a giant Jamaican banana at the fair, giving me two thumbs up like this is a Netflix rom-com.
I narrow my eyes but can’t help ughing. Her energy is too good. It’s only day one and I already adore her.
“Stop it,” I mouth.
She giggles.
“Alright, I’m Mr. Arnold,” the teacher says. “I suck at names, so if I mess yours up… just get used to it.”
Monotone. But definitely got a sense of humor. I like him already.
“Y’all are probably sick of hearing about honor codes and all that good stuff, so instead—you’re gonna build something. With your partner.”
The css groans.
“Aw, c’mon!” he swats the air dramatically. “You’ll all love each other!”
Highly doubt that.
“Today, you’ll make a robot arm out of cardboard. It has to lift this cup with only the arm moving. Whoever lifts it the highest wins. Supplies are up front. Keyword: colboration.”
Great. I’m building with Santiago. This is going to be extremely awkward.
I get up to grab materials. It looks like he was about to get up, then he quickly changed his mind.
Hm.
As I'm grabbing the supplies, I can feel someone looking at me. I turn around and it was Santiago. He pretends like he's looking at the big world map behind me, but I know better.
He’s probably just making sure I’m getting the right stuff.
I drop the supplies. “Got what we need. If you need anything else, I’ll go back.”
He nods. Still silent.
Is he incapable of speaking?
“You got any ideas?”
He shakes his head.
Okay…
“Can you at least say something?”
If he won’t help, fine. I’m not about to make a bad first impression with a new teacher, who knows if I’ll have to ask him for a recommendation letter my junior or senior year? If he wants to act stuck-up, he can do it on his own.
I pick up a cardboard piece, already pnning when he says:
“We can make it like a crane.”
…I was not expecting that.
He gnces at me,then looks away. “Fold the cardboard into a hollow rectangle. Tape it so it stays. Do that again for the crane part. Use unfolded paper clips as hinges so it can move. Then a cardboard circle at the end to lift the cup.”
I blink.
That was a full paragraph. And a really good pn.
He catches me staring. “You gonna build it or what? I did all the thinking, so it’s only fair.” Then he goes back to ignoring me.
I bite my inner cheek.
He. Is. Infuriating.
And why is he so rude? I was never rude to him.
What did I even do to him? Besides exist. And maybe stare a little. Still.
But that can't be his reason, I can tell he's just a closed off person.
But why?
I still ask “Did I do something? Why are you being so rude?”
He sighs. “Can you just build the thing and leave me alone?” He grabs the lone pencil that someone left and starts tapping it against the desk with a flick of his wrist.
Wow. Okay.
I gre for a second, then grab the cardboard. His idea is stuck in my head—too specific to forget. I start struggling with the stand while I'm trying to hold it together and grab the tape at the same time. He puts down the pencil and rips off a piece of tape.
What is he do-
And he gives it to me.
“Thanks.” I mutter, and continue working while he continues tapping.
I notice that while he's tapping he has a certain look in his eyes, like he's thinking about something.
Remembering.
“You’re doing it wrong.”
I stop. “What?”
“You’re doing it wrong.”
“Okay… You wanna eborate??”
He flicks his eyes up, sighs again, and takes the cardboard from me.
I step back, arms crossed, watching. And…
He’s good. Like, really good.
Focused. Confident. Fast.
Whenever he pauses, he starts to fidget with something. I’m seeing a pattern; whenever he's thinking, deep in thought, he starts to fidget with anything he can get his hands on. In this case, he’s slowly flicking the table with his thumb while his index finger is holding the under part of the table so he can lean on it without losing bance.
In a few minutes, the crane is finished. He tests it. It works. Of course.
He sits back down and pulls out his phone like none of that even happened.
He’s rude. But smart. Annoyingly smart.
I didn't realize I was gripping my arms so hard until I uncrossed my arms and saw the little crescent markings from my trimmed nails. I was that intrigued.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
He nods. Still scrolling.
