Hayden and I were sitting at our usual table in the back of the cafeteria. It was usually just me and her at the table. All of our other friends had a different period lunch. Hayden was unusually quiet since she was studying for her chemistry test next period. I sat there, bored and sketching in my notebook. I was trying not to think about James and what had happened two periods ago. I didn’t want to think about it. I was pretty sure it was nothing.

All of a sudden, someone sat at our table. I looked up from my notebook and saw James. He was grinning widely. Before I could say hello, the school’s loud speaker system interrupted, stating, “Hayden Starek, please report to the guidance department.”

“I guess they’re finally going to fix my schedule,” Hayden stated. “Samantha, are you going to be okay here while I’m gone? You can come with me if you want.”

“No thanks. I’ll be fine,” I replied

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She walked away. I then turned my attention to James.

“Hey James.”

“Hey Samantha.” The way he said my name in his deep voice made my heart flutter.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing much. My friends were getting on my nerves so I figured I’d come over here.”

“Oh, okay then.”

“Yeah so what are you drawing?”

“Just landscapes.” I handed him the notebook so he could see.

“Wow! These are really good.”

“Thank you.” I gave him a shy smile.

“Listen, there’s an art show on Friday downtown at the local art gallery. My sister is going to have some of her paintings there. I was just wondering if maybe you would like to come along with me, since you seem to like art and are definitely good at it.”

“This Friday?” He nodded yes. “Yeah, I’d like to go.” His grin was a mile wide.

“Great! What’s your number?” I wrote down my number for him on a napkin.

“Okay, I’ll give you a call later with the details.”

“Sounds good.” James got up from the chair and walked away.

Whoa! What just happened here? Did I, Samantha Mayer, just get a date with James Van Reek? Impossible! This is probably just a “friends” thing. He was probably just being nice. James probably had no one else to go with and figured since I like art, I would want to go. Yeah, that’s it. He was just being nice. But why am I getting all of these weird feelings when he’s around? I really needed to talk to Hayden about this.


Hayden came back to lunch and sat down across from me.

“Thank goodness, they finally fixed my schedule so now I don’t have to take gym with the freshman.” She studied my face. “Is everything okay?” She asked me.

“Yeah, everything is good. Do you want to go to the coffee shop after school?”

“Definitely. I’m going to desperately need caffeine if I’m going to finish my English paper tonight.” The bell rang.

“Alright, I’ll meet up at your locker after school.”