I nod, grimacing. “I didn’t want to say anything! It’s so nice of you to even think of me in the mornings. I didn’t want to complain.”

“I keep telling you, you’re too nice,” Nandini says, flicking me on the forehead.

“Yeah!” Cora says, flicking me on the forehead right afterward. “I would’ve written it down so I didn’t mess it up. Why didn’t you say something?”

I shrug helplessly.

Nandini sighs. “Karina, you’ve got to stop letting life just happen to you.”

“I don’t let life just happen to me,” I say, jutting out my bottom lip. “I just don’t like making other people feel bad.”

They both look at me and I turn away, unable to hold their gazes. Even though I know I often let life pass me by, hearing it still stings.

Cora sighs, shaking her head. She shifts her gaze to my coffee cup. “He remembered, huh?”

“Yeah,” I say, scrutinizing the expression on her face. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No, Karina,” Cora says softly. “Not at all.”

As promised, Ace is waiting when I step out of AP Physics. “You’re like an annoying stray cat that won’t stop following me,” I say before wiggling my fingers at him. “Want a scratch on the head?”

Instead of shying away like I hoped he would, Ace just smirks. “If you’re offering, why not?”

“I was joking,” I say, brushing past him. My skin feels like it’s overheating, and I take a deep breath when he isn’t looking. “You take the fun out of things.”

“Me?” Ace asks, catching up to me. I nearly jump ten feet in the air when he throws a casual arm around my shoulders. “You’re the one that likes studying for fun.”

I give him an unimpressed look. “No one likes studying for fun. I like staying on topic during our designated study time so you can gain the most out of our sessions.”

I try not to be hyperaware of the fact that other juniors in our class are staring at us as we walk together. It’s hard, because I’m also trying not to pay attention to Ace’s fingers toying with the end of my braid. I don’t see Samir anywhere, so at least there’s that. It’d be just my luck to have him pass us in the hallway the day after I said I don’t have a crush on anyone. If he sees us now, he’ll never stop badgering me. And then it’s only a matter of time before he slips up to our parents.

Even still, I don’t like how my classmates are staring at me. I resist the urge to burrow into Ace’s side to hide but can’t help leaning closer to him. As if he can read my thoughts, he pulls us into a less populated staircase.