Guys could be oblivious. They could ignore things like what happened to the car the other day, or the fact that Thomas wore the same pair of jeans every day. They could care less that Thomas never mentioned where he lived or what his family did.

But girls weren’t oblivious. Girls liked knowing things. They liked details. Especially girls like Cass.

It’s just because I’m a new face in the hallways. That’s it.

“I don’t think so,” Thomas said.

“Fine, whatever,” Carlos said with a shrug. “Don’t you think she’s hot?”

“It’s not that.”

“I can talk to her if you want me to.”

The fact that Cass might be interested in him—and that was a very big might be—was maybe just as surprising as Carlos being so nice to him. The guy was a big jock but he was also kindhearted. It was obvious that he didn’t care what people thought.

But girls always care. Always.

“Don’t worry about it,” Thomas said to Carlos.

Don’t worry about it because it’s all in your head.

All Thomas could think of was the truth—he didn’t want people to know, especially people like Cass. He’d seen her driving a nice car. He’d never seen her in the same outfit. And yes, he paid attention to things like that. Not because this was some silly teen movie about the rich girl and the poor guy but because he liked details, and he liked seeing what kind of outfits fit her mood and her style. He liked her mood and her style. Sometimes late at night, when he was in bed, he’d close his eyes and picture Cass smiling at him.

Cass was always the same in each dream. She was that breathtaking junior he got to see a few times each day. Yet he was always different in those dreams. Cass and Greer High and everybody else was the same, but Thomas was someone else living someone else’s life.

And in that dream, he could sing a new song. He had the lyrics memorized and he sang it with a beautiful voice.

Serenity

“You gotta be kidding me.”

Of course, Lynn knew that Murphy wasn’t kidding her. He’d never promised her a permanent job when she applied. She’d never promised him that she’d be around long either, since she was constantly looking for a better job.

The only question had been who would end this temporary relationship first.

“You know how little work I got as is.”

As if to demonstrate his point, they were talking in the main dining area. It was eight o’clock on a Wednesday night and not a soul was around except the two of them.

“Does it have to be right now?” Lynn asked. “I just spent four hundred bucks to fix my car. Four hundred bucks I needed for other bills.”

“Lynn, I’m sorry, really. But this ain’t the Salvation Army.”

You grubby old . . .