He shrugged. “Why would you?”

“Because we’re in class together!”

“You apparently never noticed,” he said. “There’s no crime there.”

“Did you recognize me?”

Gabe turned to look at her, rolling his eyes. “Of course. We’ve been in school together for four years.”

“I—I don’t know very many people.”

“Yeah, why should you pay attention to anyone else . . . You’ve got your clique.”

That was true, but not the way he was saying it. “We’re not a clique,” Elena said.

“Gang, then.”

“Gabe.”

“Army?”

“Why do you dislike us so much?”

“Because you’re jerks,” he said. “Because you call me Geekle—what does that even mean?”

“I don’t know. I don’t call you that!”

“Because you don’t know I exist!”

“I know now,” she said.

Gabe started to say something, then shook his head.

“Jocelyn just has a big mouth,” Elena said. “She’s harmless.”

“To you,” he said. “You guys think you’re so far above everyone else.”

“I don’t think that.”

“You walk around in a clump, looking all cute and matchy, and cast your clever little insults down on us plebes—”

“We never intentionally match!” Elena said.

“Whatever!”

They both sat back, arms crossed.

“It’s not like that,” she said. “We’re not a clique. We’re just friends.”

Gabe huffed. “Do you know why I know you and your friends? But you don’t know me and my friends?”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t get in your way. We don’t have nicknames for you, and if we did, we wouldn’t shout them every day when you walked into Spanish.”

“That’s just Jocelyn,” Elena said.

“That’s your whole vibe,” Gabe said.

“I don’t even have a vibe!”

“Pfft!”

“So you hate me,” she said. “You hated me before I even got in line.”

“I didn’t hate you,” he said. “You’re just . . . part of them.”

“I’m also part of this.”

“What’s this? Star Wars? I don’t have to like you because you like Star Wars. I don’t have to like every bonehead with a stormtrooper tattoo.”

“No,” Elena said. “I’m part of this, part of the line.”

“What does that count for?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “but it should count for something. Look, I’m sorry Jocelyn calls you names. She’s a loudmouth. She’s been a loudmouth since fourth grade. We’re all just used to her. And if you’ve noticed me at all at school, you’ve noticed that I don’t exactly reach out. I have classes where I don’t talk to anybody. Nobody in my math class even knows my name.”

“I don’t believe that . . .”

“I’m really sorry that I’ve never talked to you before. But you’ve never talked to me either. We’re talking now, right?”

“I just . . .” Gabe gritted his teeth. “I hate it when she calls me Geekle.”