Conor leans back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest, while I wish to god that the floor would open up and swallow both my desk and me whole. I know Conor way too well, and I know he never just shuts up because a teacher tells him to….

“Not really, sir.” Conor’s voice is a full-on smirk.

Yup, I know Conor.

He’ll never just shut up.

Ames rolls his eyes at the ceiling. “Conor, it’s a new semester. A whole new year, amiright? I thought we agreed that you’d can the attitude come 2020? Guess that resolution didn’t stick?”

The class laughs, in part because they know Ames and Conor secretly love each other, in a they’re-so-alike-it’s-creepy kinda way.

“And.” He turns to me, and I pray again that the floor will swallow me. “You.”

I raise my eyebrows at him and try to channel Conor’s IDGAF attitude. I’m sure I just look constipated.

Ames shakes his head. “Zach, get better friends.”

The class roars. Ames walks back to the front of the room and Conor smirks.

As the noise quiets, I hear Matt whisper behind me, “Good luck with that,” and I want to die.

I’m walking out of the room after class when someone grabs my elbow. I know it’s Conor because no one else touches me these days—and I mean that both literally and figuratively.

“So, you comin’?” He nudges my arm with his elbow. Someone across the hall shouts to him, and he waves halfheartedly without even looking to see who it is. Oh, to be so cool and semifamous that you don’t even care who’s screaming your name.

I cock my head and shoot him a sideways glance. “Coming where?”

He lets out a sigh of exasperation, way dramatic, and replies, “To my practice, man, remember? Hello? I told you about it in class?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, I dunno.” We reach my locker and I swing my backpack around to do a quick book-related pit stop. Conor props himself against the adjoining locker, shooting me exasperated looks as I unzip my bag, unlock my locker, and start switching out books.

“Man, c’mon!” He puts his foot on top of my bag so I’m forced to stand back up and meet his eyes.

“Dude, I’m gonna be late for class. Get your foot off my bag.” He’s starting to really annoy me. He is not great at not getting his own way.

“Just say you’ll come tonight, and I’ll move along. K?” He smirks.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t know why you even want me to come. No one else does. I mean, the one time I went this year, Matt spent the whole time you guys weren’t playing shooting me death glares and making out with Rosa. It wasn’t super fun.”