Nina found us a spot in line behind a rather short guy with smooth brown hair and a lean physique that suggested he was into sports. He and Nina exchanged pleasantries—maybe they were friends?—and then the guy turned toward me. A smile that was probably meant to be charming, but looked a little too practiced, crept over the guy’s face as he eyed me.

“Well, hello there. Who . . . have here?”

I inwardly cringed as I shook his hand, already predicting how this encounter would play out.

“Jackson, this . . . Maya,” Nina said, introducing us. Something about the expression on her face made it seem like she was trying to tell him off. “She just . . . New Jersey.”

“Wonderful!” the guy called Jackson said, and he winked at me.

The only person who ever winked at me was my Grandpa Sully back before he died, and usually it was when he was sneaking me candy behind Mom’s back. Having a guy my age wink at me was weird—and creepy.

Nina shifted slightly so I didn’t have a good look at her face, but I could tell she was trying to fill Jackson in on my situation. Whatever she was saying didn’t seem to bother Jackson as he said, “Now that’s just . . . Nina. I . . . little . . . sign language.”

His eyes moved to me again and he started to finger spell his name, although he wound up with the letter m instead of n when he got toward the end. “Jackson,” he said, leaning toward me, a telltale sign he was raising his voice.

I smiled politely at Jackson and decided to respond to his overly dramatic introduction in the same fashion. I took my time signing, I DON’T LIKE HEARING BOYS, but it was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing when Jackson nodded and gave a thumbs-up, the cheeky smile still in place as he moved forward with the line.

“Sorry . . . that,” Nina said when she turned back to face me. “Jackson’s . . . lady’s man.”

I shrugged. Wasn’t like I hadn’t met one of those before. I tapped the backs of my index and middle fingers to my forehead, the sign for stupid, and pointed at Jackson. When Nina kept staring at me in confusion, I very clearly mouthed the word without using my voice, and then she looked like she was holding in a laugh once she understood.

I bought a sad-looking roast beef sandwich and a bottle of lemonade when we reached the food and somewhat anxiously trailed after Nina. She was my only lifeline in this school so far, and I wasn’t bold enough to break off on my own and sit at a table alone. When I saw the table we were heading toward, I almost wished I had. Beau was sitting there with Jackson close by, along with a whole bunch of people I didn’t recognize.