“Blonde, huh?”
“Yeah, I think it’s time you tried a new flavor.”
Evan shook his head, his first genuine smile of the day breaking through. “Yeah, maybe, but since thisisa honeymoon destination, it’s safe to assume my chances of hooking up aren’t good.”
Owen’s mouth curled into the smarmiest smirk he owned, of which his collection was substantial. “If anyone can score on someone else’s vacation, it’s you, buddy. Not a doubt in my mind.”
two
. . .
“Mr. L, we need to talk.”
Heath looked up from the stack of papers teetering dangerously on his desk and arched an eyebrow. “About?”
The lanky teenager standing opposite his desk held up the paperback Heath had assigned that afternoon. “You want me to read this entire book?”
“That’s generally the point of reading, yes.”
“It’s spring break.”
“I’m aware.”
“You want me to spend spring break reading? Do I look that pathetic?”
Heath knew better than to laugh, but it was damned difficult. “First off, ouch, because it just so happens I’m very excitedabout all the reading I have planned. Second, it’s an excellent story. I think you’ll enjoy it if you give it a chance.”
The student flipped the pages, and his mouth turned downward into a sour frown. “It looks long and boring.”
“It’s a classic.”
“Okay, so it’s long, boring, andold.”
“Dylan—”
“Mr. Lennox, I’m serious. I’ve got some serious sh—plans this week.”
Heath guessed those plans included a certain upperclassman Dylan had been mooning over for more than a year. While he sympathized with the boy, multi-tasking was a life skill, and if he had to suffer it, so did his students.
“I’m sure you can carve out some time in your busy video game schedule to give it a look,” he said, crossing his arms and sending his eyebrow a notch higher. “Also, if you’d been listening instead of making eyes at the hallway, you’d know you have more than just the break to complete it.”
Dylan flushed, his attention darting back to the very hallway, where a trio of students chatted just outside of the classroom door. He cleared his throat for dramatic emphasis and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I invited him to play co-op last period. We’re getting a league together.”
“And?” Ah, the exciting trepidation ofwhat if? Heath did so envy the naïveté of young love.
“He said, ‘Yeah, sure, whatever.’”
Again, Heath struggled to hold back laughter. “That’s a casual yes in young people speak, I believe?”
“Exactly, which is why?—”
Heath held up a hand, and Dylan’s burgeoning smile dropped. “I’m not giving you a pass, Dylan. If anything, I think this assignment rather perfectly fits your situation.”
“I seriously doubt?—”
Heath silenced him with a raised finger and a swifttut.
“I have a suggestion for making this atrocious misuse of your free time less painful, if you’d be interested.”
