“Wyatt!” a girl called.
“Shhhh,” another girl shushed.
“Shut the hell up!” some guy yelled from a car.
Wyatt waved his arm at his friends, like he wanted to be left alone.
The rest of them started walking toward the cars. One of the girls hung back, but then someone else pulled her along.
Wyatt kept walking. A little too fast. Toward the snack bar. He was rubbing the back of his neck. Julia watched. He was wearing jeans and a button-down shirt over a T-shirt with their school mascot on it. A thunderbird.
He got to the snack bar area and stopped just a few feet away from her, like he didn’t know where he should go next. He just stood there for a minute—fuming, it looked like. She’d never seen him angry before. Or upset. Or even at a loss. Wyatt Hardy always seemed like he knew exactly where he was in the world. He was the sort of person who never flinched when a teacher called on him, even when he didn’t have the answer.
He rubbed the back of his neck again and looked around. He looked at Julia.
Then his face changed. He looked a little surprised. Like something nice had just happened.
He smiled at her. Then raised his hand to wave.
Julia sat up taller in the swing. Feeling caught out. She waved back.
Wyatt kept smiling. He had the biggest smile. He took a few steps toward her. “Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” Julia managed.
“It’s you again,” he said.
She swallowed. “I guess so.”
He motioned at the empty spot next to her. “Is this swing taken?”
Julia stared at him for a second, then blinked and shook her head. She felt the curls bounce against her cheeks.
Then Wyatt Hardy came and sat next to Julia.Intentionally.The swing set creaked under his weight.
“Wow,” he said. “I can see why you’re sitting back here. This is a great view.”
“And close to the amenities,” she said. (Somehow her brain was still working.)
Wyatt smiled. “How are the neighborhood schools?”
Julia smiled down at the ground. At his white high-tops. Someone had writtenWyatt is cool :)on the sidewall of his Nikes.
Wyatt bounced on the swing like he was testing the chain, then kicked himself back, so he’d swing just a little.
Julia ran her hands over her hair, tucking it behind her ears. She peeked over at him. She should probably say something ... “Did you get in a fight with your friends?”
Wyatt frowned. (She should have said something else; Chloe said Julia was terrible at small talk.) “I was hoping you hadn’t seen that,” he said.
“I couldn’t really help it,” Julia said hesitantly. “You guys were blocking my view.”
He twisted his swing to grin at her. “Oh, sorry about that. Did you miss something important? I could probably sum it up for you.”
Julia smiled again, relieved that she hadn’t offended him.
Wyatt let his swing right itself and kicked it back into motion.
Julia didn’t have the sort of crush on Wyatt Hardy that meant she’d yearned for him all summer. But it was good tosee him again. His big, warm smile and his crinkly brown eyes. His wavy dark hair.
