Page 15 of Okay, Cupid

She seems a little wary, which is fair. “You did all of that?” She inspects my face more closely.

“All me!”

Evidence of my ability outweighs her hesitation. She hands me the pen without a word.

“Look up for me.” I balance my hand carefully. It’s a different game having to worry about someone other than yourself. The last thing I want to do is poke this poor girl in the eye. What a terrible first impression that would be.

My hand is steady, despite the nerves, and in one solid motion, the dark line around her eye makes the soft brown color of her iris that much more pronounced. I do the other eye with ease as well.

She turns toward the mirror to check my work. “God, you’re a lifesaver.”

“You’re very welcome.” I hand the pen back to her, hoping this moment isn’t done. “My name is Jude, by the way.” I hold my hand out for her to shake before I realize how unbelievably dorky that is.

Still, she takes it. “I’m Neve. Are you new?”

“Yep, brand spankin’ new!” Why did I just say that? I need to chill.

Neve gives me an awkward look, but the kind that tells me she finds me at least a little endearing. “Need help finding your classes?”

“Well …” I was sort of just going to go for it on my own, but as I pull my schedule and the map out together, I see this is an amazing chance to make a useful friend.

The fact that she knows Alice doesn’t hurt either.

“Here, I owe you one now anyway.” Neve grabs my schedule. “Oh, we’ve got the same algebra class second period. Got your things? Follow me!”

• • •

Neve’s an excellent tour guide. She leads me through the hallways, showing me each of my classrooms, the gym, and the cafeteria, all before she leads me back to my first-period English 3 classroom. She’s a little surprised when I tell her that I’m from the Bay, that I’ve lived in SF all my life, and that I was homeschooled before this.

“So, you just decided public school was the move?” she asks.

“Yeah, my sister thought it’d be good for me.”

“Sister?”

“She’s my guardian. My parents disappeared in a plane flying over the Atlantic.” The aforementioned tragedy that we decided on. Maybe a bit dramatic, but I thought it was a solid choice.

The shock registers on her face just as the bell rings. “Shit!” Her voice is quiet. “Okay, well … we’re going to talk about this later.”

“Fair.”

“I’ll save you a seat next period!” Neve walks backward, adjusting her backpack as she makes her way back down the hallway. I wave at her, then walk into the classroom. Some kids have taken their seats, some are still talking, a few are reading. The walls are decorated with those motivational-style posters, like a cat trying to do a pull-up.

“Can I help you?” I hear a voice ask me. When I turn, I can see my English teacher waiting for me.

I have to double-check my schedule quickly to remember his name: Mr. Benson.

“Hi, I’m Jude Ricci.”

“Oh, Jude!” Mr. Benson moves to hide the crumbly breakfast bar he’d been eating in a desk drawer. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry, this is the only chance I get to eat.” He brushes the crumbs off his hands. “The class is arranged in alphabetical order, but most of the kids are already used to their spot, so you can take the desk in the corner there.” He points before leaning back over and diving into another drawer. “We started The Crucible last week, are you familiar?”

“A bit.”

“You covered it at your old school?” he asks.

“Uh … no …” Think of a lie, Jude. Come on. Get it together. “I mean, yeah. Yes!”

Smooth.