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bright light streaming in from the opened doors. It was Ruth.
    More than anything in the world, I wanted to stay alone in that alcove with Michael. But I knew I couldn’t. I had to signal to my friend.
    Before I motioned for Ruth’s attention, I turned back to thank Michael for pointing her out. But he was already leaving.
    As he walked away, I thought I heard him say, “Maybe I’ll see you this weekend.”

Chapter Six
    The weekend that followed was long and filled with misgivings. Michael never reached out to “see me” like I thought he had said. So I had way too much time on my hands to stare at my neglected cell phone and think about him.
    I couldn’t help but wonder why Michael had been so persistent in seeking me out over the preceding week. Not that he’d declared a specific interest or anything, but he clearly went out of his way to see me during the school days—for friendship or more I couldn’t quite tell. Could it really be that we had connected on that Guatemala trip? And why me? He seemed to have made other friends in the short time he’d been in Tillinghast, the sort of guys who hung out with the most popular girls and ignored the rest of us. I couldn’t help but feel like Michael would start ignoring me, too, one day.
    By Monday morning, I had my guard back up. So when I stepped out of English and spotted him talking to a group of jocks instead of waiting alone for me, it seemed that my fears were confirmed. Fears that he’d given up on our tenuous relationship, fears that he hadn’t been genuinely interested from the start. I let my hair hang in front of my face, and walked in the opposite direction to avoid passing him. Even though it was the wrong way to my next class.
    Darting down the hallway as quickly as I dared, I heard my name being called out.
    “Ellie.”
    I knew it was Michael’s voice, but I was so embarrassed that he might have caught my glance and my hasty exit that I kept moving.
    “Ellie.” His voice was getting louder, and I could hear his footsteps approach. But I kept pretending I couldn’t hear him.
    Michael reached my side, and reached out for my arm. It tingled where he touched it. “Ellspeth,” he whispered, and his breath sent shivers up my spine. The long, disappointing weekend had done nothing to change his physical effect on me.
    I stopped walking and turned to look at him. He seemed upset.
    “I know you saw me. Why did you walk away?”
    “You seemed”—I reached for an explanation—“busy. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
    “You should know that I’m not interested in them. I’m interested in you.”
    “Really?”
    “Really.”
    Our eyes locked for a brief second, when I realized that Piper and Missy were walking nearby. And watching our every move.
    Michael must have realized it too, because he broke my gaze and changed the subject.
    “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to call you this weekend. Did you have a good one?” he asked as we started walking down the hall again.
    “Yeah, I guess so.” I desperately wanted to ask what kept him from calling, but I didn’t want him to think I’d fixated on his parting words from Friday.
    “How’d you like the movie on Saturday?”
    “You were at the Odeon?” I was shocked. No self-respecting Tillinghast upper-class guy would be caught dead at the Odeon, which only showed foreign movies and independent films. From what I remember, the theater was almost empty.
    At the mere mention of the Odeon, Piper and Missy giggled and walked away. In that split second, they clearly decided that Michael—no matter how cute and how senior—wasn’t worth their attention. He had revealed himself as an indie-movie-watching geek. I was relieved.
    Michael answered as if totally unaware of, or even better, uninterested in, the judgment just passed by Missy and crew. “I came in late by myself. You and your friend looked like you were having so much fun that I didn’t want to interrupt you guys.”
    “You were there by