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they are.
    Well, Nbook, this dream is pretty obvious. Mikey is on my mind.
    When I head downstairs for breakfast, I'm going to tell Isabel I have made a decision.
    Tomorrow, after school, when she goes to GAEA, I'm going to go with her. To officially sign up.
    1/6
    8:34 P.M.
    My mind is spinning, Nbook. I don't know how I can write about everything that
    happened today.
    First of all, I'm walking up the school steps and James is standing against a pillar, talking to Rico. He turns toward me with no expression on his face. Like he doesn't know me.
    I say hello, take out the letter I wrote, and hand it to him. Then I go to my locker.
    I see him once during the day. After lunch he walks up to me and says, “I'll drive you home today.”
    Not a question. A statement.
    I'm happy about this but a little nervous. I tell Maggie about it at our lockers, after last period. She looks really worried and volunteers to go with me in James's car. Sort of like a chaperone. I think it's silly but she insists.
    Maggie and I walk out of school together. At the curb, James is holding open the
    passenger door of his car. I ask if we can give Maggie a ride, but he shakes his head. “It's personal,” he says.
    We leave her standing on the sidewalk, looking worried.
    James turns on a tape. He doesn't say a word as he pulls onto Las Palmas Drive.
    And he passes right by Royal Lane instead of turning toward my house.
    “James, that was my block,” I remind him gently.
    “I know,” he says.
    Soon we're at Las Palmas County Park. He pulls into a space in a deserted part of the parking lot.
    Next thing I know, we're walking among the trees. I have never been to this place before.
    In the distance I hear children's voices, but where we are, it is pretty deserted. We follow a nature path and end up by a pond. In the middle of the pond is a small island, and by its shore a couple of turtles are basking in the sun. James throws a rock at one of them, and it quickly pulls back its head.
    James laughs and throws another rock. He thinks this is funny. I am starting to feel edgy.
    I try to make myself comfortable. I take in the scenery. I turn toward the sun. I listen to the birds.
    Without looking at me, James points to a grassy spot in the shade. “Sit.”
    I sit down. James is pacing now, fumbling for something in his back pocket. He pulls out a crumpled-up sheet of paper. As he unfolds it, I realize it's my note to him.
    “I read this,” he says.
    I gulp. “Uh-huh?”
    “You're a really good artist.”
    “Thanks. But what did you think about the words?”
    “I was confused—you know, the way you write James and Amalia instead of me and you.
    That was a style, I guess.” James turns to me now. His brow is all scrunched up. “But I'm...happy. I—I thought I'd lost you.”
    Right away my heart melts. “You were worried?”
    “Me? No way!” James looks away and sighs. “Well, yeah, I guess. Maybe. Sorry.”
    “Don't be sorry. It's...nice. It shows you like me. You want to work things out.”
    James's face reddens. He exhales deeply, then throws another rock at the turtle island. For a long time he says nothing.
    I try to make conversation, but James is in another world. Finally he sits down near me.
    His body's facing mine, but he's looking at the ground.
    When he gazes up, his eyes are moist. “Amalia, I know this sounds weird, but...”
    His voice trails off.
    “But what?” I ask.
    “But...I really like you. I was trying to tell you that at the New Year's party.”
    “Well, I like you too, James--”
    “No, I really like you. I mean...like no one else. Ever. In my whole life.”
    I am stunned. All I can say is, “What?”
    “I know. You can't believe it. I can't either. I mean, I can, but it's weird—I shouldn't feel
    —a guy my age--”
    My tension is lifting. James is tripping over his words. He's so unlike his confident self.
    He's sounding like me.
    All I want to do is comfort him. I stand up and reach my arms out.
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