I do anyway because Brad doesnât leave me stranded after heâs finished eating his hamburger and fries.
âDo you know Halle Phillips?â I ask him.
âYou bet,â he says. âWhy? You like her?â
I avoid his question. âSheâs my tutor.â
He picks up a chip and a line of cheese stretches down to the plate. âLucky dude. Howâd you manage that? She and her boyfriend broke up just before school started.â
âMr. Shaw assigned her to me.â
He laughs. âThat almost makes it worth failing his class. She is kinda out there, though.â
âWhat do you mean?â
He talks between mouthfuls. Itâs a good thing theyâre not skimpy on the chips or Iâd starve today. âSheâs gone green.â
âGreen?â
âSheâs all about global warming, recycling, saving the environment, that sort of stuff.â
Maybe itâs because Iâm from California, but that doesnât sound too âout there.â It makes her seem even hotter.
âLast year in junior high someone smashed open the pop machine and left a note that read, âGive us healthy drinks.â They never caught anyone, but we all knew it was her.â
He takes a long slurp of his milk. âBut if you can get past all that, go for it. You should make good use of that private time with her. She wonât be on the open market for long.â
Brad makes her sound like a piece of meat. But heâs right. What great luck for me that she just broke up with her boyfriend and that I have her to myself for half an hour every day.
But is she out of my league? Am I the type of guy girls even think about? A girl who sits across from me in math wrote âpossible prom dateâ with a question mark next to my name when she didnât know I was looking. I could ask Bradâs opinion, but asking a guy I just met if he thinks Iâm hot will probably get the crap beat out of me.
Halle thinks Iâm too dumb to pass Lit class. Does Halle go for dumb guys? What if she likes smart guys? Could I risk exposing my memory? Itâs the third day of school and Iâm already facing an inner struggle between wanting to impress Halle Phillips and keeping my memory secret.
âSpeak of the devil.â Brad nods at a tall guy making his way across the lunchroom. The crowd parts like the Red Sea as he walks past, but heâs carrying a math book instead of a staff. He has that athlete physique: buff and muscular, tall with blond hair and a confident smile.
âHunter Austin, future hockey pro.â
âSo heâs Halleâs ex. And heâs smart?â
âDonât let the book fool you. Itâs more prop than anything. Not that he has to be smart.â
âWhy not?â
âHeâs a hockey god. Hockey reigns supreme up here,â Brad informs me. âWe learn to skate before we walk.â
âHe doesnât seem like Halleâs type.â
Brad smirks. âYeah. Popular jock whoâs already being recruited by the pros. Heâs every girlâs type.â
I make a small fist in a furtive attempt to check out my own pathetic biceps. Brad notices.
âYou got the pretty boy thing going for you. Halle likes that. But if you want one of these,â he says, flexing a muscle the size of a fence post, âyou come to my place.â
I have to admit Iâm impressed. âYou have a weight room at your house?â
âDonât need one. You get this from lifting bales of hay. We could use another hand this fall, if youâre interested. Might give you an even playing field with Hunter.â
âBut she broke up with him.â
Brad laughs. âRumor has it that it was the other way around. Hunter broke up with Halle to date Jenna White but now heâs having buyerâs remorse. Jennaâs a leech. Sheâs already picking out wedding music. I give it a month.â
âDoes