Daisy and I went to Heaven’s Cup Café after school to study and also to celebrate her getting into Cheer. It was my treat and I used the gift certificate I had won in the relay race.

Heaven’s Cup was owned by a cheerful round lady with rosy cheeks and highlighted brown hair named Heaven. Besides coffee and tea, they had slushies, fruit drinks, appetizers, and even some entrées.

We ordered a big fudge brownie topped with warm chocolate syrup to share and a couple of lemonades.

Millie was there studying with Thomas Vincent and Chris. I waved at her from our table. Pete was with soccer players, Logan, Akira, Ellis and Tak. They were sitting at a booth in a corner playing around more than studying. Devin, Trisha, and Kayla were studying together near the window.

We usually didn’t come here to study because I worked out after school and did all my studying at home. Pete grinned as he waved at us, looking mainly at Daisy.

We studied for the Biology quiz that was coming up the following day as we ate the brownie. Daisy gasped and I looked up to see Marco walking in with Trey. They sauntered over to greet Devin and the girls. A feeling of loathing washed over me when I looked at Trey. Ignoring them, I wrote out a few key points I thought were going to be on the quiz. I was about to talk to Daisy about them when I saw Marco approaching our table.

“Hey girls,” he said.

“Hey Marco!” said Daisy a little too enthusiastically.

“I heard you got into Cheer. Congratulations!”

“Thanks!” said Daisy, blushing.

“Are you studying for the Biology quiz?” He looked down at our notes.

I kept my mouth shut and looked at Daisy.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Can I study with you?” he said.

“Oh…uh…” sputtered Daisy, obviously caught off guard.

“We’ve already covered a lot of stuff…” I said. Daisy gave me a threatening look. “…but you’re welcome to join us,” I finished.

“Great! I’ll get my stuff and be right over.”

Daisy and I looked at each other. She looked thrilled and terrified at the same time.

“Now’s your chance to be alone with him,” I said. “I have to go soon.”

“What?!” she said.

“I have to go on my run before it gets dark.”

“You’d better not!” she hissed.

“My mom wants me to water the yard anyway. You know how she gets.”

“Don’t you dare leave me!”

“You’re the one who likes him. I’ll just be in the way. You’ll get to know each other better if I’m gone.”

“Lilah…” she said through clenched teeth.

Marco came back and sat next to Daisy, facing me.

“So what did you go over?” he said as he opened his Biology book. He got out his notebook and began to copy Daisy’s notes. His left hand held the top of the notebook as he wrote. I reached for my lemonade and accidentally brushed his hand with my fingers. We looked at each other and I caught my breath. My cheeks burned with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” I said.

He kept his eyes on me. “Don’t be.”

Daisy looked at us both and I quickly looked away. I flipped through my notes and continued going over the key points. It was getting late and I needed to go. I looked outside to see if it was getting dark. It was still light out. Pete kept glancing over at Daisy, but she didn’t notice.

“Do you mind if I order some food?” said Marco.

“No,” said Daisy. “Go right ahead.”

He ordered chicken strips with ranch dressing. They looked good.

“Help yourself,” he said.

I looked at my watch. “Thanks, but I have to go.”

“Already?” he said looking disappointed.

“Yeah, I have to do something for my mom.”

“Do you really have to go?” said Daisy, her eyes boring into mine. “I didn’t get to copy all of your notes.”

“Well…why don’t you take a picture of my notes so you have it in your phone?”

“I would, but my battery is dead.” She started to smile. What a little manipulator!

“I’d like the notes, too, but I don’t have my cell with me,” said Marco. “Can you take a picture with your phone and text it to us?”

“Oh. Okay.”

I took a picture of my notes and texted it to him and Daisy. It was weird asking him for his phone number in front of Daisy. I took a picture of their notes for myself and left.

There was still time to run when I got home. I changed into my workout clothes then stepped outside to warm up. As I watered the yard, Andreas came out of his house dressed to work out, too. He waved to me and I waved back, pretending not to watch him as he warmed up. When he finished, he began to run. On an impulse, I threw the hose down, turned off the water and ran after him. I followed him to see where he was going. When he got to the palm tree, he veered left toward the park. I hesitated. This was nuts. Should I follow him or take my favorite route to the Reservoir? I decided to follow him. He ran fast, so I didn’t have to hang back to hide. We approached the pond. Why was I following him? What if he saw me? This was crazy stalker girl behavior. I didn’t know what I was hoping to accomplish. He had a girlfriend.

I stopped running and began to walk along the edge of the pond. The colors from the setting sun reflected off the water. A group of ducklings were following their mother. A cygnet looked confused and started to follow them. I watched as he searched for his mother and found her. Did he know he was going to turn into a beautiful swan? No, he was probably too busy trying to deal with the other birds in the pond and figuring out where he fit in that world.

I picked a flower and put it behind my sweaty ear. Andreas was long gone by now, so I started running again along the route he took. There wasn’t a chance I would run into him. When I got back to my street, he was in his garage punching the bag.

“I like the flower,” he said as I walked by. “It’s a nice touch.” I turned around. He was standing there out of breath with sweat dripping off his chin.

“Thanks.” I turned toward my house.

“Don’t trip over the hose.”

I whipped my head around. He chuckled and went back to punching the bag.

Embarrassed, I hurried across the street, rolled up the hose and went inside the house.