I didn’t see Lex until the following day at lunch. He crossed the cafeteria to sit next to me at our table in the “senior lounge.” The lunchroom was a bustling place, but there was one section set aside only for seniors, which was where my friends and I ate every day.

It was a separate room, with glass walls cutting it off from the cacophony of the rest of the cafeteria. There were also newer tables and more comfortable seats. I appreciated the few perks that came with being a senior: parking spots and a nicer place to eat.

Lex fit in seamlessly with my little group of friends, making a space for himself without being intrusive. It was nice to have him around, if only for general conversation—especially because Michael and Abby were usually off in their own little world, and Griffin wasn’t much of a talker.

Nadine had been right about the fact that I’d lost a bunch of friends to graduation. Lex made a fine addition to the few who remained.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that Lex fit in so quickly. He had a knack for connecting with others, which he demonstrated after eating with us for only a few days.

“So, are you a Maple Leafs fan?” Lex asked. “Or was it the Canadiens?”

Griffin snorted. “Theo was just trying to get to me with that comment. In theory, I’m with the Maple Leafs. I’m supposed to be a fan because, obviously, Toronto. But in practice? My actual team is the Edmonton Oilers. Don’t tell my family.”

“My lips are sealed. I suppose Connor McDavid is your man,” Lex said.

I was impressed. He’d clearly done his research. Unless McDavid was so wildly popular that even people who didn’t follow hockey knew about him. I had a hard time believing that was true. I barely knew who he was, and my mom was a pretty big hockey fan—or she was when the Stanley Cup rolled around every year.

“Who’s your favorite team?” Griffin asked.

Lex shrugged. “I may have to go with the home team since I recently moved here. I figured I can’t go wrong supporting Toronto.”

“Fair enough.” Griffin went back to eating his lunch, clearly having given Lex his stamp of approval.

Then Lex turned his attention to Michael. “I hear you’re the person to ask about the best restaurants in town. You know, the best places to take a date…” Lex glanced between Michael and Abby.

“Sure. What kind of food do you like?” Michael asked.

Lex shrugged. “Me? I’m easy.”

“Spicy food okay?”

“Absolutely.” Lex nodded.

Michael proceeded to write down a list of his favorite date-worthy restaurants. I tried to peek over at them, but Lex pocketed the list before I had the chance.

Once he was done with Michael, it was Abby’s turn to have her one-on-one with Lex. I was a little bit worried that he would come off creepy and get himself in trouble with Michael, but that’s not at all what happened. Lex was great. He complimented Abby on her nails, which turned out to be the perfect thing to do. I hadn’t even noticed there was anything special about them.

Abby held her hands out for Lex to admire. Her nails were black and green, matching her hair, and had little jewels attached. I wasn’t sure how I hadn’t noticed them before.

“Those are amazing,” Lex said.

Abby beamed. “Thanks! I just started getting into nail art. I only do my own right now, but I’m hoping to make it a side hustle when I get better.”

Lex gave her nails one more appreciative glance. “Maybe I’ll have you do mine one day.”

Abby giggled. I had never seen her giggle.

After lunch, Lex and I walked into art class together and found our seats. Art class was turning out to be one of my favorites. It was so different from the other lecture-based classes, and even if I wasn’t God’s gift to art, I looked forward to messing around with the materials.

Mr. Darcy reassured us that we would not be graded down for a lack of natural artistic talent. Instead, we would be graded primarily on the written work that accompanied our original art. He’d also look at individual progress, not comparing us to one another. Best of all, nobody would be required to showcase their work in the final portfolio exhibition.

It turned out the still life on the first day was a throwaway assignment. We didn’t need to write it up or anything. It was the equivalent of a writing sample. Mr. Darcy wanted to know what he had to work with at the start of class so that he could gauge our progress over time.

The first real unit was on elements and principles of art and design. There were seven of these principles, apparently: balance, rhythm, contrast, pattern, emphasis, unity, and movement.

Honestly, I had trouble identifying what that meant in a lot of cases, but it gave everyone a common vocabulary, at least.

Some pieces were much easier to evaluate than others. Van Gogh communicated movement through the swirling brushstrokes. Even I could see that when looking at Starry Night and the famous Sunflowers.

Patterns came through loud and clear in MC Escher’s work of repeated motifs. I really enjoyed his lizards. I’d never seen Escher before. His stuff was wild.

“Do you have a favorite artist?” Lex asked as he paged through the coffee table book full of Renaissance art.

“Not really. It depends on the day and my overall mood. What about you?” I asked.

“I’m really into a few manga artists. I love the style of Katsushira Otomo. He did Akira. Do you know it?”

“I’ve heard of it,” I said.

Lex nodded. “It’s old school. Ended back in 1990. Besides that, I like Kentaro Miura’s work.”

“He sounds familiar too.”

“He died in 2021. But until his death, he did Berserk, which is only one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It’s a little gruesome though, so you might want to stay away from it if gore gets to you.”

I shrugged. I wasn’t big on gore, but it wasn’t necessarily a deal-breaker if the art was good.

We were supposed to identify elements of design in the work of different art styles through the ages. There were a number of books on the table and a few websites linked on the class page. I started with a book on pop art. Pattern was easy to spot there. Rhythm too. I chose Andy Warholl’s Campbell's Soup Cans and wrote about pattern and unity.

“Trade you,” Lex said, handing me his Renaissance works. “Check out page 145 for an easy study in contrast,” he said.

It was Salome with the Head of John the Baptist. It was gruesome and horrible in a lovely way. I quickly filled out my evaluation of the work before moving on to the next thing on the list.

“Thanks for the tip,” I said.

“Any time.” Lex said, flashing me his killer smile.

I noticed a few girls in the class paying him more attention than was strictly necessary: looking at him a little too long, whispering things to each other after glancing his way. He didn’t pay them any attention, though. He was focused on the work.

Lex didn’t really talk to anyone but me. That wasn’t strange. We were seated next to each other.

“Hey, Mr. Darcy mentioned we can get extra credit if we visit an art museum and give a decent review of what we see. You want to hit Saint Kate’s collection? We could call it a date,” Lex said.

I frowned. “That would hardly count. There’s not much to see, and Nadine and I practically grew up there. However, an art museum date sounds like a good plan. Let me consider our best options.”

“Who are you taking on an art museum date?” the girl sitting across from me asked. Her name was Ginny. We’d had a few classes together in the past.

I’d slipped up. It wouldn’t do any good to have people think I was dating Lex. Because then, if he ended up with my sister? Things would be weird.

Lex stepped in before I had a chance to formulate an answer.

“Oh, we were just talking,” Lex said airily. “I recently moved here, so I don’t really know the lay of the land. I was asking Theo for advice on good places to take a date.”

Smooth.

Ginny nodded. “Art museums are good, I suppose. A bit stuffy, but some people go for that. There’s always sightseeing in Toronto, romantic movies at the mall, and a bunch of great restaurants nearby… It's hard to go wrong with the classics: dinner and a movie?”

I started taking mental notes. It wasn’t as if I’d never been on a date before, but I wanted to step things up a bit with Lex. Especially if he was going to take my sister out, I was determined by the time we were finished with our six dates that Lex would have firsthand knowledge of excellent places to take my sister.

“Thanks,” Lex said. “I’ll keep those in mind.”

“So who’s the lucky girl?” Ginny asked.

Lex flicked his eyes toward me almost imperceptibly. “Nobody just yet. I like to be prepared, though.”

“If you’re taking volunteers…” Ginny batted her eyelashes in an exaggerated fashion.

Lex chuckled. “Not just yet. I’m still getting settled in.”

Ginny looked mildly disappointed.