Later at the dinner table, Rowan sat down to eat with Claire and Elliot. They had some sort of bitter but sweet-smelling salad with lemon vinaigrette and a steamy chicken cooked perfectly; the edges browned and crispy, the inside juicy and tender. The wonderful smell of cooked chicken and herbs filled the room.

    Rowan swallowed hard as his mouth watered. The food looked so good, he was ready to dig in.

    “Did you wash your hands yet?” Claire asked.

    Rowan shook his head, set his phone down on the table, and ran to the bathroom.

    BEEP BEEP. A phone buzzed.

    Claire and Elliot took their phones out of their pockets, but had no new notifications.

    The phone buzzed again. Claire glanced over at Rowan’s phone and noticed 2 messages.

    “Oh my gosh!” Claire excitedly whispered to Elliot.

    “What?” Elliot raised his eyebrows.

    “I think Rowan has a friend now! I saw him get a text message!”

    “You sure it wasn’t from a teacher or something?”

    “No! I don’t think so! They usually use email. Why don’t we ask him?”

    “Ok, but don’t make your excitement too obvious!” Elliot grinned.

    “You got a friend texting you, Rowan?” Claire asked with a smile as she saw Rowan walking back to the dinner table.

    Rowan looked at his phone as he sat down and nodded.

    “Girl or boy?” Claire questioned, and Elliot gave her a look as if to say, ‘Don’t embarrass him!’

   Rowan typed into his messages: JUST A GIRL I MET AT SCHOOL. 

    “Let’s invite her over for dinner! How about tomorrow?” Claire exclaimed.

    Elliot cleared his throat to tell her to stop, but Rowan gave a small smile before agreeing.