Time Between Us Read Free Page A

giving me so much as a glance. I stand there, slack-jawed and pale, as the two of them round the corner out of sight.

I’m usually the first one through the door, but today I make it to Spanish just as the fourth-period bell rings. Señor Argotta watches me with this surprised look on his face, like I’m the last person he expects to be late for his class. He waves the bright yellow tardy slip back and forth in front of me as I walk by. “ Hola , Señorita Greene.” He tries to look stern, but he can’t hold the expression for more than a second before his face relaxes back into a grin.
    “ Hola , señor.” I race past him with my head bowed at first, but then I turn around and give him an apologetic smile as I collapse in my chair. I remove my spiral notebook from my backpack and dig around for a mint while I contemplate the mystery this day has become.
    He’s real. And he’s here .
    I can’t stanch the flow of questions racing through my head. First: Where has he been all morning? I’ve walked The Donut between every class so far and he’s nowhere to be found. Second: Why would a high school kid who’s new in town be hanging out at a university track at 6:45 a.m. on a Monday? Third: Why did he look at me like he knew me, but pass right by me two hours later like I was a total stranger? Unless…maybe he just didn’t see me. If I could just find him, I’d know.
    Where is he?
    Alex flops into the seat next to me, and Argotta picks up the pad of tardy slips and waves it at him with a scolding voice and matching expression. “You’re late, Señor Camarian,” he says in his thick accent. But within seconds he returns the pad to his desk, and Alex gets the same understanding smile Argotta gave me.
    “Sorry, señor,” Alex says toward the front of the room, and then he leans across the aisle, well into my space. “ Hola , Anna.” I blink from the glare of his teeth, blinding under the harsh fluorescent lights.
    “Hey, Alex.”
    He opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can verbalize the thought, Argotta clears his throat at the front of the room and begins speaking.
    “Attention, please! Today we are welcoming a brand-new student.” I look up and my breath catches. “This is Bennett Cooper.” Argotta pauses dramatically while the new guy shifts his weight from one leg to the other and adjusts his backpack over his shoulder. “Everyone, please welcome our new amigo and make him feel at home here.” Argotta points at a seat behind me and one row over, and the new guy starts walking toward it. “Now, essays, please, everyone.”
    Twenty sets of curious eyes follow him, settle on him for a moment, and turn their attention to their respective bags to unearth stapled essays on Spain’s admission to the European Union. My eyes are among those that look at him, but are also the only pair that can’t seem to look away.
    Bennett. His name is Bennett.
    He’s looking down at his desk and playing with the pages of his textbook like he’s embarrassed by all the attention, but after a few moments, he slowly raises his head. I watch his gaze land on the door at the far end of the room, move clockwise around the perimeter of the classroom, and come to a sudden stop when he sees me. Because I’m still staring at him.
    I don’t know how long my face has been frozen like this, but as soon as I realize that he’s caught me, the flush creeps up my neck and into my cheeks, and I feel myself do the only thing I can do at this point: I smile. And I wait for it to be returned, with not just any smile, but that smile. The one from the track. The one filled with warmth and recognition and…interest. But his expression contains none of the above. Instead he shoots me a small, almost shy smile. The kind of smile one might give a total stranger.
    I can’t possibly look that different in my uniform than I did in running clothes. Why is he pretending he doesn’t recognize me? I realize I’m still staring at