Part 3 (1/2)
I took a breath, then offered up the best of my bunch. ”Hey! Do you play Scrabble? 'Cause I had the best triple-word score last night!”
Claudia's silence was deafening. I couldn't blame her. Maybe I'd go with the good pilgrim thing after all.
As it turned out, I didn't need an opening line. The moment I got my books into my locker, I heard Archer's voice behind me.
”You are a woman of mystery,” he said, and my whole body grinned as I turned to face him.
”How so?” I asked.
”You disappeared after cla.s.ses yesterday. Most mysterious indeed.”
So he was looking for me after cla.s.ses yesterday.
”Was that when my next tour was scheduled?” I asked. ”I didn't realize.”
”It was.” He nodded sadly. ”And it was brilliant.”
”Can I reschedule?”
”Depends on the tour you want. Our most popular offerings have limited availability and need to be reserved several months to a year in advance...”
Suddenly inspiration struck. It might not have been Shakespeare but...
”I know exactly the tour I want,” I said. ”What's your last name?”
”Jain,” he said. ”Why?”
”I want the Official Archer Jain Tour. Everything you can tell me about yourself in the next”-I checked my watch to see how much time we had before the bell rang-”ten minutes.”
”Hmm,” he mused, ”the topic's a little broad. Help me out-ask me what you want to know.”
”Okay,” I said as we started down the hall, ”do you have any brothers or sisters?”
”I have seventeen brothers and thirteen sisters, all younger than I.”
”That is a lie.”
”But it's interesting. Tours are supposed to be interesting.”
”I promise I'll be just as interested in the real stuff.”
Archer sighed.
”I have one sister,” he said. ”Older. Her name's Lila.”
”How much older?”
Five years.
”Are you close?”
”Do you watch a lot of police interrogation shows?”
”I'm interested! If it makes you feel better, you can answer my next question as ridiculously as you want.”
”Yes, that makes me feel much better.”
”So are you and your sister close? That's not my next question; it's the last question over again.”
”We weren't,” Archer said, ”but now that she's in college, we talk. She likes to give me advice.”
”What's the best thing she ever told you?” I asked.
”Never trust curly-haired women who inexplicably crawl on the floor.”
”Nice. Your sister is very astute.”
The bell rang. It was perfect timing; Archer and I were only a few feet away from Mr. Woodward's cla.s.s. We slipped into seats next to each other like it was the most natural thing in the world. During cla.s.s we kept looking at each other and checking in as if we'd been friends for ages.
Afterward we poured back into the hall with everyone else, but before we could go our separate ways, Archer cleared his throat. ”So, um ... lunch. Do you have a place you like to sit? Because if you don't, I'd be happy to save you a spot, you know ... if you need one.”
I felt a giddy thrill and tried to rein it in. It was just lunch; it was no big deal. Still...
”I'd love that, thanks.”
”Great ... you're welcome. I mean, you will be welcome. At lunch. I mean ... I'll see you then.”
I watched him walk off, then breezed down the halls to precalculus and spent the next three periods counting down to lunchtime.
I didn't go into the cafeteria right away. If Archer was saving me a seat, I wanted to give him the chance to do it. Unfortunately, it's not easy to kill ten minutes in a school hallway and look at all natural. I walked in slow motion from my fourth period cla.s.s, searched through my locker as if it were cavernous, and became completely engrossed in the wall-posted monthly lunch menu. Finally it was time to go in.
I found Archer at the same table as yesterday, only this time two of his friends were gone, so there was s.p.a.ce. I noticed Sue was one of the ones who wasn't there, and I was a little b.u.mmed, since she was so easy to talk to.
”Cara!” Archer rose a little until I sat down next to him. Very chivalrous. Very cute.
”Tell us about yourself, Cara.” It was one of the Smilers from yesterday. ”How long have you lived here? Where did you move from? What do you like to do? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Any pets? Are you freaked out about the college thing, or is it not on your radar yet? Do you like plays? Did you ever do any at your old school? What kind of extracurriculars are you signing up for? Do you drive, or do you have to take the bus? Do you already know what you're going to be for Halloween, or do you need ideas? And how are you liking your second day at Chrysella?”
My jaw was literally hanging open.
”Ember...” Archer said.
”What?” she said. ”Cara's new; we want to get to know her. Don't you want to get to know her?”
Archer blushed.
”It's okay,” I said to Ember. ”I kind of did the same thing to Archer this morning.”