“What was that all about?” he asked.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” I sighed heavily and slammed my locker shut.

This was a new year. My senior year. Yet I couldn’t help reliving the past in these last ten seconds. It seemed like yesterday I was at my locker with Claire, my best friend in the whole world. We were approached by Brynn, who never seemed to have anything nice to say and, just before the bell rang, Ryan showed up. Ryan had been Claire’s boyfriend at the time. Now, he seemed to be the only person besides Garreth who bothered to give me the time of day.

The morning bell rang, giving us three minutes to get to homeroom.

“Don’t take any of her crap, Teagan,” he offered. “By the way, what was she all fired up about?”

A few sophomores walking by stared at me, probably wondering why I deserved Brynn’s attention. I shuddered. Any interaction with Brynn left me with a residual aftertaste that was highly unpleasant.

“My mom came up with a brainy idea. A nice, homey dinner with the very established doctor and his very demonic stepdaughter. Ugh.” Hideous regurgitation sounds mockingly escaped my lips, leaving Ryan laughing.

“You’re pretty funny when you’re being immature,” he was wiping the corners of his eyes.

“Gee, thanks.”

We rounded the corner, shoving our way across the crowded hall’s intersection toward our homerooms in the science wing.

“You know what I mean, Tea, and of course I think you’re mature. It’s just that Brynn really does bring out the best in you,” his eyes were smiling behind the seriousness.

“What did you just say?”

“That … Brynn brings out the best in you.” He hesitated, not quite sure what I was getting at.

“No, you called me ‘Tea’.”

“Is that okay?” I felt the nervousness rolling off of him.