A dance she would certainly not be going to. The humiliation of last week’s dance still stung, and would probably always sting. The two hours of standing alone against the wall, waiting, hoping a boy would ask her onto the floor. When a boy had at last approached her, it was not to dance. Instead he’d suddenly doubled over and thrown up on her shoes. No more dances for her. She’d been in this town only two months, and already she wished her mother would pack them up and move them again, take them someplace where they could start over. Where things would finally be different.

Only, they never are.

She walked out the school’s front entrance, into the autumn sunshine. Bending over her bicycle, she was so intent on opening the lock that she didn’t hear the footsteps. Only as his shadow fell across her face did she realize Elijah was standing beside her.

“Hello, Alice.”

She jerked to her feet, sending her bike crashing onto its side. Oh god, she was an idiot. How could she be so clumsy?

“That was a hard exam, wasn’t it?” He spoke slowly, distinctly. That was one more thing she liked about Elijah; unlike the other kids, his voice was always clear, never muddled. And he always let her see his lips. He knows my secret, she thought. Yet he still wants to be my friend.

“So did you finish all the questions?” he asked.

She bent down to pick up her bike. “I knew the answers. I just needed more time.” As she straightened, she saw that his gaze had dropped to her blouse. To the gap left by the missing button. Flushing, she crossed her arms.

“I’ve got a safety pin,” he said.

“What?”

He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pin. “I’m always losing buttons myself. It’s kind of embarrassing. Here, let me fasten it for you.”

She held her breath as he reached for her blouse. She could barely suppress her trembling as he slipped his finger beneath the fabric to close the pin. Does he feel my heart pounding? she wondered. Does he know I’m dizzy from his touch?