I reluctantly walked down the hall, avoiding people like the plague. Max was across the room, talking to Monica again. Flirting, no doubt. I rolled my eyes at her, and at him, as I made my way into the kitchen.

Well, one thing had come from having her around. Max didn’t seem to have noticed that I wasn’t talking to people. And if he had, Monica kept him from coming to look for me.

I walked up to the kitchen table, laden with chips, punch (no doubt spiked by this time), and soda. I grabbed a can of the latter and opened it, taking a small sip before walking into the corner and sort of shrinking into it. I should have brought my book, I decided.

Leaning over my soda I suddenly jumped, noticing that there was someone standing in front of me. A guy.

“Hey, you’re in my math class, aren’t you?”