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she was waiting for an answer to a question I hadn’t heard.
    “Sorry, Ms. Manning,” I said, humiliated. I’d never before had to do the tardy walk of shame. I hurried to my desk and slipped quietly into my seat beside Cassie. She kicked my ankle lightly with the toe of her gray vintage suede boot.
    “Nice entrance,” she whispered. “Drama queen.”
    “It wasn’t her fault we’re late, Ms. Manning,” Asher announced. “My cousin and I got lost, and Skye helped us find our way. It’s our first day here. New school. You know how it is. I’m Asher. I’ve heard great things about you.” He flashed a dazzling smile, focused only on her. She actually blushed and patted her mousy brown hair that frizzed out in a crown around her face. I almost laughed as I remembered the note Cassie had sent me last semester: Why doesn’t she use conditioner?
    I figured that now, Ms. Manning was wishing she had. She looked past Asher to his cousin. “And you are?”
    “Devin.” He looked uncomfortable, as though he didn’t relish being in the spotlight as much as Asher apparently did.
    “Welcome to homeroom. You’ll find empty seats in the back, boys. Make yourselves comfortable there.”
    As they walked to the back of the room, Asher winked at me. My heart kicked up, and I fought not to smooth my hair like Ms. Manning had. I couldn’t help but be impressed by how he’d effectively diffused the situation with Ms. Manning more easily than I’d ever seen anyone do it. I had a feeling the three of us wouldn’t be marked as tardy. My perfect attendance record would remain unmarred.
    I stole a glance over my shoulder. Asher slumped low in his chair, splaying his legs out in front of him. Devin sat up straight, tucking his legs beneath his desk. Not stiff, exactly. It was more that he was perfectly controlled, like in yoga. I could almost envision him meditating, a low hum playing inside his head.
    “Well, now that we’ve had our excitement for the morning,” Ms. Manning began, drawing my attention away from the guys, “let’s look in the packet that you should have taken from my desk when you came in.”
    Everyone just stared blankly at her.
    “Really, guys? Come on, vacation’s over. Let’s get those heads back in the game. Cassandra.” Ms. Manning looked sharply at Cassie as a stack of packets passed back to Cassie’s desk. Glaring at her, Cassie took one and gave them to me.
    She has it in for me , she scribbled in tiny script at the bottom of her packet.
    I pretended not to see and looked down at mine. I had Ms. Manning not only for homeroom but for history as well. It was important that I stayed on her good side. Ms. Manning liked me, probably because I actually paid attention in class, and I was banking on her to write me a letter of recommendation for Columbia. I wasn’t about to screw it up now.
    The packet on my desk was a detailed itinerary for the junior class ski trip, a Northwood High School institution that we’d been talking about since freshman year. It was going to be a nice break from competitive skiing, which I’d been doing all winter.
    “. . . leaving next Thursday, at eight thirty a.m. sharp. On page three is the packing list, please stick to it. . . .”
    As Ms. Manning’s voice faded into the background like a cloud of chalk dust, I became acutely aware of Asher and Devin sitting behind me. I casually glanced over my shoulder again at the back row. Asher was studying me with a lazy smile. Almost like he was challenging me to hold his gaze.
    Beside him, Devin’s calm had dissipated as he glared at his cousin. Together these guys were like this force of energy that constantly seemed to be adding up to trouble. But separately—I stole a glance at Asher again—I was a little intrigued by what they might be like.
    Devin was a puzzle, though.
    As though reading my thoughts, he shifted his gaze over to me. The warmth in his eyes made me wonder if I wanted to spend some time figuring him