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face pointed up at Caleb, and though I couldn’t hear what she was saying, he was being scorned. Caleb’s face was blank, his hands were to his sides, and he was completely relaxed, not at all annoyed. Maybe, the nameless brunette was right. By the time they walked back toward us, Kailee seemed pacified.
    She smiled at me. “Well, we were just leaving.” She looped her arm through her friend’s. Three steps away from the table, she let out a boisterous laugh. When I looked up, she met my eyes. Kailee and her minion were laughing at me.
    Once they had left, Caleb apologized for them. Interesting, he didn’t apologize for disappearing with Kailee on me. And I waited on him for half an hour Friday night, because he was with her.
    After our encounter with Kailee, the night unraveled.
    â€œM, you ready to head out?” he asked.
    â€œMy name is Mirriam.”
    Hurt flickered in his eyes. “You didn’t have a problem with it earlier.”
    â€œYou didn’t disappear with Kailee earlier.”
    He chuckled. “She asked to talk to me. What could I do?”
    â€œTell her no?”
    â€œYeah, because Kailee so often takes no for an answer.”
    I shrugged. “Whatever. Let’s go.”
    When I met Caleb, he seemed like a jerk. Sometimes he was a jerk. But this was the most fun I’d had since before my life was irreversibly altered. The only person I really talked to here was a guy that blew me off two days ago to hang out with a girl who referred to me only as “raghead.”
    I shouldn’t talk to anyone. That was how I got through life in Maryland, and I could make it through life here the same way. I would finish the year. Finish the project with Caleb, keep study sessions to a minimum, and not talk or joke during them, and then be done with this place. Maybe, I could go to college in the UAE.
    â€œWhat do you think, Mirriam?” I had no idea what he was talking about. I’d been lost in my own thoughts. Before I could formulate a response to say this without telling him that, I was pulled from my thoughts by the squeal of screeching tires. A pair of headlights came right at us from a foot away.
    I grabbed Caleb’s arm and screamed as I leaped onto the curb.
    He never even saw it, and if the screaming tires caught his attention, he didn’t act like it. Caleb was six feet tall and bulky. He was a football player. I couldn’t drag him out of the way.
    I clasped his arm, tugging him to the side, when the car slammed into him. He flipped in the air and landed on the street. The car rolled over his legs and spun out of control. It hit a tree and backed up.
    Caleb lay in the road with his legs twisted like a pretzel. Blood poured into the street. I had no idea where this car was headed and doubted the driver knew. Screams and cries tore out of my throat. I hoped Caleb was alive. I couldn’t leave him in the street like this—leave him here to be hit again.
    I ran into the road and grabbed his hand. Caleb let out a low moan before screaming a string of swear words. Good. At least he’s alive.
    â€œI’m sorry, Caleb.” I sobbed. “This will probably hurt.”
    I closed my eyes and pulled with every ounce of strength I had. The car came toward us again, and I knew I was moving too slowly, but he weighed a ton. I couldn’t move any faster. We barely reached the edge of the curb when the car whizzed past us again.
    This time it didn’t hit us—just sped away. I pulled Caleb past the curb and onto the grass.
    â€œYou’ll be okay. I promise,” I whispered, kneeling beside him. I took out my cell and frantically hit 9-1-1. I reported the accident, and the dispatcher asked me all kinds of stupid questions like what kind of car was it? How would I know? It was pitch black. “God, my friend is hurt. He’s torn up. Can you just get someone here to help him, NOW?” I hung up on her. I didn’t