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was ingrained with the values of loyalty, duty, and honor. That was one thing she was very clear on: she would never let the integrity of her job suffer because of some boys.
    But there was one boy who entered her thoughts often. In the same small group for Humanities, Paul and Jessica spent a lot of time together working on the class project and started to connect on a level that was brand-new to her. At night, she would lie in bed and fantasize that she was his girlfriend. They would go outside for lunch and he would hold her hand. He would look at her with a gentle smile and tell her he liked her a lot. For some reason, she could not shake Marilee from her fantasy. She would be along too, with about five boys dragging behind vying for her attention. And she would jabber away, trying to decide, out loud, which one she should pick. Paul would give an exasperated look and Jessica would just smile.
    Jessica believed Paul also enjoyed her company. He always smiled when he saw her, and he would wait for her so they could walk to class together. Paul also made her feel protected. In homeroom, his cool eyes would turn icy when Mike and Jeff pulled their chairs closer to Jessica, trying to worm their way into her good graces. Jessica gave them no reason to continue, but they still tried daily.
    As Jessica and Paul walked to Biology one day, she took notice of Jeff, who followed behind them.
    “Hey, Jessica. I need to ask you something,
alone.
”
    Jessica looked at him confused, but Paul asked, “Why? You gonna ask her out?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Are you fuckin’ high?” Paul retorted before Jessica had a chance to respond. “She doesn’t want to go out with you.” Jeff stepped in front of them and put his arm out so they both had to stop.
    “I’m asking her, not
you.
”
    Jessica felt feverish. “Well, uh . . . you know, I have to think about it.”
    Jeff looked surprised and Paul looked pissed.
    “Think about it? What’s there to think about?”
    “Because she knows you ain’t nothin’ but a dog,” Paul said.
    “What’s your problem, man? I’m just trying to take a nice girl out to McDonalds.”
    “Eww, high class, McDonalds,” Paul retorted. Jessica was surprised by Paul’s anger but also felt sorry for him; he could not stop running his mouth. Jessica was thankful Mrs. Daley overheard some of the drama from the homeroom door. She walked over and told them the business of asking someone out was finished for the day.
    “Get on to your classrooms before you’re marked tardy,” she said directly to the boys.
    Jeff looked hard at Paul, and Paul met it back with a stare that even Jessica’s father would have been proud of.
    Paul turned and walked quickly down the hall to Biology, and Jessica almost had to run to keep up, but decided to let him be. She had seen that look on her father and knew the best defense was to fade into the scenery. Paul entered Biology twenty paces in front of her and was sitting in his usual seat. Carefully, Jessica sat down next to him, spreading her books out in a quiet way, so as not to erupt the volcano next to her. He brooded all through class. When the bell rang, he did not say the usual, “see ya at lunch.” He just got up and left. Jessica mentally played the tape out from earlier to see if she had done something wrong, but there was nothing she could pinpoint. Except that maybe Paul wanted to ask her out first.
    She had no intentions of going on a date with Jeff. First off, she didn’t like him like that, and second she was not allowed to date until she turned twenty-one. Although by that time, she surmised, she would be long gone and could date freely. A while back, she mentioned to her father that she would probably be away at college by age twenty-one. He said to check back with him when she turned twenty-one.
    At lunchtime, Jessica scanned the lunchroom but there was no sight of Paul. Her stomach started to turn over in a sick way, wishing she had given a different