Read Parallel for Free Online Page B

lollipop,” Caitlin retorts, swatting him away. Her tone is sharp and bitchy and not like her at all. As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she winces. “Sorry. That was mean.”
    “The girl has pictures of Mary-Kate Olsen taped to the inside of her locker,” Tyler points out. “I’m pretty sure ‘lollipop’ is what she’s going for.”
    Caitlin looks at her watch. “I should go,” she says. “I need to stop by DeWitt’s office before class.” Her mention of the guidance counselor’s name sends me back into panic mode. Astronomy starts in ten minutes.
    “Please tell me you’re switching into my class,” I beg. “You can learn from your idol and tutor me at the same time.”
    “I wish,” she replies. “But I already took it with Kang freshman year. There’s no way they’ll let me take it twice.”
    “So what’re you switching?”
    “Not switching. Just adding. I want to see if they’ll let me double up sixth period.”
    “You want to take two classes at once?” I ask. I’ve seen Caitlin’s schedule. It’s intense.
    “Neither is offered spring semester,” she says nonchalantly. “So, yeah. Why not?”
    I look over at Tyler. He just shrugs.
    “News flash, Barnes. She’s insane.”
    I get to fifth period a few minutes early, but the room is already full. Caitlin was right about the freshmen; about half the faces look young and scared. Another third are kids I know, probably other History of Music refugees. The rest I recognize as science-track brainiacs who will no doubt destroy the grading curve for the rest of us. I look around for an empty seat.
    There’s only one, in the very back row, next to a guy I’ve never seen before. Blond crew cut, dark brown eyes, average-looking features. Light blue T-shirt tucked into dark green cargo pants that have about five too many pockets. White Converse One Stars (the low kind) that look like they just came out of the box. His vibe is definitely dorky, but cute dorky. The way Max Levine was before he grew his hair out and started smoking truckloads of pot. Since he looks too old to be a freshman, I decide he must be new.
    Astronomy Boy sees me looking at him and smiles. He points at the empty seat.
    “Hey,” he says as I approach. “I’m Josh.”
    “I’m Abby.” Why am I suddenly nervous?
    “Popular class,” Josh remarks, glancing around the crowded room. “That means it’s either really good or really easy.”
    “Definitely not easy,” I reply. “Unless you’re on the science track, in which case ‘easy’ is a relative term.”
    “Oh, right,” Josh says. “The whole magnet school thing. Are you in the science program?”
    “Ha. No. Nowhere close. I’ve never met a science class I didn’t hate.”
    “So what’re you doing in astronomy?”
    “An unfortunate twist of fate,” I reply, distracted by the tiny mole beneath his left eye, just below his lash line. It’s infinitesimal, not more than a pinprick, but that little mark somehow elevates his face from average to adorable. Or maybe it’s the smattering of pale freckles on his nose. Or the perfect shape of his bottom lip.
    The mole does a little dance as his eyebrows shoot up. “Fate, huh? This must be a pretty important class for you, then.” I can’t tell whether he’s teasing.
    “What about you?” I ask. “Are you here by fate or choice?”
    “Hmm. I guess I’d have to say choice. This was the first class I signed up for.”
    “Oh, so you’re into self-torture, then.”
    Josh laughs out loud. His laugh, deeper than his voice, reminds me of the rich sweetness of my mom’s gingerbread. I angle my knees toward him, wishing his were close enough to touch. “I mean, c’mon—what’s cooler than the universe?” he says. “It’s this great, big, never-ending mystery that astronomers and cosmologists spend their whole lives trying to solve. And after all that discovery and revelation, there’s always more to figure out.” His mouth widens into a boyish