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about him?  I never even talked to the guy! 
    That's when it hit me.  Cricket had been right.  I did have a crush on Zach.  Great , I thought.  Now I’m going to act like a total dork around him and everyone will know that I like him .  Add the fact that Zach could never be interested in me and it was a recipe for a complete disaster, a high school drama to end all dramas.

 
    It All Begins
    At this point, I was seriously wishing school would start sooner, just so I could get the agony over with, but there were still a couple of weeks to go.  To make matters worse, Zach just kept popping up everywhere I went.  At the video store, at the movies—in traffic, for Pete’s sake.  Was it some kind of crazy coincidence or something more?  At any rate, I guess you could say it was an entertaining way to spend the rest of my summer, and by the time school started, Zach was no longer a mystery.
    One Sunday, Mom wanted to go shopping for curtains, and I cannot tell you how much I hate to shop.  Anyway, I told her I wasn’t really in the mood, and she decided to let me wait for her at the food court.  She had bought me an iPhone and surfing the Internet was way more interesting than looking at lame curtains.  So I planted myself at a little round table at the food court, out of the way, partially hidden from the main court area by a large column and a fake tree.  No need to draw attention to myself, I thought.  At first, I felt a little strange sitting there by myself, but then I realized the place was literally packed with people—middle-aged women in heels toting fifteen shopping bags, teenagers in baggy jeans on cell phones, kids tugging parents’ arms.  No one was going to notice me anyway.  Then I remembered the hat and sunglasses I’d put on that morning .  I probably looked like a complete freak.  I slumped down in my seat and glanced at my phone, noticing that there were zero new messages. 
    I heard loud laughter coming from nearby and looked around, noticing a group of teenagers, three girls and two guys, making their way into the food court.  I recognized them from outside the school after orientation.  The girls, including Strappy Tank Girl, strolled by in their layered tank tops and shorts―gigantic bags thrown over their shoulders with dangling rings and beaded jewelry.  The guys followed them, laughing childishly in their flip flops, polos, and plaid shirts. 
    I stared intently at my cell phone, at my big empty inbox, feeling invisible as I watched them pass from the corner of my eye.  When they were a safe distance away, I looked up, watched them gather around a table, still laughing.  At least two of them appeared to be a couple, a girl in a pink shirt with curly blonde hair and a short guy wearing a ball cap.  They sat down very close to one another and had their own little conversation, oblivious to the rest.  While Pinky and Shorty made eyes at each other, the rest of them carried on animated conversations, pushing buttons on their cell phones, laughing way too loudly.  I watched them for a while, painfully aware that there were no beeps or flashing icons on my cell phone at the moment.  I was suddenly dreading the start of school in a few weeks. 
    One of the guys with blonde hair, cut military style, suddenly got up… an obvious sign that he was the ring leader and it was time to go.  The others stood up, but I wasn’t watching them anymore.  Right there, walking through the mall, heading straight toward the Beautiful People was none other than Zach Webb.  He breezed right by them without saying a word.  Strappy Tank looked over her shoulder and rested her chin there for a second, looking as if she might be disappointed he hadn’t stopped to talk to her.  But then one of the others gave Zach a glance, made some inaudible comment, and they went on talking amongst themselves.  My cheeks got hot and I looked away.  I knew what it was like to be on the fringe, not quite