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at the clock on her monitor. “Ten. I didn’t think he’d be awake, but that’s what he said.”
    “Desperation will push a man to extremes.”
    “Luckily we both have iChat, and I can point him to a research site while I talk him through it.”
    “Can I talk to him when you’re done?”
    “Sure.”
    I got to work blocking out my paper—and blocking out the sound of two agonizing hours of physics coaching. When at last Gillian got up from her desk and waved me over, the first thing I saw on her screen was the top of Kaz’s shaggy head. He lay facedown on the desk.
    “Yo, Kaz,” I said. “Are you alive?”
    “Barely.” When he lifted his head, his eyes were bleary. “She hurt my brain.”
    From the bathroom, Gillian snorted. “It’s good for you. Think how much less painful the exam will be.”
    “I wish you were here,” he told me pathetically. “You could rub my head.”
    “You can pay people for that, you know.”
    “It’s not the same as when you do it.” He blinked and started to come back to life. “Whatcha up to?”
    “English paper. Very fun. Comparing the expectations of the marriageable girl in Jane Austen versus Elizabeth Gaskell.”
    “You call that fun?”
    “Sure. Basically I get to write a paper about dating. It just doesn’t get better than that.”
    “Right, because you’re the expert.”
    “I’ve had some experience,” I said primly. Which he knew all about, the ratball. “What about you? Prom’s coming up, the weekend before ours. Who are you going to ask?”
    “I probably won’t even go. What about you?”
    “They call it Senior Cotillion here. It’s on June eighteenth. Danyel is coming to take Shani, so it’d be fun if you rode along.”
    “Uh, did you just ask me to prom?”
    “I guess so. If you didn’t have other plans that weekend.”
    Chin in hand, Kaz gazed at me. “You really have a way of making a guy feel special.”
    “What, did you want a bouquet of roses by FedEx?” I grinned at him.
    “No.”
    “Well, what then?”
    He shook his head. “Never mind. Gotta go. Me and Danyel are gonna shake the cobwebs out at the beach.”
    “Ride one for me.” I tried not to sound wistful as I signed off. “Hope you feel better.”
    Why was everyone so cranky today? Was it something I said?

Chapter 5
    O N SUNDAY , the pastor at the little clapboard church in Marin talked about waiting on God’s timing, which made Gillian and me glance at each other and smile. Okay, it was clear the Lord was listening to our nagging. It was just a matter of waiting for His answer.
    I was still thinking about this as I walked down the corridor on Monday, on the way to horrible disgusting Chemistry. It was better to reflect on things that made my eternal soul happy because it was a fact that nothing I did would make the Chem instructor, Mr. Milsom, happy.
    The long, wood-panelled corridors had terrible acoustics, which is why the unusual noise level finally penetrated my abstraction by the time I got to the sciences wing. Clumps of students whispered together, and I tuned in to snatches of conversation as I passed.
    “… didn’t think I’d ever see…”
    “… told me she was going to keep it.”
    “… so good. She’s going down, baby, and I’m the first one to dance on her grave.”
    Yikes. What was going on?
    I dropped the glossy Kate Spade tote that held my books and laptop next to my lab stool, and nudged Jeremy, who was my lab partner. “Did something happen? What’s everybody talking about?”
    He gazed at me blankly. “Huh?”
    He was such a guy. I looked around for someone who might be better informed. Aha. Summer Liang was on the Cotillion Committee and they knew everything. I gave her a smile. “Hey, Summer. What’s up?”
    To my surprise, she didn’t make me work for it. “Haven’t you heard?”
    “A bunch of people are talking, but I haven’t gotten the details.”
    “I can hardly believe it. In fact, I didn’t believe it, but Emily Overton