Stay

“Descriptive.”

He held out his palms. “Like a proper school. Wood paneling. Dark colors. This is very…yellow and purple.”

He so got it. “I know.”

They picked up his schedule at the office, and he stared down at it with a frown.

Mia leaned into him, blatantly checking out his schedule. He didn’t share any of her morning classes, but he did share her lunch. “I won’t see you again until C lunch.” She pointed down the hallway, showing him the lockers. His was at the end, hers in an entirely different corridor. “If you’d have started at the beginning of school our lockers would be near each other, what with us both having A names.”

“A names are the best.” Alexi shook his schedule at her. “There are so many classes.”

“How many classes did you think you’d have?”

“Three, not seven, and school starts at nine o’clock, not eight.”

“Three classes? Geez. You learn nothing.”

“We start with twelve classes and then by our age narrow down to focus on a few of our choosing. Intensive study. These classes are less than an hour.”

“They’ll feel longer.”

The first morning bell rang. Mia gave him an encouraging pat on the arm. “Go cause some trouble.”

His lips twitched and he nodded.

She didn’t see him again, even in the hallways, until lunchtime. The school cafeteria, populated by students and patrolled by teachers, smelled like spilled fruit juice and the deep fried daily special. Mia waved from her usual table the second she spotted him—tall and gorgeous and carrying a full tray.

A dark-haired junior girl waved and motioned for him to join her. The girl giggled loudly to attract attention, but he walked straight over to Mia. She liked that in a guy. Jake would have stopped to chat with the girl and then joined her afterward. Mia patted the seat beside hers. It was hard and backless, one of six at the picnic-style lunch table. “How’s your day?”

Alexi shrugged and slid down, preoccupied with his tray. It contained chicken fried steak, a roll, fried okra, and small fried apple pies. “Everything’s fried.”

“Not the roll.” She defended the indefensible.

He pressed his fingertips into the golden-brown top. The bread didn’t yield. His head tilted, and he pressed again. “May as well be.” Alexi shoved the tray away. “Let’s go out for lunch. I’ll have Vincent bring the car around.”

“It’s a closed campus. Welcome to lockdown. Farewell, freedom.” She was so relaxed and in such a good mood today. Must have been the early morning run. Mia poked her index finger into one of his little fried apple tarts and used it to wave at him in greeting. “Hello fried food.” The half-moon tart flipped off her finger and landed in a thud beside his hand, gravitating toward its true owner. Apple filling oozed out of the finger-shaped puncture. Mia stuck her finger in her mouth, sucked off the warm apple, unwrapped her packed lunch and took a bite of her sandwich.

Alexi stared the whole time. “What do you have?” He raised his eyebrows at her crust-less triangle.

“Chicken salad. Want half?”

“Cook made it?”

“Yeah.” She’d known to bring her lunch.

He grasped her wrist and pulled her sandwich toward his mouth. He took a bite, chewed, clearly considering the offer, then nodded in acceptance.

Wow. Alexi had taken a bite from her sandwich, where she’d eaten. How was he making chicken salad seem hot? Mia passed him the other half of the wrapped sandwich.

They were joined by some of Mia’s friends and she introduced him, startled by the number of girls appearing at her table so they could welcome Alexi. She didn’t blame them. He was worth meeting.

Kristnaldo walked up. “Buongiorno.”

Alexi greeted him bac

k in rapid Italian. They talked for a moment, and Mia noted the moment Kristnaldo stood too close. Alexi stiffened, but his expression didn’t change. Mia tried not to laugh. Holding back laughter, in addition to the stench, caused her eyes to burn.

Kristnaldo moved on to greet the girls at their table.