“I do too,” he said. “You’re not in my class.”
She was surprised, but she immediately felt badly about that response. There was no reason to be surprised that he would take chemistry. She had fallen into the trap of thinking of him as a dumb jock, someone who would choose easy classes instead of more advanced ones just so that he could keep himself eligible for sports.
“I’m in the morning session,” she said.
He nodded. “That’s why. I have it seventh period.”
He took his last shot. The ball swished through the net.
“So you’ve got the exam too,” she said. “Don’t you need to study?”
“No, I’m ready,” he said. “I’ll review my notes tomorrow at lunch.” He studied her appraisingly. “Are you sure you can’t come to the party?”
Why does he care if I come or not?Thea didn’t think the two of them had ever had a conversation before this one.
“I really can’t,” she said. “Maybe next time.” As if.
“All right,” he agreed. “Well, it was nice getting the chance to talk to you, Thea. Thanks for rebounding for me.”
“Anytime,” she said. She was a little more sincere in that sentiment than she had been about the party. She’d liked talking to him. He had surprised her. He seemed like a genuinely nice person, and not like a total meathead. She hadn’t realized she’d had such uncharitable assumptions about the players on the basketball team until they had been contradicted, and she was glad to be proven wrong.
“Good luck on your chem test,” he said.
“Same to you.” Was she putting off leaving the gym? She felt a strange urge to prolong this conversation, though she couldn’t have said exactly why.
She shook it off and headed for the door. She wanted to start home before it got too late. This was a safe and well-lit neighborhood, but she would feel more comfortable walking the few blocks to her house while there were plenty of cars on the road.
She raised a hand in farewell. He grinned at her.
Something inside her sparked.
He was really good-looking. She had never noticed that before. With his neat haircut, his sandy blond hair, and his blue eyes, she had always thought of him as pretty generic-looking.
But there was something in his expression that made him unique.
She turned and hurried away before she could get caught up in thinking about it. The last thing she needed was a pointless crush on Rob Honeycutt.