“Thanks,” Talley replied, meeting his smile watt per watt. “My mom went into labor with me at OʼTalleyʼs restaurant. It was the only thing her post-childbirth drug-addled mind could come up with when they asked her for a name.”

“Cool. And how does one become a Scout? Are you like a super cookie salesman?” He was obviously pleased with his own attempt at being clever. I couldnʼt help but notice that his eyes were still focused intently on my face.

“Itʼs because my name is Harper Lee,” I said in the most annoyed voice I could muster.

“And so people call you Scout?” I allowed a condescending smile to spread across my face. I had missed moments like these ever since they assigned To Kill a Mockingbird our Junior year. “Why not Boo?” Alex asked, effectively robbing me of my smugness.

Jerk.

My spirits sank even lower as I looked up to see the last batch of students making their way towards the stage. Ashley Johnson practically skipped her way to the seat beside Alex.

“Hi, you must be new,” Ashley gushed, pretending she didnʼt already know exactly who he was. Knowing her super-stalker abilities, she probably already knew what size wedding band she needed to buy him. “Iʼm Ashley.”

Alex finally stopped staring at me to focus on the Bimbo Barbie sitting next to him. I watched as his eyes assessed her, from her super-styled bottle blond hair all the way down to her designer 4-inch heels. Apparently, he liked what he saw. “Well, Ashley, itʼs a pleasure to meet you. Iʼm Alex Cole.”

I turned back around in my seat so I wouldnʼt have to actually see Ashleyʼs breasts as they struggled to free themselves from the tiny tank top she had them stuffed in as she leaned over to talk to Alex. Sadly, this didnʼt stop her grating voice from reaching my ears.

“Thatʼs a real interestinʼ accent ya go there, Alex. Where are yʼall from?” Ashley always had a bit of a southern drawl, but she was really laying it on thick.

“I just moved here from Montana,” he answered, hamming up his own accent so that he sounded like a member of The Barenaked Ladies.

“How on earth does someone from Montana end up down here in Timber, Kentucky?” I was actually curious about that myself. Timber isnʼt exactly a thriving metropolis. Most of the county is covered by Land Between the Lakes, a national forest that is beautiful and mildly entertaining in the summer months, but lacking modern amenities like a Target or movie theater. Occasionally someone would move up from Nashville to escape the city, but most of our families have been here forever. I hadnʼt even met someone from Montana until three days ago.

Iʼm not sure if he was being truthful or trying yet again to be clever, but I could tell from the momentary silence behind me that his response of, “This is where the car broke down,” wasnʼt exactly what Ashley was expecting either.

Before Ashley could extract more information from her future groom, or cause my ears to bleed, Ms. Ryder strode onto the stage. The sight of her electric blue legs engulfed in red cowboy boots captured our attention even more effectively than her dramatic recitation of Richard III.

The next hour flew by in a blur as Ms. Ryder excitedly went over the details of the course.

The class was small, only a dozen of us, and the local art guild was providing funding for a few field trips to see some live performances. I was so excited by the time the bell rang that I almost forgot about Alex.

“So the new guy is kind of a hottie.” Talley said from one of the cafeteriaʼs cheerfully colored booths. She was munching on a carrot stick, her latest attempt at going on a diet. I silently predicted that they would be replaced with McDonaldʼs french fires before she made it home that afternoon.

“When did you start using words like ʻhottieʼ?”

“Youʼre avoiding the topic.”

“What topic?”

“The hotness that is Alex Cole. Donʼt pretend you didnʼt notice.” Of course I noticed. I was in possession of two functioning eyeballs and an appreciation of the opposite sex.

“Heʼs one of the beautiful people. God help us all.” Talley gave me what I like to think of as her why-the-Hades-do-I-put-up-with-you look. “Donʼt look at me like that. You know youʼre the only beautiful person in this school who isnʼt completely vapid.” Talley learned to quit arguing with me over the fact that she was beautiful long ago. On this one fact I was stubbornly certain. Talleyʼs eyes are a deep blue, set off by her thick, shiny black hair that looks perfect even when she has bedhead. Her skin is as pale as mine, but the sun is much kinder to her. Since it was mid-August, her nose had an adorable scattering of the cutest freckles any human has ever possessed. Couple those features with the fact that she was the kindest and most joyful person alive, and it all added up to a very attractive girl. It was a shame everyone seemed too focused on the fact that she weighed over 200 pounds to notice.

“What about Jase?” Talley asked, looking over my shoulder.

“What about him?

“Donʼt you think Iʼm beautiful?” my brother asked, sliding into the booth next to me.

“Of course youʼre beautiful.” Not to be gross or anything, but he actually kind of is. “Youʼre also completely vapid.” Which is only partially true.

“Aw. Youʼre just saying that because you know I have no idea what vapid means.”

“It means quit eating all my Doritos.” I snatched my nearly empty bag out of his hand.

“What are you doing here, Jase? Arenʼt you supposed to be in class?”

“Nope. This is my lunch period.”

Talley froze with a carrot stick halfway to her mouth. “No way. How did that happen?”

“Tal, isnʼt it obvious? Scout and I are mature, responsible Seniors now. Donʼt be so shocked that the school administration has taken notice.”

Since an incident in the third grade, Jase and I were separated at school as much as possible. We were never in the same classes or allowed to join the same clubs. It really hadnʼt been an issue since we got to high school. Jaseʼs interests tended to skew towards athletics while mine had a more academic feel. Yet, I knew for certain the superintendent, who just happened to be our father, still intended for our schedules to never intertwine. Obviously, someone wasnʼt paying attention.

“You? Me? The same lunch? Thatʼs going to be odd.”

“Odd?” Jase looked at me, totally confused. “Itʼs going to be awesome!” It is common knowledge that things have to work a certain way in the world of high school politics. The super-cool, yet approachable, star athlete was supposed to date the prettiest girls, attend the coolest parties, and eat lunch with the rest of the elite, not his socially awkward sister.