I smiled in gratitude. “That’d be great if you don’t mind.”
She nodded and turned to leave. “Meet me out front right after school. Bring your notebook.”
At the end of the day, I hurried to my locker, traded out books and sprinted out to where Rachel lolled against one of the columns. One side of her mouth lifted when she spotted me.
“Slow down, don’t kill yourself. We have to wait for the photographer.” She rolled her eyes, and I frowned.
“Can’t Kyle drive himself?” Like everyone else in the school, I knew Kyle Durham. He was a big shot, smart and athletic, and a gifted photographer to boot.
Rachel bared her teeth in a grim smile. “Didn’t you hear? Kyle has mono.”
“Oh.” My mind reeled; I’d heard my parents teasing about mono being the kissing disease, but I knew it was fairly serious. “That sucks.”
Rachel lifted one eyebrow. “Know what sucks worse? Lana Tyler has mono, too.”
“Lana?” All the underclassman females in this small high school watched the intricacies of the romances between juniors and seniors as though it were a soap opera. “Isn’t she dating Matt Gibbs?”
“Kyle’s best friend? Uh, yeah.” Rachel grinned. “You see the awkward? Anyway, the freshman photographer’s covering today with us. Flynn’s a good kid. His sister’s a friend of mine. And their dad teaches history here.”
I tried for an interested but unaffected expression, as though all of this was new information to me. The last thing I needed was a reputation as a pathetic lovesick girl, which could happen if Rachel caught me mooning after Flynn.
“Oh, here he is. Hey, Flynn.” Rachel straightened, smiling. “We gotta cover the dedication of the new town sign. Try not to pass out from excitement.” She pointed at me. “Do you know Ali? Alison Reynolds, Flynn Evans. She’s going to write the story. I’m just the wheels for this one.”
My stomach felt as though it was going to flip right out of my body, and I was dizzy. Flynn turned those piercing blue eyes on me, and a spark zinged down my body, the same way it did when I inadvertently touched the live wire in the barn my dad always warned me not to get near. There was an echoing of the same shock and recognition in Flynn’s eyes, and that warmed me to the core. It gave me the courage to smile at him.
“Yeah, Flynn and I have a couple of classes together.” I was amazed at how calm my voice sounded.
He nodded, but he didn’t speak. If Rachel noticed, she didn’t give any indication as she gestured with us to follow her. I paused when we got her car, not sure where I should sit. But Flynn opened the passenger side door and climbed into the backseat.
I got in the car and half-turned in the seat. “You could’ve ridden shotgun. I don’t mind the back.”
Flynn lifted one shoulder. “Nah, I’m fine. Thanks.”
He didn’t speak again, not a word as Rachel pulled out of the lot, drove through town and out onto the highway. The two of us girls kept up a steady chatter, but I couldn’t help sneaking a glance at him whenever I faced sideways.
The dedication was nothing more than a few old guys standing on the side of the road. I took notes on what was said during their speeches, while Rachel muttered her sarcastic take on the whole thing. Flynn stood near us, moving every now and then to get a better angle. The old 35 mm camera he used made loud clicks as he shot.
We piled back into the car when it was over, and just outside town, Rachel glanced at me. “So you’ve got this, right? I mean, it’s pretty simple. And I don’t want to dump it on you, but I’ve got three papers due next week, and I’m working on Mr. Gilbert’s retirement interview for the paper.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll write it up and turn it in, unless you want to look the article over first.”
Rachel shook her head. “No, I’m sure you’ll do fine.” Her lips curved, and she raised her voice just a little. “This is one of those stories where the pictures and the article have to jive. So you might want to see what Flynn comes up with before you turn it in.”
I flushed, wondering what Rachel had seen in my face. But whether she meant to or not, she’d given me the opening I needed. I took a deep breath and turned around to face the backseat as her car bumped into the school parking lot.
“Do you want to work on the article together? You know, make sure it goes with the pictures you took?” My voice sounded smooth and didn’t falter even once.
Flynn looked startled, but he nodded. “Uh, yeah. Sure. I gotta develop them first, so maybe, uh, like Friday afternoon?”
“That works.” I managed to hold it together while Rachel offered Flynn a ride home and he turned her down. He stood back as we left the school again, and I kept my eyes off him with only the greatest restraint.
“So. How long have you been lusting after our boy Flynn?”
Shocked, I looked at Rachel with my mouth open. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, come on. I was a freshman once. And I fell hard for a senior. I know the signs.”
I flopped back against the seat. “Oh, my God. Does everyone see it?”
