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“Nah, I’m cool here with you, but if you’re afraid of not having anywhere to sit that’s not true.”
I know Ansel would gladly pull me into his friend group. Even Sasha, who I’ve gotten to know more in our shared classes, would probably let me sit with her.
“I prefer the quiet and solitude.” I give him a pointed look as I set my sandwich, the chicken salad, on the table before removing my backpack. I drape the straps over the chair and sit down.
Ansel fumbles with his messenger bag, pulling out his lunch and sketchpad before he finally sits down as well.
“I can be quiet, Meadows. You won’t know I’m here.”
He opens his sketchpad to a page with a barely started drawing and unpacks his lunch. He sets everything out in a neat row. Today he has an apple, protein bar, and yogurt. His drink is a blue Kool-Aid, one of those in the plastic bottles with a twisty top. He sets out his pencils and picks one up.
“What are you working on now?” I nod my head at the pad.
He flicks a piece of hair from his eyes and looks up at me. “Shh, this is quiet and solitude time.”
“Touché,” I laugh lightly, unwrapping the saran wrap from my sandwich.
Ansel works on his sketch, taking bites of his lunch in between. I eat, but don’t have anything else to occupy me. I’ve never been much of a reader, but looking around at the shelves I wonder if maybe I should start. Homework and browsing the internet can only take up so much of my time now that I can’t run.
Ansel looks at me between strands of his hair. “I was kidding, you know. We can talk.”
I follow a grain in the wood of the table with my fingernail. “I have no idea what we’d talk about. We don’t even really know each other.”
I’m n
ot being mean, but I don’t know Ansel well enough yet to easily carry on a conversation and I loathe small talk.
He lays the pencil down and it starts to roll away. He catches it before it can fall. Scooting the sketchpad to the side, he crosses his arms on the table leaning closer to me.
“If you want to get to know each other it’s best to ask questions.”
I frown. “I don’t like questions.”
He presses his lips together, fighting a grin. “Oh, Dandelion Meadows, how you amuse me.”
“Dani,” I correct automatically, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.
“Dani,” he mimics.
We finish our lunch and I clean up the trash while he folds his sketchpad and sticks it in his messenger bag. I return to the table to grab my backpack, but Ansel stops me. He grabs my arm and before I can ask him what he’s doing he scribbles ten numbers on the inside of my forearm in black Sharpie.
He looks up at me with ghost-blue eyes. “If you decide you like questions.”
The bell rings and he winks, flashing me a cocky grin before he disappears leaving me standing in the library stunned and confused.
I don’t bother meeting Mr. Taylor at his office, instead heading straight for the conference room. When I enter the school’s main office one of the secretaries stops me.
“Oh, no, sweetie. Mr. Taylor got all moved into his new office. You won’t be meeting in here anymore.”
“Where—”
“Dani.” At the sound of Mr. Taylor’s warm voice I turn around. His body leans halfway into the main office and he flashes the secretary a winning smile. “Thanks, Glenda, I’ve got her.” He motions for me to join him, his arm flexing as he does. Considering he works at a high school all day five days a week I wonder when he has time to workout.
I follow him out of the room, confused as to what’s going on.
“She said you have a new office?”
He nods, looking over at me as we walk side by side away from the main office, then past what was his. “Yeah, I asked to be moved.”
