Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief(13)

Will blushes, looks down at his sneakers, and scuffs the toe of one back and forth across the pavement. “Not usually.” Then he looks up at me, charming smile back in place. “And I’ve never brought any girls coffee before.”

I place the hand not holding my empty cup against my chest and feign a swoon. “Oh, be still my heart!”

With a laugh, Will throws his empty cup at his friend, and Nicky tosses it back. Will catches it with ease and chucks it into a nearby trash can. He sets a hand on my backpack to encourage me forward, away from Nicky. “Ignore him. He’s just messing with us,” Will says as we enter the school. I expect him to drop his hand back to his side, but he doesn’t. Instead he lifts it, wraps it around my shoulders, and pulls me closer to him. “I think he’s jealous.”

I look up at him, and he winks at me.

“Yeah, probably. I am pretty awesome.” Where did that come from? I’ve never been good at banter. Unlocking a safe, yes. Flirting, not so much.

With his arm still around me, he accompanies me to my locker, then moves back to lean against the row next to me while I play musical books between my backpack and locker.

“You don’t have to wait here. I can find my way to class. Go on ahead; it’s cool, really,” I tell him.

“And miss the chance to walk into class with you on my arm? Not a chance.”

“So I’m arm candy?”

He leans in so that our faces are mere inches apart and, in the most bedroomy bedroom voice I’ve ever heard, says, “You are amazing.”

And just like that, I melt into a proverbial puddle of goo at his feet. My cheeks blaze with the heat of embarrassment, and I turn back to my locker and feign an intense interest in the contents in an effort to not let on that I’m basically putty in his hands.

The minute bell rings, saving me the embarrassment of trying to make conversation after that. I slam my locker shut and follow Will to the classroom. We step inside the room a split second before the late bell rings, and I slide into my seat while trying to avoid Mrs, Leonard’s disapproving stare. I can feel Will’s attention on me, and against my will, all of my attention is on him. It’s going to be a long class period.

…

At lunch, I do the same thing I’ve done all week. I wait by my locker for an extra few minutes until the throngs of students navigating the halls thin. Then I head for the cafeteria. With everyone already ahead of me in the food line or surrounded by their friends at their tables, hopefully I go unnoticed as I get my own lunch. Once I’m through the line, I scan the cafeteria for the most secluded empty seat. Today, it’s the far back corner near the doors leading out to the square.

I cross the room quickly with my attention zeroed in on my target: one of the empty seats at the corner table. When I sit, I do my best to melt into the chair and fade away from human sight. If there were a way to blend in with my surroundings like a chameleon, I would totally use it right now. Nothing reminds me how alone I am, or makes me feel more conspicuous, than the crowded lunchroom, practically overflowing with laughing, smiling students enjoying time with their friends.

I pull my favorite novel out of my bag, open to the page I last left off on, and prop my feet up on the chair next to me. I’ll eat my lunch with my nose buried in a book, just like I’ve done all week.

I’m still on the first page when the table jostles and a body lands in the seat on the other side of me. It’s probably just someone else looking for a secluded place to disappear to. I don’t bother looking up from my book. In my periphery, a pale hand reaches out and nabs a French fry from my tray. That gets my attention.

I lower my book and turn to face my food thief, and I’ve got a pretty good idea who it is.

“Will.” Who else would be so daring as to grab food off my plate?

“Hey there, flower. Why ya eating all alone over here?” He grabs another fry and stuffs it in his mouth.

“I’m reading.”

“Must be a good book.” Another fry gone. If he stays much longer, I’m not going to have any left.

“Don’t you have your own lunch?” I eyeball his hand as he reaches for more.

He stops mid-reach and retracts his hand. He blushes guiltily for all of two seconds, then says, “How come you sit alone at lunch?”

I shrug. I don’t want to tell him the truth, that he’s the only person here I know. “I like the silence. You should try it sometime.”

“Eating alone?”

“Silence,” I tell him with a teasing grin.

He feigns hurt with a fisted hand to his heart. “Oh, flower, how you wound me!”

I can’t hold back an audible laugh.

And the truth is, I’m not exactly bothered by him sitting with me. He isn’t the worst company a girl could have. But I also don’t know anything about him. Years of heist work have taught me to never go into a situation blind.

“So…” I start slowly. “Have you lived here all your life?”

He side-eyes me as he grabs another fry from my tray. “Here as in…the city?”

I nod and race him to a handful of fries. If I don’t keep up, he’s going to eat them all without me.

“Yep, born and raised.”

He doesn’t offer more, so I try a different tack. “Do you have a lot of family here? Any brothers or sisters?”