Renata Santos doesn't expect her heart to flutter when she catches a boy stealing flowers out of her backyard. But as she unravels his reputation, she realizes puppy-eyed delinquent Isaac Marshall may just be the sunshine she needs to turn her life...
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S A I N F O I N
[onobrychis venosa]➳ confusion.
"SOMETHING ON YOUR MIND?" Jackie asked, jostling me into reality and the chilly interior of her father's car.
The air conditioning made icy surfaces of all the leather on our seats, but Doug didn't notice. When he turned a dial on the center panel, yet another blast of cold air shot through the vents.
"Nope," I said, trying to catch Dad's eye in the rear-view mirror. He sat in the front seat with his eyes narrowed intently, focused on the weather report coming through the radio. "Just tired."
We hung a right into the school drive-through. "Me too." Jackie lifted her backpack onto her lap, readying herself to leave the car. "I have so many tests next week, and I don't get algebra at all."
Uninterested, I unbuckled my seatbelt, watching raindrops race down our windows. The clouds above us were slate-grey and bloated with precipitation, and though the day had just started I already wanted to curl up in bed again, my phone screen all but blinding me as I texted Isaac in the dark.
"Alright girls, how's this?" Doug signalled right again and pulled into a spot near the gymnasium. "Careful on your way out."
"Um, perfect," Jackie chirped. "Thanks, Dad."
We both hopped out of the minivan. I tried not to roll my eyes when she turned and made a show of waving sweetly to both of our fathers as we headed up the walkway. I had grown accustomed to giving Doug only a respectful nod and "Thank you," when I left his car each soggy morning.
But Jackie could go overboard sometimes. She was like a feeling that was impossible to shake. It didn't surprise me when she caught up to me after I tried unsuccessfully to speed through the school doors without her.
"Ren, wait." Her fingers closed around the hood of my jacket and I winced. "I was being serious. I — I actually need help."
"With math?" I let off a small laugh, though it came across more like a scoff. According to her father, Jackie was a straight-A student, student council treasurer and treasured community member. "I thought you were at the top of your class."
She paused, seeming to teeter between versions of the truth. "I'm trying hard. I'm topping the class in terms of effort, for sure," she said, but the humour escaped the desperation in her tone. "Do you think you could go over some assignments with me?"
I didn't hesitate, still taking a shortest route to my locker as she tagged along. "My friend Leo is a tutor, if you need one."
"I don't really know Leo."
That surprised me, considering the small size of our school and the fact that Leo generally knew a little bit about everyone and everything. But before I could tell Jackie that she didn't really know me either, she added, "We're friends, right, Ren?"
