IN THE FULL MOON

chapter 5

My sister was the one who always had the

doorbell ringing for her. Now it was finally my

turn.

Nash and I spent our first date at one of his

football practices. My friends and I watched from

the bleachers as the jocks did push-ups and

sprints and caught passes. It wasn't as intimate

and "get to know you" as I thought a first date

would be. Since then, most of our dates had been

spent with me on the sidelines, except for the

occasional times he drove me home.

While I spent the games jotting down ideas

for stories I hoped to write, Ivy primped for Jake,

and Abby jumped on the bleachers cheering for

Dylan.

For some reason - or many - Nash and I

didn't click together as easily as our

counterparts. But I enjoyed the time we did share

together. At day's end, though, when I shut down

my computer, I often gazed out my bedroom

window and up at the moon and wondered if, like

my friends, I'd ever find true love.

When a new student first arrived at Legend's

Run High, their entrance didn't go unnoticed.

Though everyone at Legend's Run High didn't

hang out together, we all knew one another. It

was odd to see a strange face.

It was late October, just after the campfire

and werewolf-scare outing, and I was taking

notes in government class when something

caught my attention. Outside our classroom

window, I saw an olive green beat-up Jeep pulling

into an empty space in the student parking lot. I

had to squint but noticed a WWF sticker on the

front bumper. The driver-side door opened and a

guy got out, wearing a vintage brown leather

motorcycle jacket, torn jeans, and black hiking

boots. He walked into the school building. A few

moments later, the bell rang to change classes.

When I arrived at English class, I found my

desk occupied. The guy in the vintage leather

jacket was riffling through his backpack and

placing a notebook on my desktop. In Mrs.

Clark's class the students weren't seated in

alphabetical order, or any other order for that

matter, but rather we elected to take a desk

where we wanted. Since school began, I sat in

row six, first chair from the window. Abby sat