The Boy with the Books

"Um..." I lick my lips nervously. "Thanks. For, you know, helping me up."

He stares at me, and my heart thu-thumps. Okay...so, was I not supposed to thank him or something?

But then he grins, and I relax a bit, though my heart goes wild. He's about ten times better looking when he smiles. He seems younger, without that haunted, dark look in his eyes.

And he has dimples!

"No problem," he says, shrugging. He turns to leave again.

Uh-oh. "Uh--wait. What's your name?" I ask.

He turns around, and I blink, not prepared for his expression. His face is somewhere between puzzled, angry, disappointed, and sad. "Alex," he snaps. And before I can say anything else, he's gone, shadow and all, in the swarms of students around us.

He's gone.
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So-quiet-she's-almost-mute Isabelle isn't looking for trouble during her sophomore
year, the first time she's ever attended a school. She just wants a nice, quiet year, free of drama, and she's sure no one will bother her. After all, what would a simple, shy girl do to cause trouble?

All her plans fly out the window, however, when another silent, thoughtful boy enters her universe. She's drawn by him, for whatever reason, but he seems too enraptured by his novels to notice her. She knows her crush isn't going to go anywhere, but she sinks deeper and deeper.

Will Isabelle escape her heart's yearning for the boy with the books?