boundaries. At the moment, this girl seemed to want what he wanted. So he let her cross lines. If it was going to help him out in the end, he really didn’t care.
“Yeah,” he said. He looked at Gretchen and nodded. “I think I do. And I want her back.”
He was relieved when Gretchen smiled.
“Make her see that. But first, you have some crap to make up for. So do it. Make it up to her.”
“How?”
“Well,” Gretchen said.
Cole could tell by the look on her face that she was preparing to throw together some kind of scheme.
He thought better of that.
“You know what? Never mind. I don’t want Sarah to feel manipulated. I’ll do this on my own,” he decided. “It would probably be best if you stayed out of it from here on out.”
“You’re sure about that?”
He nodded, deciding right then that if he was going to win Sarah back he was going to do it because he deserved her. Not because he had played her in any way. “Yeah. I have no idea how to win her over but I do think it’s best if I do this on my own.”
She shrugged as she hoisted herself to her feet. She crossed the room so she could pat his knee. “You’re a big boy. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
/p>
Chapter Eight
The past…
“I’m so disappointed in you,” Cole said as he leaned against her locker.
“It’s not my fault,” Sarah said. She pulled the quiz out of Cole’s hand, folded it in half and tossed it into her backpack. “That class is just so boring .”
He pushed a pained look onto his face. “ What ? How could you say that? History is fascinating.”
She stared at him, waiting for the moment he would shake his head and let her know he was joking. That moment didn’t come. “You like history?”
He shrugged, trying to backtrack and reign in some of his enthusiasm. “Yeah. I guess. I mean, as far as classes go. I’m in chemistry and trig right now. They’re both hard as hell. With history? All you have to do is memorize facts. It’s kind of like remembering the plot of a good book.”
She gave him her best skeptical look. “You read?”
“Well, no, not if I can help it,” he said. “But that’s not helping the point I’m trying to make.”
“What is your point?” she asked. b> And why are you at my locker? Again? she silently wondered. She wouldn’t ask him that. She wouldn’t want him to take it the wrong way. Because what if she said it and he didn’t come back? For a reason she wasn’t quite ready to admit to herself, she didn’t like that thought at all. She also didn’t like how he had a knack for finding her right before lunch, which meant right after American History. And that typically meant she had a paper, or a test or study guide marked up in red in her hand. Why he never bothered to find her after English, algebra or biology—where she always got straight A-s—was a fact that annoyed her.
“My point is that it’s not usually the facts that are interesting.” He grinned at her. “It’s the facts behind the facts.”
She shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It’s not just the things they teach you in class. If you take them at face value, it’s usually interesting enough. But the real story is in the details. The little things that most teachers don’t think are worth repeating because we’re not asked about them in standardized testing. I mean, did you know that some people believe that Roosevelt knew ahead of time that Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked? They think he let it happen so that America would have a reason to join the war. Ever heard of Unsinkable Sam?”
“Um, no?” she said, surprised by the gleam in his eye.
“He was a cat.”
“Oh?”
“He was onboard three ships that were sunk. He survived all three times. That’s how he got his name. Unsinkable
“Yeah,” he said. He looked at Gretchen and nodded. “I think I do. And I want her back.”
He was relieved when Gretchen smiled.
“Make her see that. But first, you have some crap to make up for. So do it. Make it up to her.”
“How?”
“Well,” Gretchen said.
Cole could tell by the look on her face that she was preparing to throw together some kind of scheme.
He thought better of that.
“You know what? Never mind. I don’t want Sarah to feel manipulated. I’ll do this on my own,” he decided. “It would probably be best if you stayed out of it from here on out.”
“You’re sure about that?”
He nodded, deciding right then that if he was going to win Sarah back he was going to do it because he deserved her. Not because he had played her in any way. “Yeah. I have no idea how to win her over but I do think it’s best if I do this on my own.”
She shrugged as she hoisted herself to her feet. She crossed the room so she could pat his knee. “You’re a big boy. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
/p>
Chapter Eight
The past…
“I’m so disappointed in you,” Cole said as he leaned against her locker.
“It’s not my fault,” Sarah said. She pulled the quiz out of Cole’s hand, folded it in half and tossed it into her backpack. “That class is just so boring .”
He pushed a pained look onto his face. “ What ? How could you say that? History is fascinating.”
She stared at him, waiting for the moment he would shake his head and let her know he was joking. That moment didn’t come. “You like history?”
He shrugged, trying to backtrack and reign in some of his enthusiasm. “Yeah. I guess. I mean, as far as classes go. I’m in chemistry and trig right now. They’re both hard as hell. With history? All you have to do is memorize facts. It’s kind of like remembering the plot of a good book.”
She gave him her best skeptical look. “You read?”
“Well, no, not if I can help it,” he said. “But that’s not helping the point I’m trying to make.”
“What is your point?” she asked. b> And why are you at my locker? Again? she silently wondered. She wouldn’t ask him that. She wouldn’t want him to take it the wrong way. Because what if she said it and he didn’t come back? For a reason she wasn’t quite ready to admit to herself, she didn’t like that thought at all. She also didn’t like how he had a knack for finding her right before lunch, which meant right after American History. And that typically meant she had a paper, or a test or study guide marked up in red in her hand. Why he never bothered to find her after English, algebra or biology—where she always got straight A-s—was a fact that annoyed her.
“My point is that it’s not usually the facts that are interesting.” He grinned at her. “It’s the facts behind the facts.”
She shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It’s not just the things they teach you in class. If you take them at face value, it’s usually interesting enough. But the real story is in the details. The little things that most teachers don’t think are worth repeating because we’re not asked about them in standardized testing. I mean, did you know that some people believe that Roosevelt knew ahead of time that Pearl Harbor was going to be attacked? They think he let it happen so that America would have a reason to join the war. Ever heard of Unsinkable Sam?”
“Um, no?” she said, surprised by the gleam in his eye.
“He was a cat.”
“Oh?”
“He was onboard three ships that were sunk. He survived all three times. That’s how he got his name. Unsinkable
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