building, checking every room, banging on
doors, yelling Luke’s name.
Finally, I found him in an empty classroom on
the top floor, sitting on a desk, casually
watching the basketball game through the
window. Ethan wasn’t on the court. Luke was
looked incido
<
“What are you doing here?” He looked surprised
to see me. “How did you know I was here? I
thought you left when you didn’t see me on the
court.”
Separated by the window, I pounded on the
door, furious. “You’re asking me that?! Don’t
you have any sense of danger?! What if no one
came, what if no one found you?!”
“Well, you found me.” Luke tried the door.
Locked. “Yeah, Ethan played dirty. Lured me up
here and locked me in. It’s fine, the security
guard will do his rounds eventually. I’ll get out
then.”
I sniffled. “I’ll get the key from the security
guard.”
“Hey, no rush.”
Across the window, we stared at each other. He
casually swung his legs, a goofy grin spreading
IIV..
1:12 –
く
III ད༥༦.
ལ་་
and Juliet, separated by a window.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “What kind of Romeo
is built like you?!”
- 40.
By the time we finally got the door open, the basketball game was over. I knew how much Luke had been looking forward to it, how long he’d prepared. After a few steps, I stopped and
turned to him. “Luke… I’m sorry.”
He looked at me. “Sorry for what?”
“If it wasn’t for me, Ethan wouldn’t have taken
it out on you.”
The fourth–floor corridor was quiet. Everyone
was at the sports field. Our footsteps echoed.
Luke chuckled, his tone light. “Yeah, I’m so
heartbroken. How are you going to make it up
to me?”
I stopped, seriously considering the question.
He laughed again and slung an arm around my shoulder, pulling me along. “Come on, I’m a
good Samaritan. I wouldn’t actually make you
pay me back, heartless.”
I remembered him asking in the nurse’s office,
“What do you think of me?” But even now, I
didn’t dare ask, “What do you mean?”
Luke smelled clean, like fresh laundry
detergent. His arm, strong and youthful, felt like
it wasn’t just draped around my shoulder, but
around a heart threatening to burst from my
chest. I could hear someone’s heartbeat
quickening. Mine.
Lost in thought, I missed a step going down the
stairs.
“Careful!” Luke’s arm caught me completely.
My back pressed against the cold wall, my front
against his warm, broad chest. My mind went
“Why are you blushing?” Luke suddenly leaned down, his breath warm against my cheek. “So, given the mood… can I confess something?”
