She didn’t realize how much she’d been dreading second period until she sat down at a desk, this time way in back, to the confusion of Phil and Darla, and felt her muscles tighten against the chair. It was English, the class that should have been taught by her father, in the same room she’d visited so many times as a kid. The teacher who’d replaced Mr. Fleming, both as English teacher and drama coach, Ms. Baldwin, had made the room her own, but Liv couldn’t stop seeing the shelf behind Baldwin’s desk that had once held thirty-five copies of James Galvin’s Resurrection Update—the book that had meant so much to Lee Fleming, right up until the end.
The shelf didn’t even hold books anymore. It held idiotic troll dolls with multicolored hair. It shouldn’t have aggravated Liv, but it did. She had avoided exchanging a single word with Ms. Baldwin in the two years they’d shared the same building, even though the woman had done nothing worse than show an affinity for ugly dolls. Liv knew it wasn’t fair to Baldwin. It was only English.
Then Baldwin said the five words that earned any teacher ire: Get to know your neighbor. Next to the imbecilic Name Game, it was the most tedious of first-day time wasters, in which students were forced to pair off, interview a classmate, and then introduce that classmate aloud. Ridiculous, considering the size of the school and how long most of them had known one another. The shtick was likely for Baldwin’s benefit, another reason for Liv to resent it.
Mired in disgruntlement, Liv moved too slowly. Darla chose Phil, of course, and every teammate Liv could see quickly paired off. She was recalculating when a fist knock-knocked her desk. She looked to her right and found the wide, dazzling grin of a boy she’d never seen before. He was tall and long-limbed. What stuck out most was his obvious sense of style, a rare quality in high school boys. His clothing was probably secondhand but actually fit, and was tucked and rolled where most guys would have ends flapping and flopping.
“I’m Bruno!” he cried, as if they were long-lost companions.
The grin kept going. He had great teeth, their bright white set off against skin further darkened by actual stubble. Hair, indeed, looked to be his biggest struggle: It puffed from beneath his shirt cuffs, and a gallon of gel must have been used to sculpt that swoop on top of his head. Liv looked all right today—she’d gotten up early to tie her hair in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. Bruno’s unguarded gaze, though, made her doubt.
“I’m Liv,” she said.
“Yeah, I know. Let’s buddy up.”
Buddy up? Liv threw out a desperate look for someone who might be less challenging than this guy, and, finding none, shrugged. Bruno scooted his desk; it bumper-carred against hers. Everyone else was doing the same, and the noise helped Liv relax. She took out a fresh notebook and inked on the first page BRUNO.
“Let’s see: I’m Bruno Mayorga, I’m seventeen, I was born in Nuevo León—that’s a Mexican state—but was still a baby when I came to Iowa. I only moved to Bloughton this summer, but I plan to work on the school paper, and do lots of drama, and also chorus, and hopefully a couple small groups. I’ll probably join the tennis team, even though I’m not very good, but I hear the team is terrible, so maybe I’ll actually get to play. I have three sisters named Mia, Elena, and Bianca, and three dogs. I’m into music, but that’s super boring. Why did I even mention that? Who’s not into music? Oh, my dad is still in Mexico. I basically don’t know him. I know you don’t really have a dad, too. I don’t mean to be awkward about that. Sorry if that’s awkward.”
Liv finished writing before exhaling.
“You’re an easy interview,” she said.
“Yeah, but that’s because I want to talk about something else.”
Liv felt her shoulders close up as they did any time her past was questioned. Don’t do that, she instructed herself. Be the tallest you can.
“And what’s that?” she asked.
He clicked his own pen, gestured at his blank page.
“Let’s get this done first. You’re Olivia Fleming. I’m guessing you’re also seventeen? You don’t have any siblings, if I remember what I heard, and you’re in like twenty-eight sports.”
“Where’d you learn all that?”
“Oh, just from people this summer. I always do some groundwork before starting at a new school.”
“Why do you keep starting at new schools?”
Another big grin, though this one looked strained. “Hey, we’re done with me. Did I get all your details right? No pets?”
“Yeah, a dog.”
“Oh! Tell me about the dog. Dogs go over great in these things. If you’ve got a picture on your phone we might not have to talk at all.”
“Well, his name is John, and he’s a blue-heeler mix—”
“His name is John?”
“My dad named him. After a poet.”
“Which poet?”
“I can’t remember. John somebody.”
Bruno laughed. It fit with his grin—comforting, welcoming. He took a note.
“‘Dog named after John the poet.’ That’s good stuff. Anything else?”
Liv sighed. “What’s the point? All these people know me. We’ve been going to school together forever.”
“You don’t know me.”
“Yeah, but you get the basic idea about someone, just by being awake. You can tell who’s nice or whatever.”
“Am I nice? Or am I whatever?”
“You’re nice.”
“Then why do you look so scared of me?”
“I’m not scared. I just—you’re talkative. And I’m tired.”
“Haven’t had your coffee yet. You’re definitely a coffee drinker.”
“I guess you can add that to your notes. ‘Drinks coffee.’ God, that’s why these things suck. You either sound boring or like you’re desperate for attention.”
“And it’s probably hardest for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know. Your dad. Like, that’s interesting. I’ve only heard a little bit of it, and even I can tell it’s super interesting. But because it’s unhappy, we all have to pretend like it doesn’t exist. ‘I drink coffee, and my dog is named John’ sort of pales in comparison.”
Liv gave Bruno a careful look. Was the offhand way in which he mentioned her dad disturbing or disarming? Nothing duplicitous could hide behind such a smile.
“You said you wanted to talk about something,” she said.
Bruno leaned closer and raised a conspiratorial eyebrow.
“I saw you bust up those guys this morning, and it was amazing.”
Liv slapped down her pen and covered her eyes.
“Oh Jesus. Is the video out already?”
“No! I mean, I don’t know. I saw it in person.”
“There were people watching?”
“It isn’t like there was a whole crowd. It was just me. You didn’t see me because you were busy kicking all sorts of ass. Like I said, I want to join the chorus. I went down there to introduce myself to Mrs. Meachum.”
“I’m going to end up in the video, I just know it, and then it’s just going to be more…”