She wanted to approach him before Math started. The seating arrangement had made that easy for her. But his head is down on the table. She decided to try again after class, maybe throw a note at him or something of the sort.

  The intercom blipped on, and the student body president made the first morning announcement of the year. Starting with a reminder that the school’s first football game is this Friday, which Liam cheered for, shaking his fist in a circular motion. A mention of a battle of the bands and the local coffee shop with musicians from other nearby schools involved. “And that’s all.” The president stopped. “Nope, one more. Timothy Kline won the Carr Ware scholarship and will be awarded an internship. Have a good morning, everyone, and welcome back to Clearspring High.”

  “Who’s Timothy Kline?” Someone said.

  “I applied to that,” another chimed in. “Timothy better know how to program.”

  Sarah turned. The announcement or the other students didn’t phase Timothy. “Congrats, Timothy.” She’s read that they will find you friendlier if you repeat their name a lot. Though she also read that boys might think you’re crushing on them, she’s hoping Timothy finds her friendly.

  He flinched back and stared awkwardly with his open mouth and teeth hanging out.

  “That’s you. Right, Timothy?”

  He still didn’t say anything and remained stuck in his position. Staring.

  “Hope my dad doesn’t work you too hard, Timothy.”

  Still stared.

  Perhaps saying his name over and over was too much for him? Unsure of how he felt, she went back to normal. “I’ll let him know to go easy on you.”

  He moved so little. If Sarah weren’t so close, she wouldn’t have noticed his nod. With her back turned away from most of the class, she wasn’t aware of everyone paying attention to the interaction, including her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s father. She nodded back and turned around. The class returned to normal, and Mr. Witman began the lesson.

  After the rest of their shared classes during lunch, Sarah quick-stepped to her locker as she forgot her homework. Passing by the library, through the window, she spotted Timothy sitting alone at a table. Wait, not exactly. His tablet stood on the table as he participated in a video conference. The glass fogged as she leaned in. Carr Ware. She spotted the logo behind the developers on the screen. Is he speaking with the developers at Carr Ware? The two didn’t look like her dad, and she grew curious if he’d interact with him as an intern. The two older gentlemen, who looked in their mid-30s, began laughing after Timothy said something. Unable to hear the interaction, it still warmed her heart. He spoke again, and the two developers laughed out loud again. He was a completely different person interacting with these older professionals.

  A recollection came up. Her dad would take her to his office as a kid, and she’d run around and goof off. It was a fun memory of her with her dad. But she had a hard time interacting with her dad’s subordinates. They may as well have been talking another language, a language her dad rarely used at home.

  And here’s Timothy, the school loner, shooting the shit with ease. It made her jealous.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  ***

  She got home after school, frustrated with the lack of progress on the second day. He didn’t respond to her at all. He responds to the teachers, and despite his heavy breathing when he speaks, he still does it as if he’s normal. After tossing her bag to the floor, she plopped on her bed next to a package. Her mom or her dad may have put it there, sent by one of her sponsors on social media.

  She took out the jogging sweats for girls and thought about how to set up the shot. Mainly to take her mind off of things, off of Timothy.

  Is he too cool to respond to me? Despite his nerves, he knows something secretive about her but won’t say anything, and he has a fun dog-walking job, won an internship and scholarship, and he’s too cool to brag about it.

  She shook her head. Timothy was running around in her head. After putting on the pants, she sets up a camera. And he doesn’t get flustered when Mrs. Witman scolds him, or he doesn’t take advantage of Mr. Witman’s kindness, and he doesn’t get bothered by getting pushed around in gym class. She decides to do the shot outside. And Timothy rolls off the insults slung at him.

  God damn it, she thought as she got in a stretching pose. I like this guy. She rolled over and groaned as the camera sound effect went off. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

  But there was a "but"—what if he does want something? What if he’s biding his time? She groaned again. A mind unable to settle lands on random thoughts and erratic behavior. Does he want something? Or is he just that cool?

  She gasped at a sudden realization. What if Timothy just doesn’t like her?

  Impossible. Satan would buy her a dozen roses. But Timothy hasn’t bought her anything. Does that make him worse than Satan? Nah. Unsure about what to do, she’s exhausted all of her options. He won’t respond to her, not in class, not with a note. She thought about what boys did with her. Typically, it’d be when she’d least expect it. Sometimes, when she closes a locker, some random boy she’s never spoken to will be there with a note in his hand, shaking. Or a boy will hustle over to her as she’s about to get into her car to ask what she’s doing after school. When the boys started doing that for her, it was unexpected, but now, it’s a weekly occurrence.

  What will Timothy least expect that she hasn’t tried?

  His house.

  She got up, ran back inside her room, and hopped on her laptop. Timothy Kline. And she looked for a background check website that gave his address. She had a feeling about where his home was, considering where she and Liam ran into him last month. When Timothy…

  With the details loaded on her screen, she spotted one interesting detail. He lives with just his mom. No siblings, no father. Kayla Kline is the only other name listed. She’s read some details on boys with no father figures in their lives, but Timothy seems to have overcome that.

  South side of old town. She searched for the address and looked at photos of the home. It was small. Extra so, as her homemade, all the others look small.

  Without thinking twice, she quickly changed, ran downstairs to the garage, and drove off in her car.

  It’s what boys do to get the girl. A surprise attack. She’s had several notes left at her doorstep from secret admirers who more than likely found her address online. It was cute, but she was and still is with Liam.

  She shook Liam out of her thoughts.

  She drove to Main Street, where locals who lived nearby walked to their restaurants and shops. Timothy’s home stood about a mile away from it, just at the edge of the neighborhood built over a hundred years ago. The trees may be just as old. A single branch would crash through a roof if it broke off, and the leaves created shade for everyone walking on the sidewalk. Her newer neighborhood, with homes acres apart from each other, wasn’t there yet with the planted trees.

  She pulled up and braked on the opposite side of the street from Timothy’s home. It stood next to a similar house, and on the other side was a field that butts up against the abandoned sugar mill.

  She turned down her hype music and turned off the car. As she walked across the street and up his driveway, she thought of her research on him. She’s ready.

  She knocked on his door.