Two names greeted me on the slip of paper in my hand. One of them being my own, Halle Jones, and the other… I growled. There’s no freaking way. No freaking way I was going to let Ms. Patrick partner me up for this school year’s biggest project with that clown. I looked to my right to see him trying to balance his science journal on top of his nose. He had his head tipped back, chin up, with no sense or care for the world around him. His brown eyes shone with laughter as his caramel curls hung by his ears, weighed down by gravity. An expression I saw often on him. Ugh. I had to look away. Just then, a loud snap echoed from the front of the room.

“Mr. Reynolds,” Ms. Patrick look down through her spindly glasses at the boy next to me. The entire class was looking our way after she’d hit her desk with a ruler in a means to get Sam’s attention. She was not one who you’d describe as relaxed or patient. “Could you please answer the question?” There wasn’t much please in her tone.

I smirked. There was no way he’d been listening to what she had said. I didn’t even try to hold back my grin. He was surely getting caught this time.

“You asked whether or not emotions affect the physical wellbeing of the body. Feelings are a part of our physical health. Emotions, whether they’ve been caused by or are the effect of, are typically accompanied by hormones which are a great distinguisher to our wellness and the body’s functionality. Psychology and anatomy work hand in hand.” He finished off by shrugging. Shrugging! Ugh! If his darn smile weren’t so charming, he would have sounded aloof. But no. The whole class responded well; the girls all giggled, twisting their locks of hair while Max and Sam’s other bonehead friends patted him on the back for not missing a beat. Ms. Patrick looked more than satisfied at his answer as well and moved on to lecturing us about hormones and stress levels. Ha. I could feel my own stress levels on the rise.

I hated when he did that; pulled out the logic and unexpected smarts. All I wanted was to sit here quietly for the rest of class with my annoyance of him still in tact. I wasn’t letting Sam Reynolds and all his jokes and smiles and decent points break my strong demeanor.

Several minutes later, just when I thought this class would never end, I dared a glance to my side only to find that Sam, the bane of my existence, was looking at me. And not just looking, but staring me in the eyes. Not wanting to back down from an unspoken challenge, I held his gaze. Seconds later, the bell rang. I hadn’t moved a muscle when he boyishly smiled, winked at me and said, “See you after school, partner.” His voice dropped conspiratorially at the end. My cheeks definitely went red, but I hoped I’d covered it by drawing my long hair forward by my face.

“Can’t wait,” I drawled back.