"Hey, Enzo. I didn't know you were in this class?" I ask, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah. The office accidentally put me in the wrong class yesterday. So here I am." He says a grin on his face.

"Here you are," I repeat muttering under my breath.

Enzo doesn't seem to catch my muttering as he props his chin on his hand, his elbow planted on his desk.

"Mrs. Johnson said that we're supposed to be doing a writing project with a partner. I don't have a partner and it seems like you don't have one either. I was wondering¬--"

"I already have a partner." I interrupt, pointing at a random kid in the room.

Enzo looks in the direction I'm pointing, a puzzled look on his face.

"Uh, it looks like he already has a partner." He redirects his gaze to me, eyebrows raised.

My face flushes in embarrassment and I lower my eyes to the ground, avoiding his knowing gaze.

"I guess you still need a partner then. I was going to ask if you wanted to be my partner." Enzo says, a small smile on his face."Oh," I mumble feeling my face blush again as I look down at my feet.
Enzo chuckles and sits down in the chair beside me. I clear my throat and look up again.

"So who should we do our paper on? I was thinking Benjamin Franklin and we could build a model of the kite he used in his electricity experiment. It's nice and simple. " I jot this down as we speak, then look up to hear his answer.

"That's a great idea, but I was thinking of doing Wilbur and Orville Wright and then building a model of their successful airplane," Enzo responds animatedly.

My eyebrows shoot upward and I look at him in a whole new light. I thought he'd automatically agree with my idea, not come up with one of his own, much less a good one at that. Enzo wasn't just hot and funny, he also seemed pretty smart.

"Actually that sounds like a fabulous idea. I like it'll." I reply, flashing him a smile.

He looks surprised for a second before returning the smile. I quickly jot down his idea in my notebook and then pull my laptop out of my backpack, powering it on.

Enzo pulls his chair closer so he can see the screen and rests his elbows on the desk, propping up his chin in his hands. I open up a tab and type in 'The Wright Brother's successful airplane' and dozens of websites show up. I click on one of the sites and a clear picture of the airplane is displayed with the corresponding information below. We scroll through different websites, taking notes and saving links the rest of the class period.

French, Art, and Economics go by in a blur and the last bell of the day rings, relieving us from our classes. I shut down my laptop, close it and slide it into my backpack along with my others things. Enzo also stands and collects his things, but instead of taking off he comes back to where I'm standing and holds out a piece of paper. I look up and am surprised to see a number written on the piece of paper.

"It's my number. In case you need to contact me about the project or if you just want to chat," He says as a way of explanation ending with a wink.

My face warms and I wordlessly take the piece of paper from his hand and stuff it into my back pocket before hoisting my backpack up onto my shoulder. I utter a quick "bye" before making my getaway. On my way to my locker, my friends ambush me, Alexandra and Essie asking a myriad of question about 'the new guy'. I roll my eyes and try to answer as many as I can and we walk toward our lockers.

Soon the conversation moves on to the Homecoming Dance and Essie restates the plan for this afternoon.

"Four o'clock guys, got it?" She looks around at me, Alexandra and Adrian. We all nod our heads in agreement and Essie smiles, says 'goodbye', and takes off.