—Logan—

Ah, free period. Also known as study hall. The best damned “class” of the day, in my opinion. I walked into the room to find the “teacher” at her desk, finger flicking over the screen of her phone as she played a game. As long as the lot of us didn’t get too loud, she didn’t care what we did. My favorite teacher.

I approached my desk only to find, to my surprise, that someone I’d never seen before had taken it. I dropped into the spot next to it. “Hey, man, are you new?”

The other guy looked at me in surprise, pale green eyes flashing. “Oh, yeah. Is this your seat? I can move.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I offered him my hand. “I’m Logan Thoreau.” Well, legally my last name was Thoreau-Smithson but try saying that a few times in a row.

He shook my hand. “Felix Mann. I’m guessing you’re not a native?”

I laughed. “What gave me away? My name or my accent?”

He smirked. “Both? You’re American, right?”

I nodded. “My family moved here when I was eleven. You?”

“Born and sometimes raised. My parents are both anthropologists. They travel a lot and take me with them. We’ve been in Shang Simla for the last two years.”

“Really?” I caught myself leaning closer to him in my intrigue. “Have you lived in lots of foreign countries? What was it like?”

“It was really cool. So hard to learn the language, though. Nothing like German or English.”

“You speak three languages?”

He smiled. “Wellll, I kind of speak more than that, but I’m pretty rusty in French and Italian now. I haven’t used them much in a long time.”

“Wow,” I said softly. I’d always felt pretty worldly, having lived here and in the States, but I had nothing on this guy. “What are you doing back here?”

“My parents wanted me to finish school here, and the field work is done on their current project, so they’re going to teach at the college here for a year or two.”

Before I could open my mouth to form another question, he leaned into me with a grin. “Okay, mister interrogator. It’s your turn. Where are you from?”

Unbelievably, I almost blushed. I had kind of been throwing questions at him, hadn’t I? “The States—Texas.” Though most of my family had—and still did—live in Louisiana, I’d grown up a few hours away in Oasis Springs.

“Really? I went to New Mexico once over Christmas. My parents had a dig there. I couldn’t believe how warm it was.”

“You should see a Texas summer.” I could still feel the sticky July heat. Of all the things I missed in Oasis Springs, the summers were not one of them.

“What brought your family here? Work?”

I shook my head, my mood dampening. “My grandpa died. Grandma Ava was sick and alone and couldn’t come to us so we came to her.” I didn’t like remembering that time. Dad being gone constantly, Mom unhappy. I’d just known they were going to get a divorce.

Felix’s smile fell. “Oh, shit, man. I’m sorry. Is your grandmother alright?”

“She passed last year.” That…had been a pretty bad time, too. Dad had been crushed. There had been some question as to whether or not we’d move back Oasis Springs, even, but Mom and Dad had eventually decided not to uproot us all again. Whether I would’ve preferred we move or not, I wasn’t sure. Windenburg wasn’t a bad place to live.

“I’m really sorry.”

I shrugged. “It’s okay. She was hurting for a long time.” It was horrible to say, but, even though she’d lived with us, I’d never been that close with her. For most of my life, she’d been a distant figure that I saw once, maybe twice a year.

“Still.” Felix shook his head. “Damn, I really know how to bring the mood down.”

I snorted softly. “Yeah, how dare you not know my backstory before you ever met me? You inconsiderate douche.”

He laughed in a loud crack, drawing a few eyes our way. “Fair point.”

I leaned close to him again. “Hey, so tell me more about China.”

“I’ve got to introduce you to Felix, Zoe. He’s been fucking everywhere,” I said. Zoe had come home with me after school, and we’d immediately headed into the backyard to relax. “He’s got this hilarious story about a crate of coconuts and a komodo dragon—but I have to let him tell it. I won’t do it justice.”

My girlfriend laughed softly. “He sounds interesting. I’ve never seen you like this before. If I didn’t know better— “Her eyes went heavy lidded, voice suggestive. “—and I definitely know better—I’d say you’ve got a giant crush on him.”

The gears in my head ground to a halt.