Free Double Time by Julie Prestsater

didn’t need to hear that.
    “ Can’t believe you tag teamed her with your brother.” Shawn scratches his head. “Guess they don’t call her Crash for nothin’.”
    Eric snickers, a silly grin plastered across his face.
    “ Why crash?” I ask.
    “ Because she’ll hit anything that comes her way.”
    That is an awful nickname, but I can’t help but laugh with the others.
    “ Hey, weren’t you two together?” Shawn asks.
    Eric and I look at each other, stone-faced.
    “ Yup, but that was a long time ago,” Steph answers. “Meg’s free. You?”
    Nothing like getting straight to the point.
    “ Nope,” Shawn says. “I’ve been with my girlfriend since eighth grade.”
    Now, that’s a conversation killer. And a complete anomaly. Three years? That’s like thirty in teen relationship years.
    Whatever. So much for fantasizing about his big man hands.
    Next.
     
    Today we’re getting assigned new lab partners. This totally sucks. I don’t see why we can’t pick our own. We shouldn’t be forced to work with people we don’t know or don’t like. Keesh and I sit patiently while the teacher calls out the pairs and new seating arrangements. Just because some idiots decided to make rockets out of chemicals and empty water bottles doesn’t mean the whole class should be punished. I’d be more worried that the guys even knew how to make the devices than about letting friends work together.
    “ Maybe we’ll get paired with one of those guys,” Keesh says, wiggling her pointer finger toward the corner of the room. “This might not be bad after all.”
    There are three good looking guys left. I cross my fingers behind my back that I get one of them. I don’t care which one. I’d even take the one who looks like he just rolled out of bed. I’ve seen messy hair, but I highly doubt he did that on purpose. It looks like a bird’s nest on the right side of his head. But his eyes are killer—almond shaped, long lashes, hazel.
    Damn. Two down, partnered with each other. That blows. Bedhead guy is left. Nope. Not for me. Keesha gets him.
    And I’m paired with …
    Oh. Wow.
    I get the guy with the goofy science shirt. I get the geek. Really. This is what my life has come to. When do we get to switch partners?
    “ Hi.” He waves with one hand and pushes up his glasses on his nose with the other. “I’m Brody.”
    Brody? That’s an interesting name.
    “ Hi, I’m Meg.”
    “ I know,” he mumbles as we both sit at table three.
    “ Nice shirt,” I tell him, looking closely at the fire combusting from a stick figure’s ass. “So, should I be worried?” I probably shouldn’t joke since I just met him, but who wears a shirt that says I make my own science ? I have to laugh.
    He chuckles too. “No, I don’t think so. I just thought it was funny.”
    “ It is.”
     
    “ So did you get any love from Revenge of the Nerds?” Keesh asks me on our way to ASB.
    I giggle. “He was all right. How about you? How was bedhead?”
    “ Not only did he forget to comb his hair this morning, he also forgot to brush his teeth,” she says, waving her hand in front of her face. Nasty. “I tried to offer him a piece of gum, but he wouldn’t take it.”
    “ Well, at least my geek smells good.” And he did. He smelled nice. Clean and fresh, like my dad’s soap.

Ten
     
     
     
    Landing a date to the homecoming dance took a lot longer than expected. I finally got someone to go with me just six days before the bleeping dance. It was no easy feat. I’m pathetic.
    After trolling the school and talking to practically every male specimen in the eleventh grade—and even some freshmen and sophomores—my quarky lab partner and I are going to homecoming. Together. He’s kinda grown on me. Last week he gave me a KitKat in class, which was really thoughtful. Actually, it was cute. The chocolate bar was sitting on the lab table waiting for me at my station. So a few days later, when Keesh and I made a Slurpee run, I brought