Free Parallel (Travelers Series Book 1) by Claudia Lefeve Page B

more of a lacrosse and rowing type of place. Why in the world is he talking to me, and more importantly, why in the world does he care whether I’m okay or not? All these questions buzz through my head and it kills me that I can’t come right out and ask.
    “So, who’s the guy that dropped you off?” Alex questions me with a curious look and I can hear the underlying hurt in his voice.
    I managed to somehow make the hottest guy in school jealous. Where am I?
    “Yeah, Etta.” Jaime raises her eyes up at me. “Who’s the guy?”
    “Just a friend.” There, that sounds like safe enough answer. I’m not sure what they know, who they know, and more importantly, what all I’m supposed to know, but its obvious neither of them have ever met Cooper before. For now, I’ll stick to keeping my answers to a minimum, at least until I can get my bearings.
    “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. Look, I gotta run. Coach has us practicing during first period study hall.” He reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “See you at lunch?” He sounds expectant, like there’s the slightest possibility I might turn him down.
    “Uh, sure.” I assure him, not knowing how else to respond. Pleased, he sprints off into the direction of the main building.
    Jaime clicks her tongue and smirks. “You don’t seem too concerned that Alex saw you with another guy.”
    “For the record, I’m not with another guy, so there’s nothing to be concerned about.” I give up trying to explain this to Jaime. And when she mentioned Alex yesterday, I hadn’t put the pieces together until now. Is he my boyfriend?
    “I think,” she begins, linking her arm through mine, as we make our way into the main building, “there’s a lot more you’re not saying. But don’t worry; I’ll get it out of you sooner or later.”
    •  •  •
    Fortunately, taking over someone else’s life, even my own, isn’t as difficult as I initially thought. Other than not having homework to turn in during calculus class, most of my morning classes go off without a hitch. I just need to make sure to keep my head down and maintain a low profile.
    Jaime said she had to turn in some extra credit during lunch, so I have to spend the lunch hour on my own. I avoid my classmates—I don’t want to get stuck talking to someone and screw-up royally, so I venture outside and find an empty spot near one of the large oak trees that line the quad. I double check to make sure I’m not sitting on an ant hill and sit down to have a peek at the sack lunch my aunt made for me.
    A shadow falls over my paper brown bag lunch. “I thought for sure you’d be sitting with Jaime, plotting something.”
    I jump, but don’t bother to look up. Even though he’s only ever spoken a few words to me, I know the voice belongs to Alex. I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that he’s standing right here talking to me. Yesterday, I was having lunch at Alexandria High, where he was all over Jenny and didn’t even know I was alive. Today he’s all about me.
    “Like how to get back at Jenny?” Aside from this morning’s lacrosse incident, Jenny had also tried—successfully, I might add—to humiliate me in English class when I couldn’t recall where we were in our lesson. I’m afraid to look directly at Alex for fear that he’ll figure out I’m a fraud.
    “Don’t let Jenny get you all worked up. She’s just jealous.” He takes a seat on the patch of grass next to me, but at the same time keeping his distance. Like me, he keeps his focus on the view in front of us.
    “Of what?” From what little interaction I had with her, she appears to have it all. Sure, I live in a real house now, with an aunt who cares about me, but not much else has changed. Even in this reality, I pale in comparison to a girl like Jenny. It’s not a matter of being bitter, I just can’t figure out why her anger is aimed directly at me.
    “That’s a no brainer. Because I’m interested in you, not