Free After Me by Joyce Scarbrough Page B

Annalee into coming to our next discussion group. The upcoming dates are printed at the bottom of the list.”
    “Yeah, maybe,” I said, still looking around for Lew. “Thanks for the list. Annalee, where are those study rooms and computer lab you were talking about?”
    “Right through that door.” Mr. Christopher pointed to the back of the room. “Annalee, did you see the new releases when you came in? There’s a new Dexter book.”
    Her eyes lit up. “Really? I didn’t know there was a new one out yet.”
    Mr. Christopher typed something into his computer and turned his monitor so Annalee could see it. “Here’s the description. Sounds like another winner.”
    My patience whimpered and died a quiet death. I touched Annalee’s shoulder and said, “I’m gonna go see if I can spot Lew. I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes, okay?”
    “Okay.” She and Mr. Christopher launched into a lively discussion of the book plots versus the television show, and I wondered if she might have a crush on more than one nerdy guy. To tell the truth, I was relieved to know I didn’t feel the same way about Mr. Dewey Decimal. I didn’t think I could’ve survived the humiliation of that one.
    The door at the end of the room led to a long hallway lined with windows. One side was a large room filled with tables and computer terminals. I scanned all the users and didn’t see Lew among them. The other side of the hall was separated into small rooms, each with a window and a door and furnished with a desk and two chairs. In the fourth one, I saw Lew’s blond head beside that of a Hispanic-looking guy, both of them bent over a textbook.
    Okay, so it looked like he was tutoring this kid for some reason, but why? It couldn’t be because he needed the money if his family was loaded like Annalee said. And from the looks of the tattoos on the guy’s muscular arms, I didn’t think he was one of Lew’s chess teammates or even went to Bay Harbor at all. I was loving the chance to stare at Lew uninterrupted, but my curiosity got the best of me and made me knock on the window.
    He looked up and did a double take when he saw me, shooting down the possibility that he was there hoping to see me. I gave him a little wave that he didn’t return, and when the other guy saw me, I could tell by the look on his face that he’d lost all interest in studying anything but the blonde interruption. I didn’t figure Lew was going to like that and tried to beat it before I made it worse, but I heard the door open behind me a second later.
    “Whoa, why you run away, chica ?” the guy said when he came out into the hall. “You knock on the window, so come on in.”
    I stopped and turned around. “I was just saying hi to Lew. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
    Lew had come out by then, and the guy gave him an impressed look. “Oh, she here to see you. It’s like that, ese ? You been holding out on me?”
    “You’re stalking me now, Gwen?” The corners of Lew’s mouth hinted at a smile.
    I was so relieved to see he wasn’t mad that I didn’t mind getting mocked by a nerd for the second time that day.
    “Yeah, right,” I said. “If you recall, I told you in class today that I was coming to the library with Annalee after school, so you’re the creeper. Who’s this guy, your bodyguard?”
    His companion flexed his impressive biceps and flashed white teeth at me. “ Si , I have mi hermano’s back always.” He put an arm across Lew’s shoulders and cuffed him on the chin with his fist. “But you don’t introduce me to this mamácita right now, I kick your white ass myself.”
    “Gwen, this is Javier Estrada,” Lew said with a laugh. “He’s one of my oldest friends. Javi, Gwen is my chemistry partner.”
    Jeez, he could’ve at least called me a friend. I tried to hide my disappointment at his bland description of our relationship, but the heat I felt coming from my cheeks told me I didn’t quite succeed.
    Javier looked from Lew