Free Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks Series) by Russell Elkins

have to be embarrassed by the scene.”
    “I have my reasons. Trust me.”
    “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You didn’t mind me making a fool of myself at the softball game last night. Why would she be any different?”
    “Your fault, not mine. And I know you’re still thinking about telling her about the zipper. Don’t.”
    “Fine. I’ll let her feel like an idiot. I know you like that.”
    She took small steps, but her little legs took so many of them that she easily kept the same pace Ollie was used to. She had on a blue backpack that was so full of books she leaned forward as she walked. He realized for the first time that she did look familiar to him, but he couldn’t put his finger on why. He wondered whether it was because he’d been sitting behind her in class, but a part of him thought it had to be something different.
    “Here it goes,” Sparks said, breaking Ollie from his reverie.
    As the students bustled around on the sidewalks, someone bumped into her. The weight of the contents in her backpack proved too much for the zipper, spilling its contents onto the concrete. Ollie felt even worse than he thought he would: papers, books, all kinds of stuff crashing down, spreading out and getting tripped over.
    “Oh no,” she said. “I just bought this backpack a few weeks ago.”
    Ollie had thought the zipper would just pop open and he’d be able to introduce himself as they shoved the books back in. But as they gathered them up, it was clear the zipper was completely broken. “Let me help you carry them for now,” he said, stealing a glance toward Sparks to see if he approved.
    The girl smiled at Ollie and reached for the books he was holding. “Thanks. I think I can manage, though.”
    “Really,” Ollie said. “I don’t have anywhere I really need to be right now. I’m not going anywhere important.”
    “We’re just going to the Wilkinson Center,” Sparks said quickly.
    Ollie gave him a look of confusion that the girl didn’t see.
    “Oh! Well in that case I’ll take you up on your offer,” she said, smiling at Ollie and handing him a book to carry. “That’s where I’m going too.”
    “Cool,” Ollie grinned. He knew the Wilkinson Center as well as any of the other students. It was one of the most frequented buildings on campus; with auditoriums and offices, a bowling alley, even a food court. He knew exactly where it was on the eastern side of campus, but he didn’t know what he was going there for. Was he going to end up paying for a bowling lane for the two of them? Was he going to buy her a taco?
    “Joy,” she said.
    “Huh?”
    “That’s my name,” she laughed. “Joy.”
    “Oh. Ollie. Sorry. And this is my friend, Sparks.” He had wasted no time at all walking himself right into an embarrassing moment, which he was sure could have and should have been avoided if Sparks had just told him her name beforehand.
    “I know,” she said. “Well, I knew your name, anyway. Sparks, it’s nice to meet you too.”
    “You know?”
    “Yep,” she smiled. “You practically live next door to me. You live in Tall House, right? I’m in the small apartment right behind you guys.”
    “Oh man,” he muttered under his breath.
    “Don’t worry,” she said. “It’s not like you forgot my name or anything. We’ve never met before.”
    “So how do you know my name, if we’ve never met?”
    “I don’t remember. I must have heard it in class or something,” she said. “Ya don’t meet too many people named Ollie, so for some reason it stuck.”
    “Oh,” Ollie said nervously. He felt a slight bump in his confidence level knowing that she already found him important enough to remember his name, even though she couldn’t remember where she’d heard it. That could only be a good thing. “I should probably make more of an effort to get to know the people on my block.”
    “That’s all right,” she smiled. “You don’t seem antisocial to me. I’ve seen you come into