Free Blue Ridge: Vol. 1 - The New Boy by Sophia Gray Page A

He said rolling her name across his tongue as if tasting it. “It means ‘Hope’ in Russian.”
                 
    “Yes, that’s right. But why would you know that?”
                 
    “I have a love for words, I guess. I like to study them.”
                 
    “Oh.” Was the only meager response Nadia could manage. Mr. Deedle had begun his nasally lecture, and Nadia was forced to sit quietly while every pore in her body screamed to hear his voice again.
                 
    The hour long class seemed to drag on forever. At some point Nadia’s notebook was slid back onto her desk, but she was having trouble concentrating and taking notes. She stole a glance as often as she could of Foster, and to her surprise he seemed to be stealing glances of her as well. Warmth spread into her face and she could feel the corners of her mouth straining upward. Mr. Deedle came to a halt and wished everyone a good day. For once she wished this class met more than three days a week. Monday seemed a long way off.
                 
    “What’s your next class?” Foster asked, rising from his seat.
                 
    Nadia slid her text and notebook into her bag. “This is my only one for today.”
                 
    “Yeah, me too. Are you on a full class load?”
                 
    “No, not really. I have Physics Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and English 101 and European History on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
                 
    “I am taking this and a Literature class Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
                 
    They stood for a moment in awkward silence. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Foster. I guess I will see you on Monday.”
                 
    He looked like he was on the cusp of saying something more. His eyes became a little darker and Nadia could feel the struggle of chill and warmth again. His mouth worked silently and finally settled on, “Yeah, ok, I’ll see you then.”
                 
    Nadia worked her way into the hall and up the stairs, feeling a rush of relief that it wasn’t as crowded as the previous hour. She wanted to catch up with Kristen and tell her about the boy, but she doubted Kristen would be impressed. Boys came and went in her life as quickly as she changed her underwear. Although, she had complained more than once that Nadia would become the crazy cat lady by middle age if she didn’t get a move on.
                 
    The door to Kristen’s class swung open as soon as Nadia leaned against the wall. She could hear Kristen cooing and giggling before she even saw her.
                 
    “Thank you, Trent, I never could have figured that out without you!” A tall gangly guy of about twenty, still sporting acne, smiled shyly at her. He gave her a short wave and moved up the hall looking back once.
                 
    “Not your type at all, Kris.”
                 
    She batted her eyes and leaned towards her. “Sweetie they are all my type!” She laughed lightly and leaned to the side to look behind Nadia. “Who’s this?”
                 
    “Who?” Nadia asked and turned to look too. Foster was about three feet from her leaning on the wall. Nadia jumped and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her heart fluttered a bit at the lopsided smile he was giving her. “Kristin, this is Foster. He’s in Physics with me.”
                 
    “Is he now?” She practically pushed Nadia out of the way and extended her hand. Foster looked at it like it was a snake ready to strike. Kristin took the hint and slowly lowered it. The look on her face told Nadia that she was getting ready to show Foster the rough side of her upbringing. He didn’t give her the chance.
                 
    “Nadia, I was wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch, since neither of us have another class