Free Breaking Hearts (B-Boy #2) by S. Briones Lim

head and smacked her tongue as if tasting something horrible. “You sure you won’t regret giving up your weekends?”
    I swallowed a piece of spinach and smirked. “Someone told me that college is a time to try new things. Photography is as new as it’s going to get.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
     
    I gripped my rental camera and tried my best not to look toward the Student Commons. A crowd had already gathered around the entrance and I knew if I even stole one glance, I’d be searching for Jacob.
    “Keep walking, Estelle. Keep walking,” I muttered.
    A part of me regretted even signing up for the class. I admit it was a bit left field, but I had to remind myself that was the whole point of me taking it. I needed to stop playing it safe. Besides, if the class was a way for me to forget about Jacob, I’d probably end up signing up for extra projects. My reaction to him at the restaurant only verified what my gut already knew—Jacob would bring trouble.
    Crushes and I never mixed. My head was not too far up in the clouds to realize I let people use me for the sake of having them like me. I was naïve, gullible, and hopeless. The problem was I couldn’t stop the downward spiral. Until now.
    I’m not saying I was sure Jacob would use me or anything, but at the same time I didn’t want to give him the chance. In fact, I didn’t want to give myself that chance of letting him. Besides, there was probably no way he’d fall for me. What was the point of fooling myself into thinking there ever would be? What’s the point of putting myself out on the line and being disappointed?
    Ignoring the cheers and hip hop music, I rushed over to the art building, arriving a full fifteen minutes before the class was scheduled to start. Luckily, I wasn’t the only person who seemed excited about the class. There were a sprinkling of students scattered all over the tiny classroom. I paused at the door and opted to take a seat in the back corner, as if to hide away. If the b-boy battle was out of my element, this photography class was completely in a different universe.
     
    ***
     
    Well, it was a great thing I sat down in the back row. It gave me the opportunity to hide the confusion on my face. About twenty minutes into the lecture my brain felt as if it were about to explode.
    Shutter speed.
    Aperture.
    ISO.
    Everything was like French to me. I couldn’t get out of the class quick enough and found myself questioning whether I’d be attending next week’s lecture. I rushed down the front steps of the building, trying to run away as fast as I could when someone called out to me. Surprised, I turned and spotted a boy rushing up to me.
    “You forgot this,” he said, holding out the lens cap to my camera.
    Of course I did.
    I smiled weakly. “Thanks. Pretty sure that would have cost me my security deposit.”
    “Glad to be of service.” The boy smiled and held out his hand. “David.”
    “Estelle,” I responded, shaking his hand.
    “Estelle, huh?”
    “That’s my name.” I laughed weakly.
    He peered at me in curiosity. “You don’t look like an Estelle.”
    “What do Estelles look like?” Gosh, this guy was weird. Even weirder than me, and that’s saying a lot, obviously. I eyed his blond hair and blue eyes and couldn’t help but think he was a generic version of every California boy that ever existed.
    He shrugged. “Not like you. You seem too hip for such an old name.”
    “Uh, thanks, I guess?” Though I should have felt insulted, I couldn’t help but laugh. God knew it wasn’t the only time I’d heard such a remark.
    “What if I call you Ellie?”
    “Ellie, huh?”
    “Yeah, you like it?”
    This guy was too much. With another laugh I nodded. “Yeah, why not? Nicknames are like old friends, so why don’t I call you ‘D’?”
    He cleared this throat, coughing slightly. “Erm, maybe not ‘D,’ okay?”
    “Why not?” I blinked in confusion.
    As if enjoying his own private