“Okay,” Principal Roman said, sounding strangely surprised by this outcome. “Hudson, would you like to pick first?”
As Hudson stepped forward with a mischievous grin and began looking at each person, I wrapped my arm around Megan and held her up. I wasn’t going to let her ruin this for herself. She tried to cover her face with her hands, but I quickly grabbedboth her wrists with my free hand and held them down so she couldn’t hide. She was really committed, though, as she turned her head toward the wall so he couldn’t see her easily. I was out of hands to use, so I couldn’t stop her from doing it, but I just had to hope Hudson would notice her sitting there anyway.
Luckily, I was right.
Unlike everyone else he looked at when Hudson’s gaze landed on Megan, it didn’t move away again. For a long few seconds, we all sat in silence as he stared at her. Finally, she must have realized something was happening because she slowly turned her face toward him. Hudson smiled widely as he saw her face, and he quickly bounced over to our table. I could barely hold my own smile back as I realized my plan was working.
“Would you do me the honor of being my guide?” I might have been imagining it, but I swore his British accent was stronger than it had been on the weekend.
“I…” Megan started.
Once again, I wasn’t risking Megan ruining this for herself. Before she could find some nice way of telling him to find someone, I enthusiastically said, “Of course she will!” I pulled my arms away from Megan and gathered up my stuff. Because I’d practically been holding her up, she collapsed from the sudden change, but it was fine because Hudson caught her. She couldn’t be mad at me for that.
Luckily, we were sitting in front of an empty desk, so once I grabbed all my stuff, I dropped to the floor and crawled under the desk so I could sit there instead. The rough carpet of the classroom burned against my bare knees, but it was a worthwhile sacrifice for my best friend to fall in love. When I popped up on the other side and sat down, Megan was staring at me with wide eyes, looking a little panicked. I held my thumbs up and smiled at her, hoping I looked encouraging.
“I guess I will,” Megan said to Hudson. She took the seat I’d just abandoned so Hudson could sit down in her spot.
“It’s nice to see you again, Starbucks girl,” he said. Megan pointedly didn’t respond, but I grinned. This was going to be a good show—I just knew it.
“Well, okay then,” Principal Roman said. She looked really confused now, but honestly, I would be more concerned if a high school principal wasn’t perpetually confused by students’ actions. “Jude, why don’t you pick next?”
To my surprise—and delight—Jude’s eyes were on me, and he walked right over without so much as glancing around the room. I quickly flipped my hair, lightly rested my cheek on my fist, and smiled brightly at him, more or less beckoning him over to me.
“Hi,” he said. He slid into the empty chair beside me. “I’m Jude.”
As if there was any chance I wouldn’t already know that.
“I’m Sloane,” I said. My voice was unintentionally higher-pitched than usual. I guess that was what happened when I spoke to celebrities I thought were cute. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
In person, that is.
Jude glanced at Hudson and Megan, then back at me. He tilted his head. “I know you. Right?”
“Depends on your definition of know.”
“We’ve met.”
“Not in person.”
He smiled. “But we’ve met not-in-person.”
“Yes.”
“Like in a dream?”
“Exactly!” I clapped my hands together, then remembered we were in class and stopped. Luckily, Madame Dubois didn’tseem to notice as she was engrossed in a conversation with Principal Roman. “I knew you would catch on.”
“Is this the moment I’m supposed to make some cheesy joke about how you’re the girl of my dreams?”
“I’d… rather you didn’t.”
Jude chuckled. “Not a fan of pick-up lines?”
“I just think you’re capable of being more creative than that.”
Jude leaned forward. “You think?” He whispered.
“I know,” I whispered back.
