Sarah’s hands were shaking as she walked into her AP Calculus class.Dr. Frost was seated at her desk, going through a chapter she was about to present. Elly was already in her seat, chatting happily to the person beside her. The chair where the boy with the beautiful name sat was still empty. The calm before the storm. Sarah dropped into her chair. She jiggled her leg nervously as she waited for Bent to stroll through the classroom door. As she sat, lost in thought, she felt a hard hit on the back of her head. “What the –?” Sarah snarled. She spun around. Trevor grinned widely at her. “I’ve been meaning to do that to you for awhile now, Sarah Sweet,” he said. Sarah frowned and rubbed the sore spot on her head. She scowled down at Trevor’s number 2 pencil, the object that he’d no doubt hit her with. He was SO annoying!”Erin says ‘hi,’” Trevor said. He started to tap his pencil on his desk, mimicking a drummer in a rock band. “So I’ve heard,” Sarah said, displaying her phone with several text messages from Erin. Erin and Pam wrote Sarah every Monday morning. It was their typical motivation to help one another get out of bed and get to school. Pam, though really wasn’t the one who needed the motivation. It was mainly for Erin and Sarah. Sarah skimmed over the adorable image of Pam and Patrick in her phone. They’d taken a snap of their date Saturday night after their work shifts had ended. Patrick was pictured kissing Pam’s cheek. Pam looked like she had tears of happiness in her eyes. Sarah glanced over to Bent’s chair. It was still empty.A cold feeling brewed in the pit of her stomach. Trevor poked her with his pencil again. “Ow,” Sarah groaned. “Use the pencil’s eraser end, not the POINT!” She rubbed her shoulder. Trevor would never stop bothering her. It was just in his nature. Trevor shrugged. “But the point, Sarah Sweet, is to get your attention. If I used the pencil’s eraser, I fear I would accidentally make you disappear!” He laughed at his own lame joke. Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing? Sarah thought. “Okay. You have my attention,” Sarah said, making a face. Trevor sat up straighter. He popped his pencil behind his ear and leaned towards her. “My uncle’s band is playing next weekend in Miami. Remember? You said you would go.”Sarah bit her lip. Oh, right. She had told him that.”I’m going to force Erin to go, too,” Trevor said. Sarah uncrossed her legs and turned herself backwards in her chair.”How is everybody getting there?” she asked. “I haven’t gotten plane tickets yet.”Trevor continued to beat his fists against his desk. “Not a problem. Playboy Bent has that covered.”Sarah gulped. Of COURSE Bent was going.She smiled at Trevor. “Okay. Tell Bent I still plan to go.” Trevor stopped thumping his hands on his desk. “Tell him yourself.” He nodded his head sideways.Sarah followed his gaze. There was Bent. He sat hunched over at his desk. His back and arms looked even more muscular than before. And his face, though sullen, was surprisingly somehow more beautiful. The watch on his wrist was flashing bright colors.”Sarah, please tell us the answer to the problem on the board,” Dr. Frost suddenly called.Sarah whipped her gaze away from Bent to look at the teacher. Dr. Frost had her arms crossed over her chest. She stared fixedly at Sarah.”Um…” Sarah said. Her heart beat rapidly. For the life of her, she couldn’t focus on the problem. All she saw were blurry lines on the board.Dr. Frost made a ‘tsk tsk’ sound, disappointed.Sarah started to slide down in her seat, readying herself for Dr. Frost to lecture her about not paying attention in class. “Well, Sarah,” Dr. Frost said, beginning to launch into her tirade. “I have to say, I’m surprised –“Sarah suddenly knew the answer. She sat up straight. “If the person painted 100 square feet during that time interval, then K is 16,” she said. She collapsed back in her chair and breathed a sigh of relief.”Way to go!” Trevor murmured, patting her on the back.Dr. Frost scowled, wiping the board clean. “Trevor, did you tell her the answer?” Ugh, Dr. Frost was so mean!Trevor shook his head. “Actually, no,” Trevor said, sounding proud. “She figured it out herself.”But did I? Sarah thought. She felt scared. Where had that answer come from? She hadn’t even read the question on the board. She closed her eyes and tried to picture the answer again. But her mind was blank. Frustrated, she opened her eyes. And gasped. Bent was staring at her. He looked shocked.