The teacher passed out a deck of cards supposedly randomly shuffled.

I saw what HE was dealt as we left the classroom to go to the library.

I couldn’t believe my luck! I suspected the teacher pre-picked his pairings and put the cards in the deck the way he wanted. Could he know I liked HIM ? Maybe he just picked OUR pairing. Too weird!

Nevertheless, I was excited, yet anxious. What if HE was over me? What if HE was mad at me? I sat at a table in the school library. Time to find out, here he comes!

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat. He always did that around me, but it never allowed him to speak. “I have a three,” he croaked out.

I smiled. “Then, it seems, you’re with me!” I tried to sound casual, friendly. “Have a seat!” I encouraged. He sat across from me. Our books made a mountain between us. Our attention was then diverted to the teacher’s instructions. I listened with my ears, but my eyes wandered to his profile. His expression seemed to be blank, listening, processing, but his cheek was flushed.