He had been so positive that Sue liked him. So why had she turned him down when he asked her out? He remembered Sue talking to that Ian guy at lunch, making jokes about their math class. Maybe she liked him better. Andy scowled. What was so funny about math, anyway?Then Andy remembered the shy smile that lifted a corner of Sue’s mouth when the two of them talked at Hero’s. He thought of the way her eyes sparkled when they talked about a piece of music they both liked. He thought of the way she had put her hand on his, protectively, when he told her about his stage fright. She cared about him. He and Sue had something going, he was sure. But as soon as he’d invited her to go out with him, she’d gotten weird.Andy decided that after school the next day, he would come right out and ask Sue why she couldn’t go out with him.All the next day, Andy rehearsed the conversation in his head. He wanted to be sensitive, but he also wanted an honest answer. At the bus stop after school, he saw Sue standing with another girl who looked a bit like her but was prettier—and seemed to know it, too.
