wasn’t going to be much of a challenge. Every time she so much as caught a glimpse of him at school, through the window of the language lab door, or doing tricks on his skateboard in the courtyard at lunch, her stomach twisted into a giant pretzel. Determined to orchestrate at least one accidental-on-purpose hallway encounter, Violet had tracked Soren’s schedule and planted Olivia in the upstairs student lounge just before the last bell of the day. This way, Violet reasoned, Olivia could position herself for a casual crossing-of-paths while innocently working on homework, the prop of her math notebook open in her lap. “I’m so glad I found you.” A soft voice suddenly spoke from behind Olivia’s shoulder. Olivia looked up from a scramble of calculus equations just as Calla collapsed into the nubby couch on the other side of the glass table. “Hey, Calla,” Olivia said, willing her pulse to stop drumming in her ears. Violet spun around from where she’d been perched on the top of the stairs, her eyes wide with concern.
