Could it actually work? Reilly wondered to himself as he and nineteen other seniors absentmindedly packed up their stuff to go. The bell rang, snapping him back to his senses.


“No! That’s beyond dumb!” He said out loud, punctuating his resolve by forcefully shoving his laptop into his bag and zipping it shut.


“What’s beyond dumb?” asked a beautiful brunette young woman as she came to a stop in front of his bent over form.


She wore mismatching shoes. They were the same style of shoe, but one was red, the other, orange. As he looked up, he saw brown leggings, an asymmetrical yellow and red skirt, and a brown shirt sporting large orange and red leaves printed on it. And he knew before he saw it that there would be mismatching orange and red earrings, opposite her shoes.


She wore very little makeup. Not the “no makeup makeup” look that he’d heard about that actually took loads of makeup, she actually wore very little makeup ever. She was eclectic, different, and intimidated by no one, all things he really enjoyed about her. Maybe even loved about her. He wasn’t sure; it was only high school after all. But she was neat, and fun, and she was absolutely his favorite person.


“Someone’s ready for Fall,” he quipped as he stood up. 


He glanced toward the teacher who dismissively waved a hand in their general direction and looked down at his computer. Reilly kissed his girlfriend on her soft, pumpkin-spice flavored lips, and swung his bag onto his shoulder. PDA wasn’t strictly allowed in school, but also not strictly enforced.


“You look great,” he said earnestly.


She took his hand and they headed for the door.


“I know!” She said playfully, “But thanks for the ego boost! Now, what’s beyond dumb?” she asked again.


“Darrin wants me to-”


“Whoa. Stop. Stop right there. I don’t want to know. I don’t need to know. If it’s an idea coming from Darrin’s head, then you’re right. It’s beyond dumb. Stop thinking about it. Right now. Darrin pulls so much junk that he’s practically a verb by now. Seriously, some girls in gym class called something they did the other day “Pulling a Darrin.” Pretty soon, doing something idiotic or dangerous is going to end up in the dictionary as “Darrin-ing.”


She stopped for a breath just as Darrin walked up to them.


“You mean I’m famous in the girl’s locker room? A-haw-some!” He grinned that too-toothy grin at her.


Reilly didn’t like that. He wasn’t jealous, but he did feel protective of Ranelle. No matter what, he never wanted her to end up at the losing end of one of those grins. Not that he needed to worry. Ranelle never had a problem standing up for herself.


“Speaking of dictionaries, you should check the difference between famous and IN-famous. I’ll help you. Famous good. Infamous bad. Which do you think you really are?”


“Don’t care! Girls are talking about ME.”


“Girls talk about all guys. It’s what locker rooms are for.”


Eager to change the subject, Reilly spoke up.


“Hey, you two, you remember that my car is busted? We gotta catch the bus!”