"Please form single file lines. NO TALKING!" Principal Dan barked through his megaphone.

Sara sat down on the uncomfortable pavement on the basketball court. Other lines of students had formed on the overflow section of the parking lot. The unusually hot September sun beat down on them from a clear blue sky.

Sara twirled her long hair into a messy bun and tied it with a rubber band she kept around her wrist. Yuck it was scorching out. She could feel the faint traces of sweat starting to drip down her back. She would definitely be paying the locker room showers a visit after this.

As hot as she felt, she kept herself as still as possible. Her entire back tingled knowing that the new guy sat right behind her on the pavement. He had pulled his black hood over his head to shield himself from the sun. His foot seemed to be almost touching the small of her back as he sat cross-legged like all the students around them.

As she searched the faces around her for her two best friends, Sara felt a sudden poke in her side.

"Oh, sorry about that. You're taking up all the space." Sara froze. Did he kick her?

Sara huffed. "I am not taking up that much space. You are." She smiled as she heard him snort in vexation.

"You know your skirt is ripped." For some reason, his voice sounded funny when he said that. It was almost strained like he was in pain.

Sara put her hands over her skirt to try to cover the tear. "I'm aware. Would help if you'd brought some tape."

He shifted behind her. His voice came out as a whisper so as not to be heard by anyone else. "I have a better idea. But we'd need duct tape."

Sara sucked in her breath. Did he really just say that? Or had she only imagined it? She needed to change the subject before her enflamed face gave away her steamy thoughts.

Her eyes flitted to his feet. He sported what appeared to be expensive, brand new boat shoes. "By the way," Sara said dryly. "There's gum on your shoe."

He swore and immediately retracted his leg to inspect the gum.

Sara started to laugh. "PSYCH!" she said. She narrowed her eyes in satisfaction. She could almost feel his irritation grow tenfold.

To her surprise, he didn't say anything. She almost wanted to turn around, just to see the look on his face. But instead, she felt him push his boat shoe hard against her back.

For a second, Sara couldn't breathe. He applied pressure, causing her to almost start to move forward.

"You're hurting me!" she hissed. She strained her ears to listen for his retort. But instead, he ignored her and applied even more pressure to her back.

Just then, Sara saw Erin and Pam. They were waving wildly to her from a few rows over. Erin had the biggest 'O' expression on her face and Pam's eyes threatened to pop out of her head. They seemed to be trying to tell Sara that the new hunk sat right behind her. As if she didn't already know that. Not to mention, the hunk's massive shoe was bruising the right side of her back.

Sara gave her friends a feeble wave. Then she turned her attention back to the shoe. "Listen, you twit. If you don't remove your shoe from my back, I will PINCH you."

He let out a soft, deep-throated chuckle. The sound seemed to pierce her heart, as if he'd taken a bolt of lightning from the sky and struck her through with it.

"Did you just call me a twit?" In answer, he moved his foot away from her back.

Sara exhaled her breath, as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

Principal Dan strode slowly down their row. He brandished his megaphone like a weapon of mass destruction, should any of the students fall out of line.

As Sara glanced up at the principal, the intensity of the sun became unbearable. A wave of dizziness enveloped her and she sank to the pavement in a dead faint.