276. Chapter 276

She always walks Kara from class to class. Always.

Because Kara’s still getting used to the whole earth thing and it’s her job to take care of her and she has to take care of her and no one other than Vicky is trying to walk through the halls with the science nerd freak with the even freakier little sister, anyway.

But her stupid English teacher kept her whole stupid class a whole stupid three minutes late, so now she’s sprinting through the halls, weaving through overconfident jocks and small-looking freshmen and that girl with the gorgeous eyes until she skids to a stop outside of Kara’s algebra class.

Where Kara is talking to another girl, an older-looking girl – certainly not a freshmen, anyway, but she can’t be a junior because Alex has never seen her – and Alex knows this can’t be good.

No one in this school talks to Kara without wanting a laugh out of it.

“Kara!”

“Hi Alex!” Alex furrows her brow because she’s bouncing on the balls of her feet, the way she does when she’s excited, not scared or hurt or confused. And she’s not furiously adjusting her glasses: she’s just… smiling.

“This is Maggie! She just moved here from a place called Nebraska – have you heard of – anyway – and she asked me how to get to the science office and I was showing her and she likes my glasses and she wants to be friends!”

Alex turns her attention to the girl next to Kara. Her jeans are ripped like they’ve seen a lot of wear, and her ponytail is high and her eyes are as guarded as the beaten-up leather jacket that covers her basketball jersey.

“Maggie Sawyer,” the girl sticks her hand out, the grin she’d worn while watching Kara ramble still on her mouth, but her eyes cautious now, as she regards this new arrival.

“Alex Danvers,” Alex shakes, wondering why the core of her stomach feels this hot just from touching this girl’s hand, wondering why she seems so solemn, why she was apparently being so nice – so normal – to Kara.

“Danvers – so you’re the sister! I’ve already heard a lot about you from Kara. Apparently I’m not the only one looking to spend study periods in the science office?”

Alex grins, guardedly.

“You like science?”

Maggie stiffens, and Kara’s wide eyes flit between her big sister and her new friend.

“You find that surprising?”

There’s something in the way Maggie defends herself, something in the way her hurt is masked but somehow also oozes out of her lips that makes Alex stop, and smile. That makes her desperate to reassure her.

“No, just… exciting. What’s your poison? Bio? Chem? Physics?”

Maggie’s posture relaxes somewhat, and she shifts her backpack on her right shoulder. “All of the above. You?”

“Same.”

“Ladies, you need to be in your classrooms now!” one of the sophomore math teachers calls, and they all jump.

“Kara, see you after!” Alex pushes her gently into her classroom.

“I’ve got my study period now. You?”

“Yeah.”

“Ladies!”

“We’ve got a free! We’re going!”

Maggie grins at Alex’s indignation. “Don’t like being yelled at much, huh?”

Alex grimaces. “Does anyone?”

There’s something behind Maggie’s nod that Alex wants to hug, which feels odd, because she’s never really wanted to hug anyone but Kara. And Vicky.

“So, Nebraska, huh?” Alex asks as she leads Maggie down the hall to the science office.

“Trying to put it behind me. Kara says she’s not from around here, but that you grew up in Midvale.”

“You two talked a lot in a few minutes, huh?”

Maggie laughs gently and steps back to hold the door for Alex as they get to the office. “Kara did most of the talking.”

Alex searches her tone, her face, for mockery, but she finds only disbelief that someone can be that nice, and something that looks a lot like affection. Like relief that the girl she asked directions from wasn’t looking to hurt her.

“She seems like a really great kid.”

Alex’s heart twists guiltily. “She is.” She shows Maggie where she can set up her books, on the table where the science teachers let the nerds work and eat and rest from the stimulation, the abuse, of outside, during their free periods.

“Alex, you brought a friend!” her freshman biology teacher calls with equal parts pride and shock from her desk in a slightly separated room, and Alex blushes furiously.

“Maggie Sawyer. Just transferred, ma’am,” Maggie says in a small but trained-with-confidence voice, and Alex wonders why she had to develop it.

And she wonders why she didn’t correct her teacher – that Maggie wasn’t her friend, just a tagalong who was nice to her sister.

Because maybe she’s right.

Maybe the girl with the guarded eyes and adorable dimples – who’s already pulling out a peanut butter sandwich and offering Alex half – is going to be her friend after all.