One Bite at a Time

Besides, Lucas didn’t date. He always told his friends he wanted to avoid complications, but in reality, he just hadn’t met anyone he thought was worth the effort. All of the girls at St. Barnabas were boring. Pretty, angular, and predictable- like origami copies of each other. 

There was one person he found interesting. Not that he knew anything about her. They’d had a few classes together, and he always found his eyes drifting in her direction. She’d never given him a second glance. He was pretty sure she didn’t even know his name, but he knew hers.

Alleluia. Such a strange name. It suited her, though, with her deep-set dark eyes and her hair floating like a curly halo around her face. She wasn’t pretty or predictable- she was striking. He remembered being shocked by her deep, musical voice when she’d read Helena’s part in A Midsummer Night’s Dream last year.

It wasn’t a crush. He didn’t think so, at least. It was more of a… strong interest. He was fascinated by the way this girl acknowledged nothing and no one, the way she flowed from class to class as if held in a gravity all her own. He’d asked around about her a few times, and no one seemed to know anything. Well, that wasn’t true. Emory had said she was an orphan, and Maddie said she lived with a couple of weird aunts who ran a crystal shop in Cassadaga. Maddie had gone to their little blue house in middle school for some sort of group assignment, and she was pretty sure the place was haunted.

If that was supposed to put him off, it didn’t work.

Maybe he was drawn to the way she abstained from all of the unspoken rules. He wished he could do that. Maybe he’d just never before met anyone as aloof as he tried to be. Could he even say he’d met her? Barely. She probably couldn’t pick him out of a lineup.