The Big Picture

  “So, do any of you know Noah Hornung?”

  “Sure.” Raven nods. “He plays hockey with my brother.” Her eyes are as dark as the black coffee my dad drinks in the mornings, but somewhere in those inky irises, a glint of mischief lurks. She’s on to me.

  “Really?” I lean over. And immediately, I lean back in my seat, adjusting my icy blue sweater with pink-striped cuffs.

  “Somebody has a crush!” Emma sings, her red curls bouncing over her broad shoulders.

  I tilt my head and raise my eyebrows, unable to deny it. “So, what if I do? What do we know about this boy? Is he a total dork?”

  “Drew’s on the JV team, and varsity helps out a lot. Drew says Noah’s really nice and helpful and stuff — not like some of the other macho varsity players,” Gracie pipes in. Her narrow eyes smile like they always do when she talks about her boyfriend, Drew. “You should come to the games with me.”

  “Yeah! Come to the games!” Raven cheers, her bag of Cheetos letting out a whoosh as she opens it. “I always sit with my folks, which is fine, but I’d love y’all to hang out with me. Plus Noah’s super cute.”

  “How’d you meet him?” Melissa asks, munching another bite of apple. She’s the quiet one in our group. In the spring of freshman year, she confided in us that she’s struggling with an eating disorder. I think she’s tentative about piping in sometimes, afraid we’re judging her. We’re not.

  “He’s in youth group,” adds Emma. “But I’ve never seen you talk to him.”

  “Yeah, I thought he was.” I dip a fry in ketchup. “I never had talked to him, until right before English. I know this sounds goofy. We just ran into each other in the hallway today — literally, BOOM — and he knew my name, which was completely surprising, and I felt something.” I shake my head at myself. “I know it sounds cheesy, but it was like we connected or something.” To stop anything more ridiculous from coming out of my mouth, I pop a fry in, licking the tangy ketchup so it doesn’t drip on my chin.

  I look past my friends and gaze out to the chaos of the lunchroom. A group of guys including Raven’s brother, Randy, is huddled around a broad-shouldered blond intently engrossed in his Nintendo DS. It’s the varsity hockey players. Noah stands in the back, watching his friend defeat electronic enemies, weaving his fingers through his messy hair. He looks up and sees me looking at him. I feel like grasshoppers are jumping inside my body. I drop my eyes and slurp the life out of my milkshake.

  “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage,” Emma sings dramatically in her gorgeous voice.

  I roll my eyes. “Please, God, don’t let him hear Emma,” I say with mock intent.

  Melissa jumps in, “At least those babies have a chance at being tall, Linds.”

  “You might have to marry him for that reason alone,” Raven adds.