“Foomp! My inner fire ignites.”

“Anna?" Someone knocks on my door, and it startles me out of my seat.No.Not someone. St. Clair.I'm wearing an old Mayfield Dairy T-shirt, complete with yellow-and-brown cow logo,and hot pink flannel pajama bottoms covered in giant strawberries. I am not even wearing a bra."Anna,I know you're in there. I can see your light.""Hold on a sec!" I blurt. "I'll be right there." I grab my black hoodie and zip it up over the cow's face before wrenching open the door. "Hisorryaboutthat. Come in."I open the door wide but he stands there for a moment, just staring at me. I can't read the expression on his face. Then he breaks into a mischievous smile and brushes past me."Nice strawberries.""Shut up.""No,I mean it. Cute."And even though he doesn't mean it like I-want-to-leave-my-girlfriend-and-start-dating-you cute,something flickers inside of me. The "force of strength and destruction" Tita de la Garza knew so well.St. Clair stands in the center of my room.He scratches his head, and his T-shirt lifts up on one side, exposing a slice of bare stomach.Foomp! My inner fire ignites."It's really...er...clean," he says.Fizz. Flames extinguished.”

“Oh my. He's English. "Er. Does Mer live here?" Seriously, I don't know any American girl who can resist an English accent. The boy clears his throat. "Meredith Chevalier? Tall girl? Big, curly hair?" Then he looks at me like I'm crazy or half deaf, like my Nana Oliphant. Nanna just smiles and shakes her head whenever I ask, "What kind of salad dressing would you like?" or "Where did you put Granddad's false teeth?" "I'm sorry." He takes the smallest step away from me. "You were going to bed." "Yes! Meredith lives here. I've just spent two hours with her." I announce this proudly like my little brother, Seany, whenever he finds something disgusting in the yard. "I'm Anna! I'm new here!" Oh, [Gosh]. What. Is with. The scary enthusiasm? My cheeks catch fire, and it's all so humiliating. The beautiful boy gives an amused grin. His teeth are lovely - straight on top and crooked on the bottom, with a touch of overbite. I'm a sucker for smiles like this, due to my own lack of orthodontia. I have a gap between my front teeth the size of a raisin. "Étienne," he says. "I live one floor up." "I live here." I point dumbly at my room while my mind whirs: French name, English accent, American school. Anna confused. He raps twice on Meredith's door. "Well. I'll see you around then, Anna." Eh-t-yen says my name like this: Ah-na.”

“If I weren't standing next to your boyfriend, I'd be tempted to ask you out myself."She blushes, and St. Clair bounds inside the box office and wrestles her into a hug. "Miiiiiiiiine!" he says."Cut it out." Anna pushes him off, laughing. "You'll get fired. And then I'll have to support your sorry arse for the rest of our lives.”

“Har. Bloody. Har."He smiles. "Oh, I see. Known me less than a day and teasing me about my accent. What's next? Care to discuss the state of my hair? My height? My trousers?"Trousers. Honestly.”

“My smile wavers as I revert to my natural state of being: nervous and weird.”

“Is he crying? I lean forward for a better look and find him staring right at me.Oh,no.Oh no oh no oh NO.He stops. "Anna?""Um.Hi." My face is on fire. I want to rewind this reel,shut it off, destroy it.His expression runs from confusion to anger. "Were you listening to that?""I'm sorry-""I can't believe you were eavesdropping!""It was an accident.I was passing by,and...you were there. And I've heard so much about your father,and I was curious.I'm sorry.""Well," he says, "I hope what you saw met your grandest expectations." He stalks past me,but I grab his arm."Wait! I don't even speak French, remember?""Do you proise," he says slowly, "that you didn't understand a single word of our conversation?"I let go of him. "No.I heard you. I heard the whole thing.”