studying her eye patch with interest. The top half of him was in a regular white shirt, blazer, and a tie (perfectly knotted, she might add, which didn’t improve her opinion of him), but his gray trousers had been replaced by a pair of faded track pants that were slit up the side to accommodate his cast.
“Like you don’t know,” Emma snapped as she inched away from him. He might be only fifteen, but at six feet, with broad shoulders and blond curls that fell this way and that across his chocolate-brown eyes, Curtis Green took up far too much space. There should be a law against it.
“Fine.” He shrugged as he awkwardly reached into his backpack and started to pull out a yellow folder. “The thing is, we really need to start—”
“Oh, hey, Curtis.” Loni suddenly stepped in between them and pointed over to the long table where most of the sophomores were sitting. “I think Tyler wants you. Why don’t I grab you something to eat and you can go and see him.”
“Um, okay,” he said slowly, for a moment looking surprised before making his way through the cafeteria over to where Tyler was sitting. The minute he was gone, Emma spun around and stared at her friend in shock.
“Excuse me, but did you just offer to get Curtis Green his breakfast?” she demanded. “You do remember that he’s my self-declared archenemy, don’t you?”
“He has a broken leg,” Loni defended as they shuffled forward in the line. “Besides, he had to deal with the embarrassment of getting caught in a fence while trying to fight a group of rogue dragons on his Saturday patrol. It isn’t exactly the stuff comic book legends are made of. I thought he might be feeling bad.”
Emma glanced over to where Curtis was now the center of attention and tried to bite back her bitterness. “Yeah, he looks like he’s really suffering. Though I’m sure his pain has been eased by the fact that he took down three dragons before he passed out. What do I have? Nothing but mockery and a sore eye.”
“It’s not that bad,” Loni insisted as she nudged Emma forward.
“In five weeks I haven’t managed to slay one fairy. How is that not bad? And I really don’t think Saturday’s disaster has done me any favors.”
“Emma, it’s just breakfast,” Loni defended as they finally reached the front of the line. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Of course it’s a big deal,” a red-cheeked cafeteria worker behind the counter clucked at them both. “It’s the most important meal of the day. So, girls, how do you want your eggs? Scrambled or poached?”
“Scrambled, thanks,” Emma forced herself to reply. She didn’t feel remotely hungry, but she didn’t want to face one of Kessler’s a-slayer-slays-on-their-stomach speeches either, so she just plastered on a smile as the woman handed her a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, and toast and then did two more for Loni.
Her fake smile was put to the test even more when Loni proceeded to get two types of juice and three kinds cereal because she wasn’t sure what Curtis would like. Emma helped herself to some granola, which she probably had a better chance of eating than a cooked breakfast. She watched Loni try to juggle the two trays and her large backpack before she finally relented.
“Look, give me that and I’ll go get us a table while you take that over to ‘poor’ Curtis.”
“Thanks, Em. I won’t be long.” Loni gratefully passed over her backpack and hurried to where the sophomores were all sitting while Emma hitched it over her other shoulder and picked up her tray from the counter. It didn’t take her long to spot an empty table, and she sank as low as she could into her chair just as Loni reappeared.
“Turns out Curtis likes granola best. I would’ve thought he was a Lucky Charms sort of guy.” Loni put down her tray and settled into her chair as Emma narrowed her one good eye.
“Oh my God, is that what this is about? Are you crushing on Curtis Green? Because we’ve been through a lot together, but I swear this could be the thing that breaks us.”
“Of course I don’t have a crush on Curtis.” Loni busied herself with her breakfast. “I’m just saying that he likes granola and you like granola. Oh, and by the way I found out he’s a Sagittarius, which means that you two are highly compatible. Don’t you think that’s