As an exchange student from Scotland, a whole new world opens up to Darren Green when he moves to the United States. He'll live with a host family, start at a new school, and he'll have to make new friends. However, what won't be a part of this new...
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WHEN THE FINAL BUZZER SOUNDED, Darren's cheeks were still a hot pink shade and had a temperature that could be diagnosed as the flu. He could feel the girl's eyes on him – and everyone else's, for that matter. As he was looking for a different seat, one further away from the girl that made him nervous, he was constantly recognized by strangers who congratulated him or gave him a pat on the back. He didn't know what to say every time it happened, so he just nodded and gave a weak smile, while wondering why they were applauding him. He didn't achieve anything.
As soon as an opportunity had opened up, Darren had gotten his sketchbook out of his backpack again to focus on the drawing he had been working on before all of this happened. It seemed as if the world had been an entirely different place then, and he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.
But now that the game was over, the only thing left for him to do was go home. He'd been the supportive friend to his host brother, but he didn't feel the need to stay any longer than necessary at this game that hadn't interested him in the first place.
However, he wouldn't get away that easy. As he was hoisting his backpack up his shoulder and about to walk away, he was surprised by a familiar figure waiting up for him at the end of the row, just a few seats down from where he was standing. If he wanted to get away, he'd need to go past that person.
"You can't seem to get away quickly enough, huh?" a silvery voice asked. She had an amusing smile and folded her arms over each other before her chest.
"Hi," Darren said. He didn't know it was possible, but his cheeks reddened even more. His palms began sweating, both because of the temperature he was in and the fact he was talking to the girl he had just kissed but had never said a word to, so he wiped his hands against his denim shorts.
"You almost ran away just now," she said. Her eyes twinkled. "As if you wanted to get away from me as soon as possible."
"Right," Darren said, while wanting to facepalm himself. Had he been that obvious? "Sorry."
"Don't worry." She smiled apologetically. "If it hadn't been for the kiss cam, I wouldn't have kissed you so spontaneously." She cocked her head to the side, thinking to herself. "Well, maybe if I had some alcohol in my system."
Darren laughed as if he knew what she was talking about. Fact is, he'd never had a drop of alcohol in his life. He'd only been 18 – the legal drinking age in Scotland – for two months, but hadn't found the opportunity to try it out, and now that he was in Jacksonville, Florida, he would have to wait another three years before he would be legally allowed to. However, the girl didn't seem to be as concerned with the law or society's norms as he was.
"So, I thought I would just take this opportunity to get to know the random guy I kissed," she said. "I want to be able to tell this story later and not refer to you as 'the guy'," she added.
"Right," he said, nodding. He avoided looking into her round, blue eyes that shone as bright as the sun in Florida on this end-of-summer day.
"So..." she said, raising her brows. She was waiting for something, he knew, but he couldn't get his mind to work to figure out what it was she expected of him. "What is your name?"
