After school that day, I met Lexy at her locker, and we waited for Jen and Gabe to get there. “So, let me guess, we’re going to the mall so you can show me that jacket, right?” I asked her teasingly.

“Well, I thought it would be fun,” was her response.

“Hi Jack,” I heard from behind me. I turned around, and Cheryl was there.

“Hi Cheryl, this is my girlfriend, Lexy,” I said, and I turned and motioned to Lexy. “Lexy, this is Cheryl, she’s in my math class. We bumped into each other this morning.”

“Nice to meet you Cheryl,” Lexy said and held out her hand. Cheryl took it, and said the same. “You know, its weird, but you look familiar to me. Do we know each other?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Cheryl responded. “I just moved here over the weekend.”

“OK, maybe you just have one of those faces.”

“That’s probably it,” Cheryl said, and then added, “Well, I better go, see you in Math tomorrow Jack.” She turned and started to walk away, and then looked back at Lexy before she hurried down the hall. Jen and Gabe walked up then, and we all left to go to the mall. I had called Ma at lunch to tell her that I would be late getting home. When she asked why, I told her that Lexy wanted to show me something at the mall, and then we were going to her house to study.

“Hey, Lexy, we have to hurry at the mall,” I said as we walked the couple blocks there. I told Ma we were gonna do homework too, and she wants me home in time for dinner.”

As we walked in the mall, I saw Cheryl a little bit away, so as Lexy and Jen looked in a store window at some necklace, Gabe and I walked over to her to talk. When we walked up however, she looked me right in the eyes, and walked away.

“That was weird,” Gabe said. “I thought you said you knew her.”

“I do, she’s in my math class,” I replied, puzzled. We walked back over to Lexy and Jen, and then walked to the store where Lexy had seen the jacket. As we walked in, she pointed it out to me. Even I had to admit it was a nice jacket, but I knew I would never be able to afford it. We walked over, and Lexy pulled one off a hanger, and handed it to me.

“Try this on,” she said, and stood there waiting for me to do so. I put it on, and she motioned for me to spin around. As I did, she put her finger to her cheek, and tapped it, as if some very important thoughts were going through her head.

“It’s perfect!” she said. “It’s a perfect fit.”

“Lexy,” I said as I started to take it off. “I can’t afford this. If I could, I wouldn’t be at Millington on a scholarship.”

“I know, I just wanted to see how it fits on you,” she said. “And what it looked like.”

“Can we go now?” I asked.

“I just have one more stop to make. Why don’t you and Gabe go to the electronic store, and Jen and I will meet you there in 10 minutes.”

“OK,” I said, and we walked two stores over to the electronics store to look around.

“She’s acting even weirder than usual,” Gabe said as we walked in.

“It’s the shopper in her,” I replied with a smile. “It comes natural to her. We looked around the store for a couple minutes, but found nothing we wanted. We walked out to wait for Lexy and Jen outside the store, and saw them a minute later. We walked out to the front of the mall, and Lexy hailed a cab. It dropped Jen and Gabe at his house, and then headed to Lexy’s condo.

Once we were at her house, we sat down at the kitchen table to do the homework we hadn’t finished in Study Hall. About an hour later, the doorbell rang, and Lexy went to go answer it. I heard some muffled talking, and then the door closed and Lexy ran upstairs. I heard her shuffling around in her room, and finally coming back down the stairs.

“What was that?” I asked as she walked back into the kitchen.

“Oh, nothing, just someone wanting my mom,” she replied as she sat back down. I thought that was weird. She knew her mother wasn’t home, so why should she go up to her room if she knew that? I decided not to ask her however, it was her business, and I didn’t want to start a fight. I suddenly looked up at the clock, and saw that it was 5:15.

“Oh no,” I said, and started to put my things together. Lexy went down to get a cab, and I followed her a minute later. As I walked down the stairs, I wondered if Lexy was hiding something from me, and if she was, what could it be?