"We kissed until the bell rang, then he pulled back but only to glower in the direction of the bell. I laughed. He stayed put, hands resting on my hips. "You're okay, then?" he said. "After last night?" "Better than I should be." "What do you mean?" I shrugged. "I feel like...like I'm holding up too well. I mean, I feel awful about it, but I'm not having any trouble coping." "Because you're tough." "It feels insensitive." He shook his head, fingers sliding into my belt loops, leaning toward me until we were eye to eye. "I was there last night, Maya. What I saw was strength. You were upset, but you knew what had to be done and you did it. I was impressed. impressed." He kissed me again and my arms went around his neck and I didn't care about the bell, didn't care if I ever got to class. A throat-clearing behind Rafe made us both jump. "I believe that was the bell, Rafael." I couldn't see the speaker but recognized the voice as Ms. Tate's, the primary grades teacher. "Whoops," he said. "Guess we'd better get inside, then." When Ms. Tate saw me, she gave a little "oh" of surprise. "Maya..." "Sorry," I said. "We were just going in." I could feel her gaze on my back as we walked away. When we got around the corner, Rafe whispered, "I think she's disappointed in you." "She'll get over it." He grinned and we headed inside."