“Are you okay?” Reno startled me with his sudden existence at the food counter. Pausing from my activity, I gave him a shocked look. That spectacled boy looked straight into my eyes showing that he was a bit worried.

“I’m fine,” I answered him nonchalantly. “Please, stay where you should be. Don’t act as though we knew each other.” I said harshly. My tongue couldn’t handle the word coming out of my mouth. It might twinge his hearth. I didn’t see offense in his eyes. He held up his empty glass, instead and asked me to pour apple juice into it.

“Thank you,” he quoth with a smile on his...