Are you kidding? She's a cute girl. Move forward.

What to talk about next? Think, Matt. There's got to be something we have in common. Uh, as in summer school. Duh.

"What did you do to get stuck going to summer school?" Matt asked. He'd read somewhere that women went for a sense of humor although, in his experience, what girls really went for was jerks. He figured he'd work on finding the balance eventually.

"Uh, I stunk at Algebra II so my mom said I had to take it again. And Trig because maybe I wouldn't get bored enough with just Algebra."

Well, that was promising. Matt had aced Algebra. Of course it might be harder here in the rich enclave of Green Hills California than it had been in L.A. Unified.

"Algebra can be tricky. You sort of have to twist your brain just the right way for it to make sense. Fortunately, my brain has always been a little twisted."

Wendy actually giggled. "Then I wish my brain was twisted, too. Because Algebra is the most boring subject in the world and I'm lucky enough to get to take it twice."

"Maybe I can help you with the head-twisting," Matt offered. "I mean, if you're not getting it the second time through."

"Maybe."

The bus pulled up to the school and all the kids hurried to get out.