It started on an off note

"I'm Matt," he told the cute girl once they'd left the biology lab.

"Yeah, you're famous."

"And who are you?"

"Oh." The girl looked flustered. She was a little taller than average... maybe five foot seven, and painfully thin but she had a cute face with a little button nose and long dark-blond hair she wore in French braids. "Oh. I'm Jane."

Matt could see how that name might have gotten her called 'plain Jane' which would have done wonders to her self-confidence. It was amazing, now that he thought about it, that anyone survived high school. If kids like Jordan, with his looks, money and athletic skills could be miserable, what about the rest of them.

"Are you working for the principal?" he asked. "Or is it some sort of course credit thing."

"Course credit." Her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Is it fun?"

"It's all right. I... I get to see people and... well, it's all right."

Matt got the shy thing. He'd wrestled with it himself... until he'd **** himself to overcome it. Which was easier for him given that he was in a new school where nobody knew his past. If he'd stayed in Aaron Burr, he wouldn't have been able to become the new person he was still working on developing.

"What else are you taking?" he asked. He wasn't sure why talking to this girl was important... and it probably wasn't, but he intended to talk to all the cute girls he met.

"Oh. Economics."

That sounded fascinating... not.

"We're here." He wasn't sure if that was relief in her voice or something else.

'Here' was a waiting room outside a closed door. An attractive woman of about thirty sat at a desk guarding access while two more cute interns hovered around like bees near a hive. Sitting on a bench nearby was Karen, her face buried in her phone.

"I understand Principal Conner wants to see me," Matt said.

Karen looked up. "Hey Matt. Guess this one is on you."

"Yeah, I guess so." He turned his attention back to the adult woman. "I'm hoping we can get this meeting over with. I hate to miss my classes."

"Dr. Conner will see you when she's ready."

She? From the cute girls, Matt had expected an ex-football coach instead of a female. So much for any idea he might have of doing some bonding over shared interest in cute high school girls.

Time to revise his strategy for dealing with the principal... except he didn't have any ideas at all.

When he looked over to Karen, he realized he didn't have to ask her. She was clueless as well.