I take it and before I can say thank you, he's already down the hall. I stuff the pen back into my bag. Journalism being my last class of the day is actually a blessing. I couldn't wait to get writing again. When the classroom door comes into view I see Jacob walk into the same room. I stop dead in my tracks and watch him as he sits down in the middle row of desks and pulls out his phone. He seems anxious. I know what he's up to. He knows newspaper is my thing. He purposely chose that class to...what? Get back together with me? Spend more time with me? The anger is building in me and I take a deep breath. Whatever plan he has for this class isn't going to work. This class is meant to be my escape. Somewhere I could relax by stressing over deadlines, as silly as that sounds. When I first took the class my freshman year, it was so different from any other class I had. My love for reporting and writing was heightened and the editorial part of it grew on me. Seeing Jacob sitting in my getaway class is a giant blow to my day. It's hard seeing him around, but it's going to be harder seeing him in a class I thought I could escape him in. Thankfully, my journalism teacher Mrs. Thomas greets me at the door. "Lacey! I'm so glad to see you," she wraps her arms around me and I do the same. When I had her freshman year, she met the shy, quiet, more reserved version of me and I met the crazy, in-your-face version of her. While I had changed, she hadn't. I've had her every year and it's hard to accept that I won't have a class with her again. "I want to talk to you after class, if that's okay," she says. Her short white hair and bright green blouse make her blue eyes stand out. "No problem," I smile at her. Inside the classroom I immediately see the twins Sophie and Seth sitting in the front row. Both smile when they see me walking up to them. "Lacey!" Sophie says, opening her arms. I lean down and give her a hug. "You have no idea how great it is to see you guys." I say as I hug Seth. I sit down behind Sophie and purposely keep my back to Jacob. "How was your summer?" Seth opens his mouth, but Sophie interrupts him. "Fantastic! We went to Oregon to visit some family and it was so gorgeous. I got a lot of writing done and Seth got some really great shots." I truly love the twins. Sophie is an amazing writer, and not just for the newspaper. I've read a lot of her fiction and have wanted more every time I read it. Seth is a great photographer with a knack for nature stills. Mrs. Thomas plants herself on her desk at the front of the room after the bell rings. "I'm glad everyone is settled. Hopefully there aren't any more stragglers coming in." She takes a paper and starts calling out everyone's names. Jacob, the twins, and I all seem to be the only seniors in the class. She finishes taking attendance and clasps her hands together. "Let's get to business. I have a couple of familiar faces here and I would like to recognize them." Her eyes flit over me and the twins. "Seth Adams, will you stand up for me?" Seth stands up and stays by his desk. "Seth will be our lead photographer this semester. For those of you looking to be a part of the photography part of the paper, move to the back of the class with him." Seth gives me and Sophie an oh-no look and we laugh. Being fraternal twins, they don't look too much alike. Both have brown eyes, but that's the only thing they really share. Seth's hair is a deeper shade of black than Sophie's and he's taller than her. Sophie's short hair reminds me of a fairy. Once the photographer group is sitting in the back, Mrs. Thomas looks at Sophie. "Sophie Adams, will you please stand up?" Sophie stands next to Mrs. Thomas. "Sophie is an excellent writer and reporter. If you're interested in reporting, sit in the front corner over here." She motions to the desks near the door. Everyone shuffles around and gathers their things. "And finally, Miss Lacey, will you come up here?" My heart is racing as she says it. There's only one position left and I know it's mine. I stand next to her and she puts her arm around me. "Lacey has been around since her freshman year and has proven to be wonderful in every category. I'm naming her Senior Editor for this semester." I can't help myself from smiling. Being Senior Editor means the world. My mom always told me I would be editor come my senior year. I wish I could tell her the news. Mrs. Thomas' voice interrupts my thoughts. "If you're interested in editing, please come to this corner of the room with Lacey." She smiles at me before saying, "If you're unsure, come to the front with me and I'll help you decide where you'd like to start. The rest of you get to know each other." In my corner of the room, there are three people. Predictably, Jacob is one of them. The others were a guy and girl who look younger. Maybe freshmen or sophomores. I walk up to them and put on my best smile. "Small crowd." "What exactly does an editor do?" The other guy asks. His short, sand colored hair, and glasses make me think of Buddy Holly. "An editor basically puts the paper together in the InDesign software. We assign you sections of the paper that you'll have to put together yourself. That means you'll have to be in contact with the reporters and photographers to format everything accordingly." He has a thinking face on as I spew all the information out. "You're not going to be alone. I know the software and I can help you out. I hope I didn't scare you off." He nods slowly. "No, we're good. I'm good. I can do it." "Great," I say. "What's your name?" "Will." "Nice to meet you, Will." I turn to the girl who has reddish-brown hair and big doe-like eyes. "And your name?" "Vicky," she squeaks out. Her cheeks are a slight shade of pink. Definitely a shy one. My heart pounds in my chest as I lock gazes with Jacob. I spent all day avoiding him and now he's sitting in front of me, waiting for me to acknowledge him. I clear my throat before saying, "Jacob, you want to be an editor?" He crosses his arms. "It seems interesting." "I see." I focus my attention on the other two. "What grade are you two in?" "Freshman," they both say. "Fresh meat," Jacob chuckles. Who even says that anymore? I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. "Well, I hope high school hasn't been too brutal." Jacob shifts in his seat so he's looking at them both. "You know," he starts, "Lacey and I met freshman year. You guys could turn out to be like us." What exactly is he saying? I want to call him out, but I think twice about it. Unleashing drama will probably make things uncomfortable for everyone. "Or you guys can be your own person and be totally unlike us." This time when I stare at him I don't look away. I need to prove a point. "Have you guys hooked up before?" Will asks suddenly. I don't really like the straight forward question. I squint my eyes at Jacob instead and he smirks.