A young Summer was sitting in her high school math class, bored to tears. She looked around the room at the boys in the room and was not all that impressed. They were just immature boys after all, and not even a cute one among them!

But then someone new entered the room: a handsome young man with scruffy dark brown hair that a girl would just love to run her fingers through. His muscles molded against his number 1 T-shirt, and he wore tight clean white jeans.

“Sorry I’m late, I was called away by my father on an emergency.” He gave the teacher an apologetic smile.

“I’ll forgive you this time, because you’re new.” the boring math teacher told the young man. The new boy nodded as he looked for a seat.

All of the girls in the room started to give him flirty looks and smiles, but he wasn’t paying them any attention. Summer shyly looked down at her math problems as she realized that the only empty seat left in the classroom was right next to her.

His startling blue eyes met hers, and he headed straight toward her and sat down. He leaned over close to her and whispered...

“Miss Summer!” the teacher called out, jolting Summer out of the daydream.

Summer looked up from the page in her textbook that she had been staring at and she sighed. She had written down the name ‘Mark’ and then she had given him a few different surnames since in her favorite TV show he didn’t have a last name. Her daydream had been shaping up really well and that damned teacher had made her snap out of it.

She began to wonder what he had been going to ask her when the bell went off to signal the end of class. She took her time picking up her books, which made her the last to leave the room. As Summer walked out the door she couldn’t believe her eyes. Just up ahead in the corridor she spotted a young man a little taller than she was. He had shaggy dark brown hair and a red T-shirt with blue sleeves and he was wearing white jeans.

Summer was stunned, but she made herself move and she hastened to catch up with him. Maybe he was real after all…

But the more Summer kept rushing through the crowd, the further away he seemed to get. Summer ran faster and faster, and suddenly there she was, right next to him!

Shyly, she tapped his shoulder. He turned around, a sparkling pair of bright blue eyes staring at her.

“Uh... hi...” Summer stuttered.

“Hi.” he smiled kindly. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”

“Yes.” Summer blushed. “I sit next to you in math class. Do...” she thought of an excuse for talking to him on the spot. “Do you have the homework assignment? I forgot to write it down.”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” he shrugged.

“Then you can both be in detention together.” said another voice. Summer looked up to see a roguishly handsome boy in a similar t-shirt with the number 2 on it. “Isn’t that what they do to kids who don’t do their homework?”

Summer sighed... detention... with this handsome new boy…

The boy gave his friend a playful punch in the shoulder as both the boys looked at her.

“Don’t pay any attention to my brother!” he told her. “So, what’s your name? I was going to ask you, but you looked be off in some other place. Not that the class was very interesting to begin with.” The new boy continued to watch her with those sparkling blue eyes that made her heart race.

“What do you mean don’t pay me any attention?” His brother smoothly smiled at Summer. “Do you want to go to the cafeteria, I’ll buy you lunch?”

“I’m Summer!” Summer said quickly, before she lost her nerve. “Nice to meet you...”

“Mark.” said the man of her dreams. “My name is Mark.”

“Nice to meet you, Mark.” she said shyly, blushing as red as her hair as he took her hand to shake it.

“It looks like I’m out of luck on this one.” Mark’s brother shrugged. “I guess I’ll just have to ask if you have a friend, Summer?”

“Miss Summer!” The dragon that ran the English class slammed her wooden ruler on Summer’s desk so hard it made her jump and scatter her books.

“Ah, yes Miss Dragon...oh, I mean... ah, Mrs. Gunner.” Summer snapped to attention.” Oh, the poem I was supposed to be reading.” She fumbled as she leaned down to pick up her books. That daydream was just getting good, she mused as she looked under her desk, Her eyes met with Mark’s as he helped her pick up the book she had knocked off.

He winked and gave her a knowing smile.

“Don’t worry, I know she’s a Dragon too. So do want to go out on date with me this Friday night?” he asked her as she took the book out of his hands. How could she resist that smile he was giving her? She just wanted to run her fingers over those tight chest muscles she could see outlined by his tight fitting T-shirt. She wondered if she could hold on until Friday...

“Sure.” was all she managed to say as the teacher rapped her ruler on the desk again. “Summer, you and Mark are on detention today after school.” She ordered like a drill sergeant on a power trip.

Summer finally sat up and brushed back some of the red curls that had fallen over her face. She went to smile at Mark but he was gone. She sighed. Maybe he really was just a daydream.

Summer sat at her desk in her English class trying to shake the cobwebs out of her mind. He had to be real! After all, she had caught up with him in the hallway hadn’t she?

And he had asked her out on Friday night! But then it could be just her mind playing tricks on her…

“Mark.” She muttered out loud as she looked down at the poem she was supposed to be reading.

“Mark Anderson! I don’t know why he had to run out like he did. But it is inexcusable!” She heard Mrs. Gunner whisper to another teacher as she stood at the door.

“But that rude boy and that other kid Jason with the bad temper were expelled for skipping too many classes at their last school.” the other teacher gossiped. “We’ll talk about their lack of attendance further in the staff room.”

Summer’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of Mark’s name, so he was real after all and not a daydream! So he might be meeting her for lunch after this class in the cafeteria after all! She felt like singing and dancing. She couldn’t wait until Friday night, either.

But when she flicked back through her book she noticed a piece of paper had been slipped inside it next to a love poem. It was a note from Mark.

Summer,

I’m sorry I have to miss lunch today. Something urgent came up. But I am really looking forward to seeing you on Friday.

Mark

Summer clutched the note to her chest, swooning at the thought of Mark ‘looking forward’ to their date. Even the knowledge that he wouldn’t be there for lunch was not enough to dampen her spirits.

“Summer!” shouted the teacher. “That’s it! You have two hours of detention this afternoon!”

Summer didn’t care. She had Mark’s note to keep her company.