At six o'clock Tom was sitting on the stone steps outside the school entrance, waiting for Alex. He heard the doors open behind him and a moment later she was sitting next to him.
"You want to come over and hang out tonight?" She asked.
He looked at her, knowing he shouldn't, and said; "I don't know."
"Come on," she said. "We'll rent a video, pop some corn. I'll even let you pick the movie. Not the popcorn though, I must remain firm on the popcorn. I like salty, not sweet."
Tom laughed, and before he could stop himself he had said; "Okay, sounds great."
They walked together, first to the video store, then to the apartment block where Alex lived with her older sister.
"This is home," she said, as she turned the key in the lock.
The door opened into a kitchenette, with wooden cupboards hanging from it walls. A small breakfast bar with two stools tucked underneath; separated if from the living room, which was decorated in soft blues and pale greens. There was a couch and armchair pointed towards a portable television, and a window with a pot plant sitting on its sill. Three more doors, one on the north wall and two on the west, Tom guessed, led into bedrooms and a bathroom.
"It's nice," Tom said. He turned to watch her pull a bag of popcorn from one of the cupboards. "I'll make it," he said. "I'm an expert."
Alex laughed, then told him; "I'll ready our viewing area."
Tom watched her prance through to the living room, where she moved a cushion from one side of the sofa, to the other.
"It's ready!" She called out.
He laughed, turning on the hob and putting the popcorn onto heat. Ten minutes later, the smoke detector sounded, confirming that it was well and totally ruined. As Tom apologised repeated, Alex shuffled through the rest of the cupboards, searching for a snap replacement. They settled on a bag of potato chips and a half empty pot of salsa dip that she found in the fridge.
After the movie was over and the chips were all gone, they sat cross-legged on the floor, their backs to the sofa, talking about nothing in particular. Tom kept telling himself he would make an excuse and leave, just as soon as he could.
"Where's your sister tonight?" He asked.
"She works late most nights," Alex replied. "Gotta pay the rent."
"What about your parents?" Tom asked.
"They passed away. When I was little," she explained.
Tom was quiet for a moment, then he said; "My dad died too."
He regretted it the moment it left his lips. What was he thinking, disclosing personal information like that? He could end up blowing his whole cover!
"How?" Alex asked.
He knew he should make something up, but he just could not bring himself to lie to her. There had been enough of that already.
"He was a cop and he was killed on duty," he told her.
"Sorry," she said.
"Me too," he replied. "I can't imagine losing my mum too. You're so brave."
She let out a bitter laugh.
"What?" He said.
"Nobody's ever called me brave before," she said.
"Well you are," Tom replied. "You're wonderful."
He could not stop himself now, the words just spilled from his lips.
"You have so much going for you; you're beautiful and smart, and funny."
He saw her blush, and it was as if someone had shaken him from a dream. He was filled with a sudden urgently to get out of there. Glancing across at the clock on the VCR, he saw it was nearly three in the morning.
"Jeez, I better get going," he said, scrambling to his feet. "This was really fun though."
He pulled on his jacket.
"I guess I'll see you in school." Alex said.
"Yeah," Tom replied, giving a lop-sided grin.