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Walking through the hall after English class, Willow was half thinking about the history test she had that afternoon, and half thinking about what to try next to get into the mayor's files, when she heard a familiar voice call, "Hey!"

"Oz, hi!" It never got old, seeing him, knowing he was entirely hers.

He came into her outstretched arms, saying, "There's something about you that's causing me to hug you. It's like I have no will of my own."

She considered making a magic joke, but she was still a little nervous about that kind of thing in the hallways, after the whole Hansel and Gretel affair. Instead, she took his hand, running her fingers up and down his arm. "Where were you yesterday?"

"We got back late, sorta very."

"We? Who? Where?"

"The band. We had a gig in Monterey Sunday night."

"You did? How come I didn't know?" They stopped in front of the doors, and Oz drew her hand up to his chest, holding it gently in his. But even that couldn't quite keep Willow's heart from sinking. How far was it from having an away gig he didn't tell her about to forgetting to talk to her at all?

He blinked in surprise, an extreme reaction for him. "I thought you did."

"Maybe I would've liked to go."

"Didn't figure you for missing school."

It was the downward slide, all right. "You think I'm boring," she said unhappily.

"I'd call that a radical interpretation of the text." They were silent for a moment; Willow still felt unhappy about it, wishing he had wanted her to go. "We're playing tonight, at the Bronze," he offered.

She thought about the paper she had due, the time she'd lost while she worked on the mayor's files, the math problems and the chemistry. "I can't. I have too much homework."

"If you get done early?" He smiled at her before turning to head for his next class. He held on to her fingers until they slid from his grasp. It was a sweet gesture, but she still felt a little like an old shoe.

Willow wandered outside and across the quad, looking for a good place to sit down and study. Then she saw Percy West heading up the stairs, a basketball tucked under his arm, and she remembered that awkward meeting this morning in Principal Snyder's office about tutoring him. Little as she wanted to, it was her responsibility to get this started. She hurried after him, calling his name.

As she caught up to him, she said, "Hey, listen, I thought we could get together today at lunch and go over your Roosevelt paper. You know, what books you'll need and stuff?"

"What are you talkin' about?"

"Me tutoring you. You know, your history paper?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah. Snyder said you were gonna do it."

"He never said that!" He'd said 'tutor'. She was sitting right there when he said it.

Percy turned and looked at her for the first time. "What meeting were you at?"

It was easier not to argue, as it so often was. "I'll get the books you need, just meet me at lunch and—"

"No, no, no. I don't have any time at lunch, gotta hang out."

Willow stopped walking, stopped hurrying to keep up with him. "Well …"

Percy stopped, too, and turned around, leaning toward her with a sneer. "What, you got somethin' better to do? You just type it up, and put my name on it. Oh, and don't type too good. Dead giveaway." He turned and walked away without another word, leaving Willow standing there feeling somehow ashamed. Was it really so wrong to get good grades? Was it so wrong to be intelligent? Apparently it must be, if it led people to treat you like your time belonged to them, like they could just tell you what to do and you would do it. Was this what she had to look forward to, being ordered around while the guy who was supposed to care about her forgot to tell her about things?

She sank down on the edge of the fountain, fighting the urge to cry.