Hunch

Jessamine got to school early to snatch a desk at the back. Not her preferred seating arrangement, but the boy named Micah would be her object of study for the next hour and not the lesson on Cosecant / Secant / Cotangent Functions Ms. Onoko promised the day before. Micah. The friendly one who everybody thought was cool, and who didn't belong to any group. Not an athlete or drama kid. He didn't pound the timpani or give the teachers shit. Jessamine didn't even know if he was any good at school, but he advanced to the next grade alongside her ever since kindergarten. A nice boy. But Jessamine had grown up some since she and Micah were five. She'd noticed little things. Like Micah hung out with girls more than boys. Like how nothing got past him. He'd comment on one girl's newly clipped bangs, someone else's espadrille wedges, or Gwendolyne's switch from Diet Coke to Jones Soda. Jessamine had to admit Micah's power of observation was as finely honed as hers. Maybe he was gay, but she and all the rest of the kids would have known that in kindergarten, even if they hadn't the vocabulary back then to articulate their suspicions with each other on the playground. They were practically adults now, hoping to pass their classes and move on to the next phase of life. Moving on. Having a life. Maybe the new girl had picked up on the same vibes Jessamine felt when Micah was near. Lightheaded and queasy, Jessamine closed her eyes and slowly inhaled as Micah entered the room.