Most chairs were taken when Landon glanced at the clock. “We’re one head short, but let’s get started on the introductions anyway.” With a clap of his hands, he came around to the front of his desk and sat on the corner, his shoulders slouching. He gestured to the right. “Let’s begin over here.”
Each student took turns to say their name and a few of their personal interests. When they were through, Landon went on to explain the class rules and go over their syllabus. He had just started to expound on the history of the Vikings, starting in Norway, when the door burst open.
The whole class turned to stare as a boy strode inside. He stopped and glanced around the room until his gaze landed on the empty seat next to Leila.
“Ahh.” Landon scanned the attendance list, his brow furrowed. “You must be… Harrison, Alexander. You realize class started twenty minutes ago?”
Xander shrugged. “Bus was late.”
Landon raised a skeptical eyebrow but waved toward the empty seat. “Try to be on time tomorrow. Maybe take an earlier bus?”
Unable to help herself, Leila’s gaze followed the newcomer as he made his way toward her and dropped into the chair. He threw his messenger bag on the floor, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his seat. Her nostrils were overwhelmed by the scent of his spicy timber-scented cologne. His dark brown hair was carefully combed back, his T-shirt well fitted to his athletic frame, and he even had a light shadow of stubble along his jaw.
Xander’s eyes shot in her direction. Before Leila could pretend she hadn’t been staring, he winked and grinned, showing off his perfect teeth. Even though blood rushed to her face, she managed a small smile back, careful not to reveal her braces.
Only he seemed to be staring beyond her. She glanced over her shoulder, and the pretty platinum-blonde girl next to her smiled and wiggled her fingers in a shy wave at Xander.
Hoping neither of them noticed her faux pas, Leila whipped her head back down to look at her notebook. If her ears would stop burning, that would be great. She scribbled a stanza from Beowulf, trying to show she had been paying attention to her father’s lecture.
• • •
As the weeks went by and the group shifted from the classroom into the field, they swiftly got to know each other, even forming their own cliques. Leila found herself spending most of her time with the other bookish kids. Together, they had been labeled the “Nerdics.”
Leila didn’t mind one bit. Their conversations usually covered fascinating topics such as the Nordic expansion and ninth-century Viking politics.
On the other hand, Xander was the life of the party. Even though he seemed to take archaeology seriously, he couldn’t do so without as many lame Viking jokes as possible. If she heard him say his arms were “Thor” one more time, she would slap him. Nevertheless, it was fun to hear him using words like “carriageway” or “loo.”
Weeks went by and the digging progressed slowly with careful, tedious work in the mud and rain. It wasn’t until the dig was nearing an end that they finally made their exciting discovery: a scattering of glass beads and a cracked wooden bowl.
When the objects were finally removed from their resting place and meticulously cleaned, they gathered around the table and admired it before it was packed up and sent to the campus labs for further analysis.
In the hope of some enthusiastic input from the others, Leila took it upon herself to read her notes aloud to the group. Surely they would be interested in hearing a summary of what facts they had gathered so far.
“The wooden bowl is precisely thirty centimeters across with a five-point-three centimeter long crack going down the side. An attempt was even made to repair the bowl, which is evidenced by the staples on the crack. The wood is probably birch and…” Leila glanced up from her notepad. Nobody was listening.
“We should all meet at the café,” one girl was saying.
Xander scowled. “You mad? We’re not a bunch of grannies, are we?”
“How about my house?” a red-headed boy piped up. “My parents are out of town. And we have a pool.”
“Brilliant.” Xander grinned. This plan garnered much more enthusiasm from the others.
“I’ll bring some drinks!”
“Is the water heated?”
“Mind if I bring a few friends?”
“Right,” Xander said loudly and clapped his hands together once. The group stopped chattering. “Ten this evening, then. Everybody be there!”
Leila shook her head, lips pursed. There was no way her dad would allow her to go. Not that she wanted to. She had reading to catch up on. She started to back away from the group, hoping no one would notice.
Before she could get too far, Xander called after her, “You too, love!”
Leila stopped and glanced down at her notebook, her cheeks burning. “Love” wasn’t necessarily an intimate term of endearment, as she heard it from the cashier in the supermarket or from waiters asking if she wanted another cup of tea. It still threw her off.
The group dispersed in various directions and Xander came over to her. He took the notepad from her hand. “You should come. Everyone else will be there. You do want to celebrate, don’t you?” He flipped through a few of the pages, only to find notes from the lectures. Nevertheless, Leila snatched it from his hands.
“It’s a school night. I can’t go, sorry. I’m sure you all will have fun.”
“Come on, are you always such a bore? Don’t you ever get out?”
“Of course I do. Just—”
“Just what? At least this once. You’ll regret not going.”
“No, I don’t think—”
“But I want you to come. I’ve got something to show you.”
Her mouth snapped shut. What did he mean by that?
A smile cracked across his face. He leaned forward and whispered, “It’s brilliant. Real artifacts. Celtic, Greek, Egyptian. Everything. But don’t tell anyone.”
Though she was intrigued, she remained speechless. He actually said he wanted her to come. And he wanted to show her real antiquities to boot. When she managed to meet his brown eyes, her heart began to run a marathon.
“I’ll be there,” she breathed.
