Taylor and I stayed quiet the rest of the way. I began to lose track of where we were. The hallways went on and on, never seeming to stop.

Suddenly, a blonde haired boy raced around the corner. He nearly ran into us, but thankfully put on the brakes just in time.

"Taylor!" he exclaimed, lurching forward and giving her a tight squeeze. She hugged him back, but from the expression she shot me over his shoulder, she did so unwillingly.

He broke away, grinning broadly. She broke away, smiling politely. I watched them break away, hiding a snicker.

"So what's up, Taylor? Why aren't you in class?" suddenly he noticed me, standing off to the side. His giant beaming face changed so dramatically into a sour, holier-than-thou grimace, that I almost wet my pants trying to hold in my laughter.

"Oh. Who's this?" he asked coldly, sizing me up. I realized with glee this dude did not take kindly to me being alone in the hallways with a certain girl named Taylor.

"This is Ryan," she said with a little sigh. She turned to me with pleading in her eyes. I could almost feel her trying to send me a telepathic plea that said, "get me away from this guy, now!" I mentally sent her a reassurance that I would try.

I offered my hand. "Nice to meet you," I said, trying to be friendly. He glared at the hand, not making any attempt to shake it. I shrugged, lowering it. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Chester." He replied shortly. He then turned to Taylor.

"So seriously though, how come you aren't in class right now? Don't you have Chemistry first period? You know, with me?" Sheesh, this guy was waaaay to obvious!

"I could ask you the same question Chester." Taylor replied bluntly.

"Oh... well, I was actually, er, looking for you. I forgot to do the homework and I was, ah, wondering if I could see yours." He finished lamely. In the background, I was grinning, anxious to see how this situation played out.

"Okay, but how come you couldn't copy it from the other twenty students who also share your first period?" Yes! Burn!

Chester was stumped. He opened his mouth and then closed it.

I decided to give the guy a break. I could tell Taylor wasn't interested, and that girl's bite was a whole lot worse than her bark.

"Heya, Chester- or can I call you Ches?" I intoned casually.

"My name is Chester." He said firmly, well aware I was mocking him.

"Right-o, Ches. So, you and Taylor are good pals, yeah?" Taylor shot me a murderous look as Chester nodded airily.

"Sure, you could say that. We've been friends forever, basically."

"Cool. I think it's great when siblings get along."

Taylor bristled beside me. Chester coughed in surprise.

"Wait a minute, what are you talking about?" Taylor exclaimed, flabbergasted. "we aren't in any way related, not even by marriage! The only relationship Chester and I share is as lab partners!" she still didn't seem to understand my ingenious plan for rescuing her from doofus Chester over there, who seemed to be making the connection even faster than she was.

"Did you seriously think... that she and I... are brother and sister?" Chester said in horror. "We don't even look alike!"

I put on my best surprised look, trying not to laugh at his stupidity.

"No! you two could be twins!" it was at this point that Taylor finally caught on. I saw the understanding dawn in her eyes, and she quickly put on an innocent face.

"Yeah, I guess that's kind of true," she said, playing along, "I mean, we're such close friends... Chester, you're like a brother to me!" and there it was. The nasty "brother" card that girls are so good at using. Just when you think you're finally gaining ground on the girl you like, she tells you you're as good to her as her brother. Yowch.

eeeeeeeeee

Chester left us then, and I knew he was burning up inside. As soon as he was out of earshot, Taylor and I began to crack up, clutching our sides and laughing so hard it hurt. We joked about it for some time, just standing in the hallway and laughing. For a while, everything was allright. I was laughing with a cute girl on the way to class. That's probably what every high school age boy wants to be doing as he's heading to Chemistry, or whatever.

Of course, my fun was not to last. An Asian girl with black curly hair interrupted our laughter, and began speaking urgently with Taylor.

"Mrs. Lou needs you right away Taylor!" she said frantically, grabbing her hand and trying to pull her away, "The antidote you and Chester were creating yesterday is starting to leak all over the tables, and the smell is horrific! But she can't figure out how to get rid of it since she doesn't know what's in it!" dismay crept across Taylor's face and she looked to me with horror in her eyes.

"Ryan, that unfinished antidote is lethal! I need to be in that classroom before something bad happens! Just... just stay here until I get back okay?" and without another word or a backwards glance, she sped down the hallways, black-haired girl in tow.

I watched her retreating figure with surprise. I didn't really mind the delay, but I worried she would forget about me, and I'd be stranded in a hallway of an unfamiliar school. 

It would be just my luck.