"No, no, no. Fuck no. No, absolutely not, get away from me." Seth slammed his locker shut, snapped the lock closed, and turned away from Anthony. Anthony stepped quickly to catch up with him as Seth made his way through the halls toward History class.

"Come on. School wants to see you fight."

"I fought in Grand Island two weekends ago. They could have come out. You just want to make more money on bets."

"Damn straight I do. I don't want to have to be the one to tell people that Seth's pussying out this year. Again. It would absolutely break my heart to have to tell them such a courageous warrior simply couldn't hack it."

Seth glanced over at Anthony. The African-American kid had a way about, him, a charisma that was both warm and unsettling at the same time. He could usually convince anyone of anything, and Seth was certain he was going to wind up as CEO of some Fortune 500 company someday. Either that or push Dana White out of his seat as president of UFC in about a decade. Seth was just stubborn. "No."

"What if I give you a better cut that the rest of the fighters? Most make two hundred and fifty a night. I'll double that for you. What do those private lessons you give at your gym make anyway... twenty bucks an hour?"

"Thirty," said Seth.

They dodged around a group of loud and boisterous football players, dressed in their letterman jackets and talking at a level better described as a shout.

"Make it seven-fifty, then."

Seven hundred and fifty dollars did sound good. That was gas money for two months, maybe three. Seth sighed. "No. People get hurt at your fights, and it has nothing to do with the fact that its bare-knuckle. Your fighters don't know when to quit. I don't want to have to send someone to the hospital or- OOF!" Seth plowed into someone below his line of vision and the two tumbled to the floor. Seth's backpack full of books cushioned his fall somewhat. He blinked.

That girl from Madeline's birthday party lay on his chest, her arms over his shoulders to prop herself up. Her short raven hair just brushed his face. Seth glanced over at Anthony, who was grinning. "I'll leave you two to it." He walked off with his usual swagger.

Seth looked back to the girl, who stared at him with her dark brown eyes. He could have sworn they were a shade lighter the last time he saw her... He cleared his throat. "I'd appreciate if you'd let me up."

She smirked and moved off him. The two stood up almost in sync. Seth stared at her. "Have I earned your name now?"

She laughed. "No." She looped her thumbs through the straps of her backpack. "Gotta do more than just run into me."

Seth narrowed his eyebrows. "Usually the guy plays the mysterious bit."

"I enjoy moving to a new town and keeping people guessing."

"You move a lot?"

"A bit." She raised an eyebrow. Her lips were coated in a deep shade of crimson and it stood out brilliantly on her pale skin.

"Seriously, I can just follow you to your next class and find out."

"Probably not, I'm in track."

"You're short."

She stuck out her tongue. "Doesn't mean I can't run fast."

Seth looked at the clock on the wall nearby. "Tell you what. I make it to your classroom before you, you tell me your name."

She rolled her eyes. "You'll lose, but okay. It's classroom two forty-nine. Science lab."

"I know it."

"Then run," she said and took off like a bat out of hell. Seth took off after her. She was fast, way faster than he had anticipated. He'd thought his height would make it easy to outrun her, but each of her steps seemed to be more of a jump than a stride. She propelled herself forward. She hadn't been lying about track.

Seth's only saving grace against her hyper-efficient technique was his endurance from the martial arts, his lungs barely registering the exertion as he pushed himself to run fast. People were moving rapidly out of the way as they rounded a corner, the girl just in the lead. Seth couldn't believe it. She was actually faster than him. Room 249 stood at the end of the hallway.

"Hey, watch it!" Shouted some guy as Seth hurtled past him. He became aware of the fiery burn in his legs. Seth glanced at her again. She seemed to be well within her capacity. Seth reached down deep and applied every bit of strength he had into his sprint. He wasn't going to let the girl say 'you haven't earned my name' again.

Seth surged ahead, slapping the door as he ran past it, skidding to a halt and turning to face the girl, who had somehow stopped on a dime and now leaned casually against the wall. The only sign she had made an effort was that her pixie cut had been blown all out of place. She raised an eyebrow. "Damn. You should try out for girls track."

Seth gave her an aggravated half-frown. "Name. I squatted this morning."

She smiled. A genuine, cheerful smile. Nothing like the smirks she'd shot him every time he saw her. "My name is Nicole. I'll see you around, Seth."

"Yeah, see you."

Nicole disappeared into 249 and Seth bent over, putting his hands on his thighs. Running was not his sport. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. 9:58. It looked like he was running again.