A few people near their table turned around in their seats to stare at her curiously.

Sara shrugged at them as if what she'd said was no big deal. She spun her head back to the science fiction senior.

His eyes were on their table now. Although he looked skeptical, they HAD his attention.

"Nice work," Erin mumbled to Sara.

"No problem," Sara whispered back.

The lunchroom was loud.

Erin cupped her hands around her mouth. "Excuse me," she called to the guy.

He set his book down on the table. "What do you want? I'm not interested in contributing money to car washes or babysitting clubs," he said.

Erin gestured to him. "Come here. We have a question for you."

His eyes literally popped out of his head. "Why can't you just ask me from here?" he said.

The guy had a point. He wasn't that far away from them.

"It's not a question I wish to broadcast to everyone here," Erin said.

Reluctantly, the guy got up from his seat and waddled awkwardly over to their table. He kept his book tucked protectively under his arm.

"What?" he asked. He seemed annoyed. But it was likely he was just really nervous.

Sara noticed his clothes, while designer brand, hung loosely on his thin body. His hair, surprisingly, was neatly cut and fell boyishly around his ears. If he hadn't been quite so nerdy, he could have been really cute.

"You're a guy. We have a guy question to ask you," Erin said. She made herself sound very professional and business-like.

"Okay?" the guy said.

"First, what's your name?" Sara asked. She took a sip from her soda can.

"Lewiston Oddsmore," he answered. He studied each of their faces as if expecting them to start making fun of him.

"Cool name," Erin said. "All right, Lewiston. Why is it that guys are super flirtatious and then mean the next day?"

The guy scowled. "That's your question?" he asked. He appeared really upset that he'd been brought into the conversation.

"We'll give you twenty bucks for the truth," Erin said, realizing the guy might walk away.

Lewiston stood up straighter. "Now we're talkin'," he said. He held out his hand.

Erin fished a twenty out of her purse and gave it to him.

He slipped the twenty into his book like a bookmark. "Generally speaking, most guys are A-holes. It's just the way it is. If a guy likes a girl, and he's brave enough to talk to her, he'll flirt like heck with her."

His eyes took on a faraway look. He seemed to be reminiscing old times. "If the guy suspects she likes him back, he'll usually do one of two things. He'll A, get closer to her and try to form a relationship. Or B, he'll FREAK OUT and immediately retreat into his man cave."

Sara lifted an eyebrow. "Man cave?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lewiston said. "A guy's man cave can be in his mind or an actual place, like his room. It's where he goes to feel safe and to 'think'." Lewiston really looked happy now. And he sure could talk when he was excited about something. "Before he comes back out of his man cave, the guy has to decide if taking the next step into relationship zone with the girl is what he really wants. If the girl tries to bug him while he's in his 'man cave' state of mind, he'll probably be cold, even rude to the girl. But it's only because he hasn't made up his mind yet. He's still undecided."

"The hot and cold phenomena," Pam said knowingly.

"How do you get a guy out of his man cave?" Sara asked timidly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

Lewiston sighed. "You can't do anything. The guy in question has to figure it out for himself. And to make matters worse, he can cycle back and forth from A to B constantly until he makes up his mind."

Sara dropped her eyes to her hands. She saw they were shaking.

"Finally," Lewiston said. "There's the dark side. He can push into C category."

"What's C?" Pam asked, her mouth full of salad.

Lewiston was quiet for a moment. "C is the worst. If he crosses over to C, he's determined the girl isn't interesting enough for him."

The bell sounded, indicating lunch was over.

"If you like the guy, wait for him to figure out what he wants," Lewiston said. "But don't wait too long. Waiting often leads to disappointment." He gave the girls a pained look as if what he'd said affected him personally. "Good luck," he said.

As he walked away, Sara's thoughts jumbled around inside her mind.

What would Bentley choose?