Out in the corridor, Xander pressed the phone to his ear, hoping Chloe would answer the call. "C’mon, c’mon, pick up."
"Hello?"
"Chloe," Xander exclaimed, full of the joys of spring. "I’ve tried calling you like a hundred times this morning already."
There was the most deafening pause as Xander waited for a reply.
"Who is this?"
"What?" Xander felt a lump jab in the middle of his throat. All the romantic dreams of him calling and her acting overexcited were dashed in an instant. "It’s me. Xander Manning?"
Her flat-out inability to recall his distinctive voice caused him some discomfort. "Chloe?"
"Yeah, uh," she said, distracted, and hushed her voice. "Xander, yes, of course—"
"—Yeah, how are you?" He thought that if he feigned enough delight he’d start to believe his own bullshit a
