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anytime.” He gave me another big smile, then went to talk to one of the other archaeologists.
    I made a beeline for the low shrubs where I had last seen the beautiful black cat. I couldn’t go through the tangle of twigs and weedy branches as the cat had, so I circled around until I was on the other side of the line of bushes facing the jogging path. “Here, kitty, kitty,” I called. Then I hunched over and made kissing sounds as I walked along, scanning the bushes for a flash of green. My lips were still puckered when I ran right into someone’s legs.
    â€œShould I leave you and the bushes alone?” Jason said, giving me a curious smile.
    Well, that figures, I thought. I hadn’t seen him all day, so of course he’d catch me blowing kisses to a shrub.
    â€œUm, it’s not what it looks like, I swear. I . . . I thought I saw a cat,” I said, wishing I could vanish the way the cat had.
    â€œUh-huh, I believe you,” he responded, then shook his head and mouthed, No, I don’t.
    I chuckled. “Fine. You got me. My name is Ana Cetzal and I am in love with this plant.”
    â€œWell, the first step is admitting you have a problem.”
    I smirked at him, holding back a laugh. Why did he make me feel so giddy, even when he was making fun of me? “What are you doing here, anyway?” I asked. “Hiding out from your many admirers?”
    He blushed, which I hadn’t even known boys could do. “Actually, I was just jogging around the valley when I decided to come check out the Anasazi site. I hear they have a lot more of it uncovered now.”
    â€œI just came from there,” I said, pleased to find we had a common interest.
    â€œSo you’ve seen it,” he said. “How cool is it that they found it right here at Temple?”
    â€œVery cool,” I agreed. “But I was starting to think I was the only one who thought so. My class couldn’t even be bothered to stop texting and check it out.”
    â€œThat’s crazy,” Jason said. “Don’t think I’m a total geek but . . . after the site was discovered, my mom asked me to look up some facts about the Anasazi on the Internet, and now I’m kind of obsessed.”
    â€œWell, the first step is admitting you have a problem.” I smiled.
    â€œNo, seriously. They were awesome! Did you know that they migrated a bunch of times over hundreds of years, from here all the way down to Mexico, but all their settlements were along the exact same meridian, one hundred eight? They didn’t have compasses or anything, though. No one knows how they did it.”
    â€œReally? Is this school on that meridian?”
    Jason shrugged. “Beats me, but I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s like they were magic or something.”
    I laughed. “Come on. Magic? You don’t really believe in that, do you?”
    â€œHonestly? I don’t know,” he said, scratching the top of his head. “Archaeologists have found wood in their cliff cities that could have only come from trees that were at least fifty miles away. Nobody can figure out how they did that without cars. So you tell me.”
    â€œWell, they probably just . . . I mean, maybe they . . .” I trailed off. I had no idea. “Okay, fine. They were magic.”
    â€œWhat? You believe in magic?” Jason said. “What a freak.”
    I knew he was joking, but his words brought to mind what Lin had said to me the day before. “You’re not the only one who thinks I’m a freak. This girl Lin said the earthquake and yesterday’s thunderstorm were my fault since they arrived around the same time I did. She said maybe I was carrying around some ancient Aztec curse.”
    â€œLin Yang? Don’t pay any attention to her. She’s just jealous.”
    â€œOf me? Why?” I asked. “Her father is a diplomat and her mother is some