Excerpt: Whitewashed

“Maybe all that gossip is getting to him?”
“I have no idea…” Shelley looked around the room to make sure no one was taking anything out of the conversation. She noticed, in her survey of the room, a new boy in her homeroom. He looked like a threat to Paul’s monopoly on Elkmeadow’s female population in terms of sheer attraction. He was Asian, evidently, which would probably be his biggest issue with attracting Elkmeadow girls. He wore his hair very short, but had a very sweet looking, almost feminine face. He was sitting alone.
“Who is that?” Shelley whispered to Grace.
“Oh, that guy? I think his name is Hwansung Lee. He’s been living here for a few years, but he’s always been in the special ESL homeroom. They must have realized at the beginning of the year that he would be better off with the rest of us.” Grace gave a snort and looked very annoyed.
“Do you know him at all?”
“Barely. He was in my math class last year. He always seemed really stuck up.”
“He’s gorgeous…in a completely objective way, of course.” She gave Grace a grin.
“Haha, good luck with that. Even you weren’t…you know…I’ve heard that he isn’t too into girls either. Everyone always sees him with this one other guy, that doesn’t go to Elkmeadow, and they literally could probably not be separated if you tried. Everyone thinks they are either brothers or that this is a wonderful bromance. He also seems like the type that wouldn’t go for the girls at this school anyways.”
“Well, to be fair, I am not much into many of the girls at this school either. Most of them are boring, preppy, or just ridiculous.”