Connections of the Mind by Roseanne Dowell Page B

through his hair. “Eleven weeks. That’s all. And you keep in touch. First I want to check out this school. I don’t know anything about it.”
    Rebecca knew Lester caught the conspiratorial smile from her friend. Brats, that’s what Lester would call them. He put his hand on Allison’s. “I should have known you’d side with her. Why I thought bringing you would make a difference is beyond me.”
    Rebecca cringed, but Allison laughed, and Lester smiled when he said it. Definitely something going on with those two.
    “Besides, I never even heard of that college before.” He threw his napkin on the table and looked at both of them.
    Allison coughed, and Rebecca caught the smile she tried to hide behind her napkin. “Actually, I checked it out on the Internet before we came. It has quite a good reputation.”
    “Oh you did, did you?” Lester leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Something tells me I’m fighting a losing battle here. How could I have forgotten how you two stick together?” He winked at Allison.
    Rebecca laughed. So big brother was willing to admit defeat. Would wonders never cease?
    “I still want to check it out,” Lester said.
    Rebecca leaned back and watched her friend and brother. If Lester didn’t make a move on Allie soon, she was going to have to intervene. Good grief, did the guy need a brick to fall on him to see how Allie felt? He obviously felt the same way, so what the heck was his problem.
    “Okay, so we’ll check it out. I haven’t registered yet anyway. Since its Saturday, I doubt if we can talk to anyone..”
    Rebecca stood up after the waiter brought their change. “Come on, we can start now.”
    She led the way out of the restaurant and to the parking lot. “We may as well take my car, since I’m familiar with the area.” She wished Jeremy were here. Then one of them didn’t have to sit in the back seat alone.
    Rebecca drove to the campus and parked. “That’s the community center.” Rebecca pointed it out as they walked around.
    “Hey, Miss Brennan, what are you doing here?”
    “Hi, Alex, showing my brother and friend around. You?”
    “I’m thinking of registering for class. Thought I’d check things out.”
    “Great. What are you taking?”
    “Not sure yet. I thought about Forest Ranger.” Alex glanced at her brother.
    “I’m sorry, Alex, this is my brother, Lester, and my friend, Allison Heath. I met Alex at the pizza shop,” Rebecca said.
    Alex looked at his watch. “Sorry, I have to run. I was lucky to arrange an appointment with one of the counselors today. They only do Saturdays by special request.”
    Lester shook hands with Alex. “Nice to meet you.”
    “Thanks, you too.” Alex dropped Lester’s hand and hurried off.
    “You sure get around.” Lester said. “So you’ve already met some of the locals.”
    “A few. It’s a friendly town.” She led the way into the student activity center. “I’m afraid other than this, we’re not going to see much today. I didn’t know you could make appointments on Saturdays.”
    “Listen, you’ve already made up your mind, and it’s obvious I’m not going to change it. How about we go someplace else?” Lester rubbed the back of his neck.
    Rebecca laughed. “Okay, but I’m going to warn you, there’s not much to see and not many places to go around here. It’s really a small town.”
    “How about a hike?” Allison said. “When I checked the Internet, there’s a lot of hiking trails around here. Even cabins up in the hills. Lake Morris, I think it’s called.”
    “Yeah, Lake Morris State Park. Suits me fine, but I don’t know how much hiking I can do with this boot.” Rebecca looked down at her foot. “Maybe you two should go it alone. We’ll stop and get directions.”
    Allison looked at Lester. “Want to?”
    “Sure, but I’m not exactly dressed for hiking.”
    Rebecca shook her head. As usual Lester wore casual dress slacks and loafers. She couldn’t remember the last