“Thank you, Jackie,” Mr. Piper said, rubbing his hands together. “Moving on. Please take out your books. Today we’re going to start working on our skeletal unit.”
“Not much of public speaker, huh?” Alex whispered. A lazy grin covered his face, and for a moment I was taken aback at how similar he looked to Cole. They had the same strong jawline, the same sun-kissed skin, and the same blue eyes surrounded by thick lashes that any girl would kill for. But as I studied his face, subtle differences started to emerge: a nearly invisible sprinkle of freckles dotted his nose, and his eyes were a slightly darker shade of blue with flecks of gold that I noticed only because we were sitting so close.
When I realized that I was staring, I shook my head and looked away. “No, not at all.”
“Me neither,” Alex told me. “Just thinking about it makes me itch.” He pushed his textbook into the middle of the table. “You don’t have a book yet, right? We can share.” I smiled to myself. It seemed that I made another friend in the Walter house.
Mr. Piper dove into his lecture, and I focused my attention up front. It was then that I noticed the blonde from before. She was sitting across the room, glaring daggers in my direction.
***
Once anatomy was over, I had art. I got lost finding the room, and when I showed up late, the class had already started working on their project. Mrs. Hanks, the art teacher, was a short lady with red glasses and copper hair that curled in every direction. She told me the class was finishing up a project and would be starting something new tomorrow, so I could take a free period.
Glancing around the room, I failed to spot the bright blond of any of the Walter boys, so I found an empty table near the back. As I sat down, a girl with red hair smiled at me before returning to her project. Maybe the people here won’t be so bad, I thought to myself and pulled out The Lord of the Rings. Alex had lent it to me when our class finished, and I told him I would read it on the condition that he brush up on his Shakespeare. The thick book was daunting, but after only a few pages I was so absorbed that I jumped in my seat when the bell rang signaling the end of class.
The rest of the morning flew by until I only had one period left before lunch. When I walked into the math room, I noticed that many of the students looked older than me. My private school education put me ahead of most of the public school kids, so I was enrolled in advanced calculus, which was a senior class.
About ten minutes into class, Cole came strolling in with a grin on his face.
“Hey, teach, sorry I’m late,” he said like it was no big problem. Then he spotted me. “Hey, Jackie! I didn’t know you were in any of my classes!”
Everyone turned to look at me. Glancing down, I kept my eyes on my notes and hid behind a curtain of hair.
“Mr. Walter! Will you please take a seat and stop interrupting my class?” the teacher asked.
Cole saluted him before taking the only seat left, right in the front row.
When we were finally dismissed, I began packing up my stuff. I was shoving my new textbook into my bag when Cole came up and sat right on top of my desk.
“’Sup, Jackie?” he asked, grabbing one of my notebooks and flipping through it. “Whoa, you actually use this thing?” he asked when he spotted the notes I took.
“Um, yes, that’s what it’s for,” I responded with a duh tone.
“Who takes notes these days?” he questioned. I took my notebook from him, tucked it away, and zipped up my satchel.
“Me.” I threw my bag over my shoulder and headed toward the door.
“Yeah,” he pestered, following me out of the room, “losers like you.”
“I am not a loser,” I opposed, stopping to frown up at him.
“Are too,” he teased.
“Am not,” I argued, starting to get angry. “There’s a big difference between being a loser and a good student.” I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t stand his teasing. Maybe it was because I was still upset about what Nathan had said about him this morning.
“Relax, Jackie. I’m just joking,” Cole told me.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, still frowning.
“You get really red when you’re angry,” he said and poked my cheek.
“Where’s the lunchroom?” I snapped and brushed his hand away. I was fed up with Cole.
He laughed and pulled me to his side. “Chill out, Jackie.” I inhaled sharply as his hand touched my bare arm. Cole continued to talk as if he didn’t notice. “I’ll walk you down there and even show you the best table to sit at.”
Since I didn’t know where I was going, my only choice was to let him lead me toward the cafeteria. I planned on ditching Cole when we arrived, but as we stepped into the loud room, I felt my stomach drop. There were so many people, and I knew nobody. The thought of sitting by myself was terrifying, so I followed him without complaining. He pulled me through the crowds toward the front of the lunch line, and as we went, I could feel the stares of curious students. Instead of looking back, I kept my gaze glued to the back of Cole’s head.