Chapter One
Raven
I have no idea how I’m going to survive the next year and a half of high school.
My principal called for an assembly this morning to inform us of the mostamazingnews to have ever reached the halls of Harrington Bay Academy, my school that is located in upstate New York. Four new students from Everheart Academy for Boys have now joined our wonderful family.
You see, because the boys’ school burned down, Principal Harrington has opened her heart and graciously accepted four of them. I would normally be on board with this decision, but there’s just one teensy weensy problem. One of the guys and I havehistory.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” one of my best friends, Addie Hayes, asks as she slides into the desk across from me. She and my other best friends walked out of the auditorium before me, but I raced into business class faster than a cheetah because I didn’t want him to see me.
“Sure,” I mutter as I take out my school stuff. I’m just peachy.
Addie leans forward to whisper, “Are you trying to avoid Camp Lover Boy?”
“Will you stop calling him that?” I groan.
“Sure, when you tell me what his real name is,” she says with an innocent grin, pushing her wavy, light brown hair over her shoulder.
I try not to groan again. My friends don’t exactly know what went down with the guy and me during our summer together at camp before tenth grade. And I hope to keep it that way. Because that time in my life? It meansnothingto me.
Addie pokes her finger into my shoulder as her brown eyes light up. “Come on, Raven. The guy is super cute. He needs a sexy name to match that handsome face.”
I give her a look.
“Don’t tell me you’re not happy to see him again! You guys had this epic romance at summer camp—”
“Epic romance? Addie, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Except, she’s not exactly wrong. What I experienced with him that summer…
No, I refuse to think about it. Ever.
She scowls at me. “Fine, I get that you don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to push. But he goes to our school now and you can’t exactly pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“Oh, just watch me,” I mumble, but Addie doesn’t hear it because Mrs. Powell has just walked in.
For the entire lesson, I try to concentrate on class, but it’s impossible. Before I know what my hand is doing, I rip a page out of my notebook and start a list of possible ways to avoidhim. I see in the corner of my eye Addie glancing at me with a raised brow.
When I’m done with my list, I realize the only way to truly avoid him would be for me to transfer schools, since our school isn’t that big, we all eat lunch at the same time, and every student here boards. Considering I attend this super prestigious school on scholarship, transferring isn’t exactly an option. As if I’d throw away an amazing opportunity because of a guy. Here’s hoping I don’t share a single class with him.
Crumpling the paper into a ball, I stash it in my backpack and focus on the lesson. In a flash, Addie snatches my backpack and digs inside.
“Hey!” I hiss at her.
She ignores me and continues rummaging inside until she finds the crumpled paper.
“That’s stealing, you know,” I hiss again.
“It’s forgiven in the name of love,” she hisses back.
It takes everything I have not to wring her neck. I get that she wants me to have a boyfriend because she and our other two best friends, Carly Simmons and Sophie Reed, have awesome boyfriends and are super happy. And truthfully, I want to have that as well. But my friends need to let go of this ridiculous idea thatheand I…that there could ever be anything between us again.
“Youaretrying to avoid him,” she whispers as she studies the list.
“Give it back to me, Addilyn Hayes, or so help me—”
“Is there a problem, ladies?” Mrs. Powell calls.
