The bell for the next period rings. I bite my lip as my foot taps on the floor, worrying I’ll be late for class. The guy has barely been here for more than two hours and he’s going to get me detention.
A little voice in my head tells me I’m being ridiculous. I should just march past him with my head held high and pretend I have no idea who he is. That’ll show him how much he means to me. But I know I won’t actually have the guts to do it.
“Just leave already,” I grumble.
My face perks up when the guys slap each other goodbye and two of them enter the chem room while the other two make their way to another classroom. I spot my math teacher only a few feet away from her class. After making sureheis deep inside the chem room, I zoom to my classroom with my face tilted toward the floor, just in case he happens to look at the door when I rush past.
With my butt planted in my seat, I heave a sigh of relief. Crisis averted for now. I only hope the rest of my days will be just as successful.
Chapter Two
Kylen
Transferring to a new school is easier than I thought it would be. Maybe because I have my buddies by my side and we’re going through this together.
I’m sitting in chemistry class with my best friend Beckham across from me. He’s doodling in the corner of his notebook instead of jotting down notes or tapping on his laptop like the rest of the students. I frown. He’ll for sure ask me to help him with his homework tonight.
Not only is the guy my best bud, but he’s also my roommate. Which means I won’t be able to say no. We’ve been friends since first grade, so I’m used to him being lazy. But this is Harrington Bay Academy, one of the top schools in the country. He can’t skim by like he’s been doing for the past sixteen years.
The lesson goes by quickly, then the bell rings. Everyone shoots up from their desks and jets out of here like the place is infested with bugs.
Beck’s on his feet, passing his books from one hand to the other like he’s bored. “Why do you always have to be the last to leave, man?”
I shove my school stuff into my backpack. “Soon you’ll start calling me a nerd.” I swing my backpack over my shoulder and head for the exit of the classroom.
He follows me into the hallway. “Wouldn’t be the first time,” he teases.
“If I wasn’t good at school and didn’t help you, you’d still be in the third grade,” I say with a crooked smile.
He scowls, then rolls his brown eyes. “Whatever.”
He says something else, but I’m not listening to him because something—or someone—catches my eye. It’s a girl with blondehair and hazel eyes. A girl who used to mean the world to me. A girl who I thought was my dream girl, my happily ever after, dorky as that might sound.
I knew there was a high chance I’d see her here because she told me at camp a year and a half ago that she went to Harrington. And I was ready for it. Kind of. Seeing her only a few feet away from me makes me realize that I was wrong and amnotready for it.
After my school burned down last week, we basically got split into different schools around the country. I, along with my friends, were chosen to attend Harrington, and we don’t have to pay a cent in tuition.
“Kylen, are you even listening to me?” Beck demands.
When I don’t answer because my eyes and mind are on her and her alone, he bends forward to check what I’m looking at.
“Who is she?” he asks.
I finally snap back in. “It’s Raven.”
“Hmm?”
“You know…Raven.”
His eyebrows furrow for a second or two before they shoot so high they nearly disappear into his dark hairline. “Oh. Right. Her. From camp. The girl who broke your heart.”
“She didn’t break my heart.”
“You were miserable for like six months, dude. Wouldn’t touch video games, which is a total crime, by the way.”
Fine, maybe I was a mess the months after camp, but it wasn’t my fault. I shouldn’t have put all my heart and soul into our summer…whatever you want to call it. I mean, what was I even thinking? We lived miles away from each other. And anyway, I now know that Raven wasn’t into us as much as I was.
Beck slaps my chest. “You gonna say hi to her or what?”
