“Well, you would be the first.”
“Oh, lucky me. Do I win anything special for being the only girl repulsed by Declan Sanderson?”
“Depends on what you want?”
I wink.
I don’t mean to.
It’s a reflex. But I can tell by her reaction she’s far from happy with it.
“You’re the last person I want to spend my free time with, but unfortunately, it’s not up to me.”
Mr. Randsen’s voice cuts through the class, not allowing me to respond.
“Alright, everyone, it looks like you all found your partners.” He pauses. “Now get used to seeing their faces because you’ll see them a lot this year.”
Ember sighs, flipping through the packet, “Perfect.”
three
Ember
Declan Sanderson became the bane of my existence freshman year, and now he’s acting like nothing ever happened.
“Does he even remember?” I question, shifting the plate of fries closer to my side of the table. “Like, how’s that fair? Someone ruins your life, and they get to move on, but you can’t?”
When class was over, he grabbed his things and left. Like it was easy. Like us working together would beeasy.
“He addressed me by my first name; he knows who I am.”
“Babes, he plays hockey with Cam,” Maia replies. “And it was two years ago; maybe he did forget about it.”
“I mean, who does he think he is?” I ignore her comment, shoving a french-fry into my mouth. “He single-handedly ruined my life.”
“I think you’re over-exaggerating a little bit,” she says, stealing a fry off the plate.
“You weren’t there, Maia,” I pause, “it was humiliating. The worst night of my life.”
“I know all about humiliating nights, Em.”
Her eyes go dull, and I regret saying anything. Maia has been my best friend, my only friend really since she moved in down the street from Cam and me when we were eight. That day I did something I never thought I’d have the courage to do—
I knocked on her door.
When she answered the door with a smile, I knew she would be my best friend. But just like any friendship that involves a brother, Maia quickly fell for mine.
“Alright, now tell me about the rest of your day.” She shakes away the thought of my brother and changes the subject.
“Cam practically followed me between every class, so that was fun.”
“Sounds about right. If we’re gonna start hanging out on campus, you’ll have to get him to lengthen the leash.”
“Or you could just tell him you transferred here.”
“So I can walk around campus with him between classes? That soundsthrilling.”
By the tone of her voice, I can tell that it sounds anything but thrilling.
