Riya pressed a palm to her forehead, her skin fever-warm.
This was bad. She still had a million other things to deal with—her VP duties, her Caltech essay, her entirefuture—and now she hadthishanging over her.
And if Kian ever found out what she’d done, he’d be right to be angry.Furious.
Unless...
Maybe it was better if Kian never knew. That was the easiest solution, wasn’t it?
Yes. If Mel was any indication, crushes—maybe even spell-induced ones—weren’t exactlylife ruining. They were simply a nuisance. Like a persistent rash that eventually went away if you just ignored it long enough.
And if worse came to worst, she could just wait it out for a month, until the next full moon—until the spell faded on its own.
She told herself it wasn’t about fear. It was—it was about strategy,efficiency.
Riya swallowed. Yes, for now, she’d simply... wait.
And in the meantime, she’d take the long way around school to make sure they never crossed paths, find new routes between classes. If he tried to talk to her, she could hide out in the office, in another classroom. And if he got too persistent?
She could always run, just like today. That, she could happily do. Spell or no spell.
“Anyway,” said Mel, breaking Riya from her thoughts, “I’m glad Kian’s seemingly pulled a one-eighty. At the very least, it means he has good taste.”
But Riya wasn’t listening. “I should buy a taser, just in case,” she muttered.
Mel gasped. “RiRi,no!”
Chapter 8
Riya had a plan.
Agoodplan. Afoolproofplan.
Step one: Arrive early(before Kian could find her).
Step two: Take the long way around school, avoiding all known student hotspots.
Step three: If all else fails, deploy emergency earbuds and make a break for first period(her teachers would be only too happy to chase out a student who didn’t belong).
It should have worked.
Itwouldhave worked.
If she hadn’t made one fatal mistake: She went to her locker.
She realized it the moment she turned the corner and saw him: Kian Kho, leaning against her locker like hebelongedthere.
Riya stopped short. A sharp prickle of irritation cut through her exhaustion.
She should have seen this coming. Kian had been, after all, practicallyhexedinto becoming a persistent lovesick puppy.
The logical response was to turn around, walk the other way.
Except her AP Calculus textbook was in there.
Grinding her teeth, Riya approached. Kian’s face lit up the moment he saw her.
“Morning, Riya!” he beamed. “Damn, what did I do to deserve seeing you first thing?”
