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tully
Statistics was a pain in her ass. Study, study, study and it never stuck. She’d never struggled with a subject the way she struggled with statistics, and it came at possibly the worst time. She had so much going on right now, between college applications, and this whole fake relationship and Nathan.
She was stuck enough to admit she needed help.
A little guidance from her teacher would set her back on the right track, she was sure of it.
The door to Mrs. Carmichael’s classroom was closed when she arrived, but she knew she was expected. She’d asked her to meet for a couple minutes after school so she could go over a couple things that were stumping her. She knocked and waited until she heard “come on in”.
When she entered she was surprised to see they were not alone. Tully’s polite smile reserved for her teacher faltered when she saw Joliet standing in front of the desk.
“Let me know if you have any more questions, Joliet.” Mrs Carmichael said, and patted Joliet’s hand.
“Thank you, Mrs. Carmichael. This was very helpful.” She put some papers into her bag and stood up.
Mrs. Carmichael looked up then and saw it was Tully who knocked. She waved for her to enter. “Tulsa, please come in. You sisters must be in sync.”
Joliet laughed, but Tully was frowning with her brows drawn together and focused on her sister.
This was . . . weird.
It was possible for Joliet to have the same teacher even though she wasn’t in statistics. Mrs. Carmichael taught both Statistics and a lower calculus course, so it made sense that Joliet could have her as a teacher too. But that wasn’t what threw her off;thatwas the fact that Joliet willingly came to get help for a class that she most likely didn’t even care about. Tully might not know a thing about what Joliet did most days, but this was not like her.
Joliet started walking to exit the classroom, right towards where Tully stood by the doorway. As soon as Mrs. Carmichael couldn’t see her face, her smile shifted. It wasn’t nice or amused or even polite, it darkened into something more familiar. Cunning and knowing and sly. Tully’s blood ran cold.
Something wasn’t right.
Tully stood still next to the door and watched Joliet carefully as she approached until she paused right next to her. Her mischievous look morphed for a split second into the kind she reserved for everyone else—sweet and innocent. “You have a test tomorrow?”
The question caught Tully off guard. Joliet didn’t care about what she did in class. “Yeah.” Her answer was hesitant and unsure.
“Good luck.” Joliet winked, and then she was gone. Tully stood there trying to figure out what that meant. She watched Joliet walk out and the door close behind her.
“Come in, sit down.” Mrs. Carmichael was oblivious to what happened. She motioned to the empty chair in front of the desk.
Tully nodded, but her mind was elsewhere; it stayed focused on the uneasy weight building in her chest.
* * *
“What’s wrong?” Nathan asked.
Tully looked up to see him staring at her through a space left by three missing books. He furrowed his brows in concern. She shook her head and blocked his vision with a book. “Nothing’s wrong.”
He found another blank spot. “I can tell you’re distracted, you know.”
Tully moved again. “I’m just worried about my exam tomorrow.” It was half the truth. She just knew Joliet was up to something, but it was impossible to tell what if nothing happened. The anxiety was similar to the build-up to an exam. Combine them both and it’s a recipe for mix-ups—like putting two books in the wrong spots.
“Is that normal for you?” Nathan asked. Tully spotted her mistake and switched them into their correct places. “You’re the last person I would expect to be nervous for an exam.”
“Even us valedictorians struggle with some subjects.” Was he even stocking the books? It seemed like he was following her as she slowly made her way down the aisle. Every time there was an empty space, he showed up in it to catch her. She tried her best to keep her face straight, but he mustn’t have been convinced.
“You’re going to do fine.”
“That’s easy to say when it’s not you.” She found a safe spot packed full of books and closed her eyes to collect her thoughts away from his stare. “I’m fine.”
There was a scratch of books being pushed aside and she opened her eyes to see that her safe spot was corrupted by Nathan, who had pushed his hand through so he could make room to see her. “You want to know something?”
She sighed and shook her head. “Not really.”
