“Don’t know, don’t care,” Carly says as she adds another dish to her plate, her red hair getting in her eyes. “As long as it ends up in my stomach, I’m good.”
“The guys are already at our table.” Addie nods to our table toward the back of the hall, where Caleb, Addie’s boyfriend, and Ryder, Carly’s boyfriend, sit.
Addie waves to Caleb and blows him a kiss. He waves back with his whole face shining. The two of them have been boyfriend and girlfriend for a few months now, but they act as though they just got together yesterday. It’s so cute. They appreciate each other a lot, and Caleb is a little protective of Addie because of the events that happened a few months ago. He was hired to be her bodyguard and protect her because her grandfather’s enemy wanted to hurt her. Thankfully, everything was okay in the end and Caleb gave up his bodyguarding to live a normal teen life.
Their relationship had so many awesome romance tropes. A bodyguard romance, enemies-to-lovers, grumpy sunshine, one room, and forced proximity. Contrary to what Raven says, lifeis full of romance tropes. Take Carly and Ryder’s relationship, too. If you would open a book of romance tropes, their names would be at the top spot in the enemies-to-lovers category. Carly literally hated Ryder’s guts because of something that happened in the past, and one would have never imagined the two of them ever getting together. But when two people are meant to be together? Bam! They fall madly in love and live happily ever after.
Yes, I do believe in fate and all of that. Still waiting for my special guy to grace me with his presence. I don’t think it’ll happen anytime soon, though. The boys here? Well, let’s just say I’d rather kiss an elephant. I’m usually okay with my singlehood, but sometimes I feel so lonely and jealous of my best friends. Of course I’m super happy for them, but it’s okay to feel jealous and happy at the same time, right?
When we approach our table, Ryder stands and pulls out Carly’s chair. ‘M’lady,” he says with a bow.
“Thank you, my kind sir.” She curtsies before looking to her right and left for teachers, and when she sees none are around, she slams her lips to his. He barely has a chance to react before she yanks away and slides into her seat. Ryder frowns like he was just robbed of a kiss.
We settle down at the table, with me pulling my novel out of my backpack and placing it on a clean area on the table. I can eat, talk with my friends, and read at the same time. It’s a superpower, one I perfected over the years. How else could I squeeze in all my reading? My TBR list is longer than the entire New York City subway system. And I keep adding more.
“So I have some news,” Addie announces. “My grandfather asked me if I wanted to attend a ball next weekend.”
I perk up. “A ball?”
“Don’t get excited, Soph. I doubt it’ll be fun. I mean, I’m sure there will be dancing and everything, but I’ll be surroundedby a bunch of stuck-up rich people who will analyze my every move to see if I’m qualified enough to take over my grandfather’s business. Because if they sense that I’m not? Hello, vultures.”
Caleb strokes her brown hair. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I’m sure your grandfather will understand. He’s a good man and he loves you very much.”
She puffs up her cheeks. “I’m so conflicted. Like, I want to please him because I know this stuff is important to him, but I still don’t feel like I belong in the rich world. I don’t think I ever will.”
I lean over to pat her hand. “But you can do such great things for the world! Remember you said you want to help middle and low-income people? You’ll change the world for the better, Addie!”
She’s about to say something, but I feel a presence behind me. All of us turn our heads at the same time and come face to face with Damian Harrington.
He has a serious look on his face, but it’s not as intense as yesterday’s. And I sense something hidden in his hazel eyes. A hint of…pain, maybe? Heartache? It’s so subtle that it’s hard to notice, but it’s definitely there.
He’s not dressed in his leather jacket or black jeans because our school has a uniform. Girls wear a white shirt with a short green and black plaid skirt and a matching green vest or blazer. The guys wear black pants, a white shirt, a green blazer, and a matching tie. While he looked pretty sexy in his previous getup, I have to say the guy looks mighty fine in the school uniform, too. His hair is still messy, though. Makes him stick with the whole “bad boy” look.
“Uh…hi,” I say.
He’s holding a tray overflowing with food. For a second, I wonder if he wants to sit with us. Maybe he doesn’t know anyone here other than me? But just when I’m about to offer, he locksintense eyes with me and says, “I’m sorry for knocking into you yesterday.”
My jaw drops so low it practically kisses the floor. “What?”
He shifts from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable with all the pairs of eyes focused on him. “Yesterday when I knocked into you. I shouldn’t have done it. I was upset about something that had nothing to do with you. I apologize.”
“O…oh!” I stammer, completely thrown into a whirlwind of shock. “That’s okay! I totally get it. It’s cool. No harm done.” I want to slap myself. Why am I rambling? I guess his presence is a little intimidating, even without the leather jacket.
He nods. “See you in class.”
He walks away and surveys the dining hall for a place to sit. I once again contemplate offering him to sit with us, but he finds an empty table and lowers his tray on it. He removes what looks like a sketchpad from his backpack, along with some pencils. It looks like he wants to disappear from the world as he runs his pencil along the paper.
“That was…weird,” I say.
“I can’t believe he actually apologized,” Carly says with excited green eyes. “Maybe he won’t be as bad as you think.”
“Yeah, first days are rough,” Raven says. “Maybe he just needs some time to adjust.”
“I’m kind of looking forward to tutoring him now,” I admit. “Last night, I thought I would be stuck in hell. But I love helping people and seeing their eyes light up when they finally understand the material. Harrington told me Damian might not be up to speed because his last school wasn’t as academically advanced as Harrington Bay Academy. I can’t wait until he knows the material just as well as I do.”
Addie pokes me in the ribs with her elbow. “And the fact that he’s a hot bad boy has nothing to do with it?”
I give her a face. “You know I’m not a fan of the bad boy trope.”
