Page 88 of Resurgent

Sore, exhausted, and lulled by the distant crackle of the bonfire beyond the tents, I’m asleep within minutes.

Morning comes with sore muscles, damp grass, and the unmistakable smell of campfire smoke clinging to everything I own. On the bright side, while everyone else is complaining about freezing their asses off when the temperature dropped last night, I was snug as a bug curled up against Mattey, who’s practically a human heater.

I’m sitting on a log outside the mess tent, nursing a cup of instant coffee while Hunter argues with Kael about something involving yesterday’s obstacle course. Matt lingers just behind Hunter, looking suspiciously interested in the argument, as though he’s ready to jump in the second he needs backup. That’s when Angela drops down beside me.

She’s one of the girls from our class. Pretty in that polished, effortless way that makes it obvious she’s never had to wonder whether she looks good. Her blonde hair is pulled into a perfect ponytail, which is impressive considering we all slept in tents last night and there isn't exactly a bathroom around here for touch-ups..

I glance at her questioningly. “Morning?”

“Good morning!” She smiles sweetly. “So…not to be too direct or anything, but we were wondering…who are you taking to the Track Gala?”

I nearly choke on my coffee and scold myself for not noticing her groupies standing mere feet away from us, hanging on our every word.

“No one.”

Her eyebrows lift.

“No one?”

“I’m going with my friends.”

“Does that mean Matt’s available?”

I follow her gaze back to my best friend...who’s now arguing with Kael, gesturing wildly with a piece of bacon like it's a weapon as Hunter nods along. What the fuck is going on?

A hoity voice clears beside me, drawing me back, and stopping me from what I’m sure would have been a very unattractive cackle had I watched them much longer.

“Yeah. I guess so. I don't think he's planning to go with anyone.”

Angela's smile widens.

“Oh?”

Something changes in her expression as she turns toward the two girls sitting behind her.

“Well, then. That's convenient.”

One of them giggles.

Angela lowers her voice, but not nearly enough to not have wanted me to hear. “He wouldn't dare turn me down. Now, I just need to tell him he was chosen.”

“Good luck!” I call as she walks away, pretending she never stepped off her pedestal to speak to me.

Staring into my coffee, I force myself to keep my composure and not to laugh before she’s out of earshot. We’ve known girls like her our entire lives, and I can say one thing for certain: Mattey would chew his own arm off before he ever walked into an event with a girl like her on it.

“Wow,” a voice comes from behind me.

I turn to find Theo standing there, both hands full with his coffee and food. His eyes flick toward Angela, then back to me, not even attempting to hide the amusement on his face.

“Morning, Scout.”

I smile despite myself. “Morning.”

“I brought you this,” he says, surprising me when he hands me one of the breakfast sandwiches.

“Thanks.”

He settles onto the log beside me, close enough that our shoulders nearly touch. “You know, you can ignore them.”