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“Fair point.” He chuckles, grabbing his number two pencil as he prepares for Ms. Mallory to hand out the tests. “Wait… what did you think I meant?”

I thought you were talking about the cruel text your evil stepsister sent me last night.

Thankfully, the words remain trapped inside my head where they should be. There’s no reason to tell Milo about the text. Mostly because I can’t prove it was Peyton who sent it in the first place. The last thing I need is Milo going all white knight and fighting my battles with his stepsister. From what he confided in me yesterday, his home life is sucky enough without me adding my drama to the mix.

I told you to stay away. You didn’t listen. Now live with the consequences. You brought all of this on yourself, bitch.

What could Peyton possibly mean by that? What’s her game? And more importantly, how the hell do I make it clear I have no interest in playing it?

“Max?” Milo places his hand over mine to get my attention.

I flinch away at the unexpected touch. Not because I mind him touching me. I don’t. I was just so lost in the mess inside my head that I didn’t see it coming.

The warmth in Milo’s eyes disappears instantly, and just as I open my mouth to apologize, the bell rings, announcing the start of class.

“Okay, class! I hope you all had a good weekend and studied. I’m not going easy on you with this test. Also remember that it’s worth half your grade this semester, so anyone who didn’t prepare beforehand—”

“You’re shit out of luck,” Dylan blurts out, earning a laugh from everyone in the room. Everyone except me, that is.

“Not exactly how I would’ve phrased it,” Ms. Mallory says with a smirk, “but close enough.” She reaches for the stack of test papers on her desk. “Now, you all know the drill. No phones of any kind on your desks. Pack them away, people. I only want to see a pencil in your hand and nothing else. And don’t forget to turn them off. If I hear so much as a peep, I’m confiscating them until the end of class.”

Not having to be told twice, I switch off my phone and drop it into my bag. Milo does the same before flashing me a reassuring smile. Thankfully, he no longer looks like a kicked puppy.

“Don’t be nervous, Max. You know this by heart. You’ll do amazing, okay?”

I nod, touched by his sweetness. Still, that damn text message from his stepsister refuses to leave me alone, preferring to live rent-free in my head.

I don’t care that I can’t prove it. I don’t care that the text came from an unknown number. I’d bet every red cent I own that Peyton is behind it. It has to be her. She’s the only one who warned me to stay away from Milo.

She must’ve seen him kiss my cheek last night and gone on the warpath, thinking a threatening text would throw me off before today’s exam. She knew we’d spent the whole afternoon studying, which means she knew exactly when to strike.

And the worst part is… it worked. I’m off. And I can’t afford to be. I need good grades if I’m ever going to earn a scholarship and get the hell out of this stupid town.

A scholarship.

There I go again, dreaming too big. But now that the thought has taken root, I can’t stop wondering if I could actually earn one.

If there’s a real chance I could leave Fairhope and become someone beyond the limits this town has set for me, I have to try. Right?

A test paper lands facedown on my desk, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Once everyone has a test, you can turn them over and begin,” Ms. Mallory announces as she makes her way down the next row.

I stare at the blank side of the paper, trying to get my head back where it needs to be.

A few seconds later, Ms. Mallory returns to her desk. “All right, class. You may begin.”

Papers flip over around me, and still my thoughts are a tangled mess. It takes every ounce of concentration I have to force them aside.

Okay… biology. Cells. Cell theory. Prokaryotes. Eukaryotes. Organelles. Mitosis. Photosynthesis. Respiration. One question at a time, Max.

Just as my study notes are starting to come back to me, the room suddenly erupts into a symphony of ringtones, all going off at once.

“Guys? What did I say? No phones!” Ms. Mallory snaps, clearly irritated that the majority of the class didn’t do as instructed. Still, no one seems to be paying her any attention. Instead, they’re all staring at their screens as if they were looking at the most interesting thing they’ve ever seen.

My blood turns to ice as heads begin to rise around the room, every gaze landing squarely on me.

“Hey, Max! I got a twenty-dollar bill right here with your name on it,” Dean Shepherd hollers with a laugh, high-fiving Troy Baker beside him.