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“True. I guess I don’t. You sure seem to think you have me pegged though.”
It was a statement, not a question. And he was right. “I know exactly who you are.”
“And who is that?” he asked, his tone hard as steel.
“You’re Topher Elliot, King Royal. You walk on water, and everyone bows at your feet.”
“King Royal?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, don’t act like you don’t know what everyone calls you guys.”
He exhaled and stared down at his textbook with a frown. For a moment, he looked almost bothered by it. But that was impossible. Boys like Topher didn’t care what girls like me thought of them.
“I mean, I’ve heard the royal thing, but . . . Anyway, it’s not like I wanna be called that.”
“Okay,” I said, when what I really meant wasYou expect me to believe that?
“So that’s it, then, huh? One label and you’ve got me all figured out?”
His throat bobbed, and he almost sounded . . . angry or upset. Which was weird.
When I said nothing, he straightened in his chair and glanced down at his book. “Whatever. Let’s just get on with this.”
Finally, something we could agree on.
TOPHER
I raked a hand through my hair as I helplessly watched Penelope pack up her things, knowing I screwed up once again. When I found out she was to be my tutor, it came as a shock. Like being hit with a bucket of ice water. But I quickly warmed to the idea.
Maybe I could make amends for causing her so much grief in the past. Maybe somehow, someway, we could be . . . friends. I could show her I wasn’t the jerk she thought I was.
Truth be told, when I strode up to her table, the nerves in my stomach squeezed so hard I thought I might be sick. So what was meant to be an apology wound up making her hate me even more. Go figure.
As it turned out, after all this time, flicking the switch on my Royal persona at school wasn’t so easy.
And anyway, what was I supposed to say? I apologized, and everything I said was true. I did kind of like it when she stared at me.
Okay, I more than liked it. My entire body burned from the heat of her gaze. It still did. As pathetic as it was, her eyes flickering hot over my skin was probably the highlight of my whole day, my week, the month.
So why did everything that came out of my mouth make me sound like more of a jerk?
With a sigh, I shoved my notebook back into my bookbag. It was clear she already had her mind made up about me, and I couldn’t blame her. I was one hundred percent responsible for her negative opinion of me, and if I wanted to change it, I had a long road ahead.
But honestly, right now, I had enough on my plate without worrying about pissing her off.
I waited until she left, guessing she didn’t want to hold hands on our way out of the library singing Kumbaya.
Making my way to my locker, I entered the combination, then popped open the door and chucked my bookbag inside before I grabbed my gym bag and cell phone from the top shelf.
I leaned back against the cool, hard metal, having a few minutes before I needed to be in the locker room to change for practice when I checked my notifications.
Frowning, I noticed a text from a number I didn’t recognize, and I opened it up, quickly reading the words clearly meant to sting. Or maybe they were a joke. I wasn’t sure. Regardless, I chuckled as I read.
Not exactly a secret admirer.
My mind drifted back to Penelope. This made two people who expressed their hatred for me today. And just like Ewe, this person clearly thought they knew me, when, in reality, all they saw was the social construct. The king. This perfect boy who always said the right thing, wore the right clothes. The captain of the water polo team. Mr. Popular.
But that was all a façade, and I wanted to be more than that. Was that so wrong?
