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It’s too bad for her really.
Because it’s only the first.
FIVE
“Istillcan’tbelievethat fine specimen of a man is your cousin.” Betty sighs, without taking her eyes off the stage where Bennett Matthews—my cousin and Eyam Green Academy’s head teacher—bangs on about how high an honour it is for us to be admitted into the university.
“Stop it, don’t be gross.”
“Come on, Fallon,” she whispers, finally flicking her gaze to mine. “You’ve got to admit that man won in the genetic lottery stakes.”
Shaking my head, I laugh lightly. “Well thanks, dude.”
Considering he comes from the same genetic pool that makes up half of who I am, I’m not sure if I should be offended at her statement or not.
“Stop it, you know you’re gorgeous. Most girls would kill for even half of your arse and tits, and don’t even get me started on that pretty face of yours.”
A shushing comes from the row behind us, and Betty turns her head with a scowl aimed at the girl doing it.
“Stop it,” I tell her, tugging her forward again. “You’ll get us in trouble.”
She pauses, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Is that even possible? Like can we actually get in trouble here?”
“You two? Probably not,” Noah pipes up, leaning over my shoulder. “But the rest of us, yes. So, shut it, the pair of you.”
Raising my brow, I stare at her before a giggle breaks free. Noah is probably right. Since my father owns a quarter of the place, I doubt there’s much I can do that would actually get me in any real trouble here.
“Oliver would bail you out too, Noah, don’t worry,” Betty says of her stepdad. While she isn’t an official heir, she became an honorary one when her mum married into the Richards family, meaning she at least gets most of the same privileges here as I do.
Noah’s situation is different.
He doesn’t come from a rich family and only got into our private secondary school because his mum worked as a cleaner and got him a discount on the tuition.
When he decided he wanted to come to university with us, he worked extremely hard to get in on a scholarship, and I begged my father to waive any fees, threatening I’d walk away from the family business if he didn’t.
Since I’m his only child, he relented quickly, and Noah got his admissions free of charge. It’s something I’ve never told him and don’t plan to. He was so proud the day he got his full ride; I don’t have the heart to tell him it’s because of me.
He would have gotten in on his own merit, but only five students are offered a scholarship a year, and even then, it’s only at half the price of tuition. There was no way his mum could swing that for him. It’s the least I could do after everything he’s done for me over the years.
A bell rings through the auditorium, signalling the end of the assembly. Bennett wraps up his speech and watches as students filter into the hallway, heading towards their first classes of the day. Pushing past the crowd of people making their way down the stairs, I hop onto the stage and nudge him with my shoulder.
“You don’t half waffle on, do you?” I joke, smiling widely when he wraps an arm over my shoulder and tugs me into his broad chest.
“Missed you, kiddo.”
I linger in his embrace for a moment, before pulling back. Betty and Noah stand at the foot of the stage, trying hard to pretend they aren’t being nosey right now.
“Missed you too. Though, you need a haircut,” I tell him, grabbing at a strand of dark hair that has fallen out of the bun at the back of his head. “Is this standard for head teachers?”
“Is having a head teacher at a university standard?” he retorts, raising a brow at me.
“Fuck no, but try telling that to the old fogies that run this place.”
He shakes his head at me, a slight flicker at his mouth. “Get out of here and go to class.”
Nudging my arm, he guides me towards the steps that will take me off the stage. “And behave.”
That bit he directs at both me and my friends before he spins on his heels and starts towards a door at the back of the room.
