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“Thank you,” I whisper, and his lip twitches.
“I have a team assignment for you this term,” she continues. “Which will account for thirty percent of your grade. The assignment will be a short story of at least ten thousand words which you have six weeks to complete.” Groans rumble around the room, and she pins the class with a stern look, silencing the complaining, “I’m going to put you into pairs, and I want this to be told in dual point of view from the two main characters. You can write about anything you want, but I want a clean read if you choose romance as your genre. I have already assigned everyone their partners.”
She grabs the class list and calls out who each student will be paired with. She pauses for a moment, clearing her throat, then looks briefly at Mason. “Mason Reynolds and Ava Richards.”
I glance at Mason, who is watching me with his lips pressed into a tight line and a stoic expression on his face. He is hard to read, and if it wasn’t for that hint of warmth, I see staring back at me, I would have assumed he was disappointed with this partnership.
After Miss Brennan outlines the rest of the requirements for the assignment, she moves on to the next topic of the day. I catch glimpses of Mason watching me in my peripheral vision several times throughout the class, but each time I look at him, he either faces the front or focuses on his work. The lesson seems to drag, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to focus—my thoughts constantly drifting to Logan and how angry I am with him.
When it’s finally finished, I pack away my books and head into the hall. “Ava,” Mason calls from behind me, and I turn around, looking up at him. He is a lot taller than me, the top of my head only just reaching his chin.
“Hey,” I reply casually. “So, you and me, huh?”
His pale cheeks flush with a slight tinge of pink. “You and me?” he asks, and a smile tugs at my lips at the sight of him blushing. The ever-present seriousness that has been a permanent fixture on his face for as long as I can remember is his signature look. It’s nice to see there is blood pumping in those veins.
“Yeah,” I reply, arching my brow. “The assignment?”
“Yes… uh… the assignment,” he stutters, rubbing the back of his neck. “So… uh, how would you like to do this?”
“Well, we should probably exchange numbers so that we can organize to meet up?” I suggest, pulling out my phone. He pulls his out of his pocket, and as we exchange phone numbers, Lily approaches.
“Hi, Mason.” She flashes him a bright smile but as soon as her eyes land on me, they narrow with distaste. “Ava.”
I nod back, not the least bit surprised by her animosity.
She has been the target of my friends’ ruthless teasing since middle school. Her long frizzy brown hair—which looks like she stuck her finger into a light socket—is what earned her the nicknamePoodlethat Lyndsey so kindly bestowed upon her in the seventh grade. Unfortunately, the name stuck like glue, and with Lyndsey’s status as queen, the whole school followed suit. Especially Hadley, who thoroughly enjoys taunting her.
I’ve never called her Poodle even once, but I guess the fact that Lyndsey is my best friend makes me her nemesis regardless.
She turns her attention back to Mason. “So, I thought maybe we could ask Miss Brennan to swap partners?” she asks him hopefully, then gives me a contemptuous smile. “I hope that is okay with you, Ava. She has paired me up with Grant, but I think you both would make a better match. English is his strongest subject, which I’m sure you would find beneficial; besides, he would be more than happy to carry the majority of the workload.”
If she was trying to be subtle with that insinuation, she failed miserably. She basically just insulted my intelligence and called me lazy.
“That’s not necessary,” Mason tells her. “Miss Brennan is not going to make changes at this stage.”
“Well, I’m sure if we asked her, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem—”
“I have already spoken to her about it, and she told me her decision is final,” he interrupts abruptly.
My body goes rigid.
He already asked her to swap?
When did he do that?
And why would he want to change?
My GPA may not be as high as Lily’s, but surely my 4.3 proves that I pull my weight to get good grades. Feeling disappointed and annoyed that I’m considered a weak link as a partner, I turn on my heel.
“I’m going to class,” I mutter, then march down the hall.
Sitting down in my seat in calculus, I get out my books then sit back, rolling my shoulders to relieve the tension. I must have ‘Please Piss Me Off’written on my forehead today as everyone seems hell-bent on doing just that. First Logan, then Mason and Lily.
Who the hell do they think they are anyway? Just because I am a cheerleader doesn’t mean I don’t have a brain in this blonde head of mine. In fact, I’m kicking both their asses in calculus and have been top of the class all year.
When I got bored in my regular math class, my guidance counselor suggested taking AP Calculus. I was initially reluctant, knowing I wouldn’t have a single friend in this class, but passion overruled popularity in the end, and it has been one of my favorite subjects ever since. I must be completely out of my mind to love math, but for some reason, it has always come easy for me; it has always made sense. It takes my mind away from the world for a while. The only thing that matters is solving the problem in front of me.
Mason enters the room with Lily not far behind, and I avert my gaze to the front of the class. I feel his eyes on me as he makes his way over to his seat, but I refuse to meet his stare.
