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Chapter One
Sophia
“Have you seen the new guy?” my friend Kelsey whispers beside me, as I slam my grey locker shut. The weight of my history textbook in my hands is heavy so I tuck it into my side to ease the load. My black perfectly shined shoes tap along the linoleum floor as we walk side by side down the hall.
“No, I just arrived,” I tell her. My fingers pull my slick ponytail over my shoulder so I can smooth the hair down. My mother ingrained in me from a young age how we were never to be seen in public with even one hair out of place. In my father'swords, we had a reputation to uphold and had to always look the part.
“He’s totally gorgeous, even you won’t be able to resist him,” she gushes. Her dramatic statement pulls an eye roll out of me.
“You know I have no interest or time for guys. My focus is on finishing school with the best scores then hightailing it out of here to a great college as far away as humanly possible from my parents,” I remind her. To say my parents are controlling is the understatement of the century. I can’t have friends or associate with someone without them passing an unwritten test by my parents. Kelsey’s parents are friends with mine, so we got lumped together from a young age. We get along well, and we share similar views about our parents which is a bonus. Why do all the rich parents around here have their noses stuck up in the air or other people’s arses?
“I wish we were in our last year of school. I don’t know how I'm going to survive two more years of this torment,” I whine, as we continue down the hallway to our class.
“Trust me Soph, this guy is delicious. Just the look of him will have you begging him for a chance?” she whispers.
“I don’t beg. Plus, how many times have I told you, I have no time for boys,” I grunt, as my feet stop in their tracks and turn to face her.
Her smile pulls up, reaching her eyes as she says, “Well he’s gonna have everyone else begging. Just you wait and see. They will be lining up around the block for a piece of him,” she says. I roll my eyes directly at her this time as I clutch her forearm and pull her towards our class. The moment we begin our trek down the hall, I stumble over nothing. Oh, not nothing, it’s the sight of the beautiful boy walking towards me. His fingers run through his raven-coloured hair pushing it back off his forehead. It’s longer on the top with the sides shorter andlooks sexy as hell but I won't admit it to anyone. The hallway quietens as he walks through it. A new student is always a big deal, but I feel this guy is a bigger deal than usual. This school is filled with the pretentious and rich offspring of the town’s elite and something about this boy feels like it doesn't fit in. Maybe it is the black leather jacket he's wearing combined with the confident strides he makes as if he owns the school. With his head held high, he pays no one any notice Everyone has halted, Kelsey and I included. We all have stopped to stare at the new kid.
I shake myself out of the fog and pull on Kelsey’s arm. The student body can be relentless, and they’ll cast you as an outsider for any little menial thing. His leather jacket alone will have everyone giving him a wide berth, if not, the vibe he gives off like he couldn’t care less about anyone here will do the job. Kelsey resists my pull, her wide ogling eyes stuck on him. Rolling my eyes for the third time today, I walk down the hall alone as everyone else is rooted to their spot.
The new boy ignores them all. He must notice it though, no one could be that oblivious, it’s as if time has frozen everyone except for him. My shoes sound louder as they click against the floor. The distance closes between us, his head faces forward, unfazed. I internally tell myself not to look at him when every fibre of my being is telling me to get a closer look to see if he’s as beautiful up close. I follow his lead and keep my eyes facing forward, fighting the urge to look at him.
As we pass each other, I see him glancing my way in my peripheral vision. My heart beats quicker as I walk past him, knowing he broke his trance to look at me. His own steps fade behind me and the chatter begins.
“Soph. Wait up,” Kelsey yells out from where I left her. With a squeal, my shiny shoes pivot back her way. I wait until she reaches me then turn back around as she falls into stepbeside me. “Didn't I tell you? He looks like a fallen angel from the heavens,” she sighs, between catching her breath.
“You’re exaggerating a bit, don’t you think?” I state, as we enter the classroom.
“You saw him. You can’t tell me he’s not drop dead gorgeous?” She slides into her chair, and I take the seat at the desk beside her.
“I admit he’s cute, but could you reign in the drooling?” I tease, which makes her roll her eyes at me this time.
“I’ll try but I make no promises,” she whispers, as the room fills with the other students. “What do you think his name is?” she asks, as she leans towards me.
“Don’t worry I’m sure with him being the talk of the school, you will know by next period,” I whisper in return, before I shuffle in my seat and straighten my spine as the teacher takes his place at the front of the class. For the next hour, the new boy is forgotten, and I focus on Ancient Rome.
∞∞∞
The rush to exit the class when the bell rings is chaotic. Everyone is in a hurry to find out the gossip on the new kid. Kelsey and I have different classes, so we split off and head in opposite directions.
“Don’t gossip too hard,” I call out to her, as I walk away. Her laughter floats to me as we drift apart. She has Camilla in her next class who is the go-to person in situations like this. She’s up in everyone’s business and knows everything about everyone. You want dirt on someone? Camilla is your girl. There’s no doubt in my mind Kelsey is headed straight to her to get the dirt on the new boy.
I make it to the changing rooms for Physical Education with enough time to change into my sports uniform. My crisp white blouse is carefully removed so as not to crease it. The yellow t-shirt glides over my head and then I replace my black skirt with navy blue shorts. The black shoes are swapped out for my white sneakers, and I tie the laces before checking if my hair is still in place before walking out the door.
The changing rooms are right beside the gym, so I follow my other classmates into the gymnasium and see there are two volleyball nets set up across the room. As we enter, Mrs. Valen points to us and gives us a number which assigns us to a team. I’m given number three, so I walk to the far side of one of the courts where my new teammates are. Physical Education isn’t my favourite subject as I’m not coordinated when it comes to ball sports. A gut feeling tells me this isn’t going to go well at all.
“Hey Sophia,” my friend Delilah greets me, as I walk towards her.
“Hey, how’s your morning been?” I ask, as we stand side by side and wait for the teams to be ready.
“Great. Did you see the new guy?” she squeaks.
“Yeah, Kelsey is as excited as you are.”
“Come on Sophia. He’s hot. Oh my gosh did you see his jacket? He looked so cool,” she continues.
“Alright kids, get to it,” Mrs. Valen calls across the open space, and we all move into position. Delilah pushes me to the front of the net which makes the back of my neck sweat. I know my team is going to get annoyed when I start missing the ball.
