Page 30 of Teach Me

“I’ve got a class I’m late for,” I lied, using the same excuse I did with Tanner, but it was one of those good lies. You know, the kind of lies that stopped you from throttling someone in the throat. That kind of lie. I hated her, but when she leaned in, I did the thing I detested the most. I hugged her, and we fake air kissed each other on the cheeks.

What was I doing?

The whole interaction was phoney and pathetic, but I had to play nice to my potential sorority sisters for my mom’s sake. It didn’t matter how reluctant I may be to be their sister in any capacity, I needed to at least try to go to that stupid ball.

Rachel backed away, flipping her perfectly sleeked hair over her shoulder, and narrowed her eyes. “I haven’t seen you around in a while. Where have you been?”

I stilled. Then I swallowed and looked at her again. She couldn’t seriously be asking me that, could she? The last time I saw her was a couple of days ago, sitting on Connor’s lap like he was freaking Santa Claus in the canteen.

My fists were curling, and the only thing stopping me from throttling her was the pain of my nails digging into my skin. “Just been busy.” It was another one of those lies to save others, but again, it was for the best.

A smirk drew across her face, and her eyes dropped to take my outfit in. I could tell by the tiniest curl of her lip that she wasn’t impressed with my skirt, but I didn’t care. I liked the way I dressed, even if everyone else on campus didn’t.

“So,” she drawled out. “I hear you want to rush?” Either Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dumb giggled. I didn’t bother to look to figure out which.

I let out a low breath, feeling somewhat disappointed that I let this conversation get this far. I should have just said I was busy and ran in the other direction. “Yeah,” I sighed. “My mom signed me up.” The admission was embarrassing, but would make more sense to them since I wasn’t exactly the Alpha Delta Theta type. My mom just happened to be their president when she attended Covey U, which meant that I was considered a legacy and technically a shoo-in if I really wanted to be a part of their ‘sisterhood.’ Hell, Ishouldget my feet kissed for my genetics alone, but with Rachel as their current President, I’d be lucky to get my foot in the door. Not that I’d want to. That place is like a Viper’s Den since they’d all be rooting for Connor and Rachel. The perfect Barbie and Ken. Excuse me while I gagged.

“Well, isn’t that fantastic news?” Her voice was raised the same way you’d expect it to be if she were talking to a child. “We’d always love to have a legacy join us. You know that means you have to come to the ballin three weeks, right?” She popped her hip out and bit her bottom lip in challenge. “The invitation should be in the mail.”

“If I have to go,” I said through gritted teeth, but Rachel wasn’t listening closely enough to hear, or care, it seemed. “I’ll be there.”

“Oh, it’s going to be so much fun. We’ve got Connor’s frat joining, too.” Well, great. As if this whole thing couldn’t get any worse, I somehow agreed to go to a party with Connor’s frat.

Keeping my face straight, I said, “That sounds like a lot of fun.” But it didn’t. It sounded like the worst night of my life, and one I couldn’t get out of.

“Let me know if you don’t get the details. I can get Taylor to send them to you.” She pointed to one of the girls behind her, I think it was Tweedle Dee, but again, I hadn’t been paying close enough attention. All I did was tip my chin and smile at her.

“Great.”

“Oh, and one other thing.” Rachel’s perfectly bow lips were pursed and this time I knew she was hiding a smirk. She looked at her friends as though they knew what she was going to say, and then when she turned back to me, she said, “You’ll need to bring a date.” She looked at the empty space beside me as though I should be walking around with a boyfriend like they were my accessory. “Oh, that’s right.” Her voice was bitchy now, and that obnoxious cackle came out again. “I’ve got him.”

My mouth dropped open because I’d lost the ability to speak.

Did thatbitchjust say that? I thought we were having a decent conversation, and then she had to go and metaphorically slap me in the face with a wet fish.

What a complete bitch.

But the worst part about it was that I had absolutely no comeback. Nothing. I couldn’t think of a thing because I was too stunned that she would go there.

My fight-or-flight instincts were taking over, and my toes were dancing in my shoes, ready to run.

But I couldn’t move because, suddenly, a heavyweight fell onto my shoulders. “Hey, A. I’ve been looking all over for you. You’re late.”

As if this moment couldn’t get any more humiliating for me. My stalker had somehow found me and was acting like we were friends in front of my now arch-nemesis.

“Tanner?” Rachel choked out in shock and looked between us in disbelief. “What are you doing here?” She stepped forward and dipped her chin. Her voice had dropped about ten octaves and had a raspy tone that I’d never heard before. It was almost… flirty?

With a smile faker than Miss. America’s. I cut a look at Tanner. “Yeah,Tanner. What are you doing here?” I shunted my shoulders so I could get a better look at him. Really, I just wanted an excuse to stamp him on the foot with my heel. If it hurt, he didn’t show it. His body barely moved as his strong arms kept hold of me.

Rachel waggled her finger at the two of us. “I didn’t know you two knew each other?” Her little brain was trying to make sense of the situation, but there was no context in which it would. Tanner was a tall, lean football player who liked to wear headbands and put his hair in a bun. Meanwhile, I was a petite ginger who liked pleated skirts and astronomy. We didn’t fit. There was no need for us to speak, but the fact that we might, was blowing Rachel’s tiny mind to epic proportions.

“Yeah,” Tanner drawled out, giving me no time to answer her myself. “Well, I finally got a good tutor.” He emphasized the last word for my benefit, and I held back, rolling my eyes because if all the focus was on him, then it wasn’t on me, and that meant less talk of joining their sorority. “Scratch that. She’s not good. She’s fantastic.”

I glanced at Tanner and gave him a look that I hoped conveyed, ‘cut it out.’I didn’t want her cottoning on to the lie because trying to explain what Tanner was doing seemed ridiculous.

Rachel threw her head back and another one of those stupid cackles came out again. “Well, that explains it.” Her two sidekicks laughed beside her, and there was a tiny part of me that wanted to snuggle into Tanner’s side and disappear from sight because I was tired of people acknowledging my existence. I missed the day before meeting Connor when no one cared who I was or had an opinion about me either way.

“Explains what?” Tanner asked, glaring at her.

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