c Chapter 124
Astrid POV
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The only chair that was empty was in the row in front of Kael and the brunette, who I gathered was Tracy. Aiden was sitting on the next chair. I went to sit with him. But I heard a low growl from behind, making my hair stand at the back of my neck and Aiden slid his chair away from me slightly, which was awkward.
I lowered my head to smell my armpit. It was clean. I still smelled like the citrus lotion I had put on earlier in the day.
“Miss Astrid, please introduce yourself,” my teacher’s attention broke my thoughts.
Taken by surprise, I opened my mouth, “Umm…” God, why was my brain short-circuiting?
The teacher raised his eyebrow, looking at me quizzically. I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and got up. I had to introduce myself to pass this awkwardness. “Hi! I’m Astrid Collins. I’m a new student. Currently, I am living with my aunt and uncle.” I gulped. What else should I say to the thirty dozen eyes that were looking at me? “Thank you for having me here!” Saying that, I sat down. I heard some giggles and grunts, and then all settled down.
As the class progressed, I could feel his eyes boring holes in my back. I felt hot and cold at the same time. Man, as soon as I was out, I would search for Briana and Nate and also change my seat. Thankfully, Briana would be in my next class.
As soon as the class ended, I picked up my satchel and ran out to my locker. The crowded hallway of the school was filled with the noise of students chatting and lockers slamming shut. Nervously, I tried to navigate my way through the crowd and came to stand in front of my
locker, I called Briana to tell her where I was and as I fumbled with my combination lock, from the corner of my vision, I saw three girls, including Tracy, approaching me. S**t f**k. What was the number of the lock? With an air of confidence, Tracy came and leaned next to my
locker, her friends giggling and whispering to each other while glancing at me.
“Hi, I’m Tracy, and these are my friends, Kayla and Kat,” she started with a smile. Then her tone dripped with sarcasm. “Oh, I love your
satchel. It’s so unique. Did you make it yourself?”
As I flushed with embarrassment, unsure that it was an insult or not, her friends snickered.
“I bought it,” I offered. “But I did all the artwork myself.” I had painted flowers and butterflies on my backpack when daddy gifted it to me last
year.
“Oh, ok,” she said in a boring voice, pushing off the locker. I reached for my locker and put some books in, when Tracy ‘accidentally’ bumped into me, causing me to drop my books. “Oops! Sorry about that. Guess you’re still getting used to how things work around here,” she smirked, not offering to pick up my books. As the corridor fell silent, I scrambled to gather my books. I could practically feel the stares of
every student.
When I picked up my books, I saw Briana walking towards me. When she came to stand behind me, Tracy glanced at her before invading my personal space. She casually flipped her hair back. “You know,” she said, her voice just loud enough for everyone to hear, “it’s really interesting of you to join Cedar Academy. This place can be… overwhelming for some people.” Her friends laughed softly as I felt a knot tightening in my belly.
“if you need help to figure out how things work here, just let me know. We don’t want you to feel… lost.” She gave me a fake smile, her
cold
comed. It was as if she was threatening me. She tur
Tracy. This place is definitely
19:58 Sat 22 Jun
Chapter 124
dent in scholarship money, I earned my place in this school with a 3.9 GPA.”
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Tracy’s eyes turned dark. Her face devoid of emotions, she chuckled, “Well, I’d advise you to hold on to that GPA. It may slide.” Saying that, she turned to her friends and walked away, leaving another threat hanging in the air.
“Whoa! What a b**h!” Briana whispered the moment they were out of our earshot. “What Is her problem?”
I shook my head. “Who knows?” I said as I put my books in my locker. “And who cares?”
Briana laughed softly. “But you gave her back a good one!”
I flipped my hair over my shoulder and batted my eyelashes. “I know,” I said and Briana burst into another laughter.
We both reached our next class, which was biology. I noticed Kael was standing with his twin brother, Toren. They were talking to Aiden and looked like they were in a heated discussion. The moment I came, they stopped. I took a seat far away from all of them, determined to not let their toxicity get to me. I took a ragged breath in when Nat also came and sat with the boys. Jealousy stung me, deep and scathing. Nope. I would not get there. Nope. Nope.
The biology teacher was a delicate lady with hair that was graying on the hairline. I knew most of what she taught and so I had answers to them. Someone from behind snickered, “Show-off!” That was enough to quiet me.
When the bell rang, the teacher announced, “For your next class, if you haven’t found a partner yet, just reach out to me.”
I gathered my books and said to Briana, “Brin, I hope you don’t have a partner.”
She scrunched her nose up. “Sorrryyy…” she apologized. “I am with Parker. He’s been my lab partner since long, and I don’t want to break our partnership. He is helping me with a lot of stuff.”
“Oh!”I saw a tall boy with dark brown skin and glasses balanced on his aquiline nose, coming towards us.
“Hi Brin!” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Parker was… handsome. I could totally understand why Briana was swooning over him. I took a ragged breath in. “Sure, you guys go ahead. I’ll meet you.”
When I walked into the lab, I noticed how students were talking with each other. There was no place empty except for one in the last row. I usually enjoyed being in the front and asking questions, so sitting in the back was new to me. But I didn’t really have a choice. Briana waved at me and went back to talking to Parker.
With a slumped shoulder, I went to that table, wondering what to tell the teacher. I could do the experiments on my own. Surely, I didn’t need help from others.
Furious at my thought process, I took my lab coat out. Just as I was wearing it, my hand bumped into someone behind me. “Oh, I’m so sorry!” I turned sharply, losing balance and landing on a very hard wall. No. A chest. A rock-solid chest. Muscular arms wrapped around my waist, preventing my fall. My gaze locked with his dark eyes as I placed my hands on his chest. The world came to a halt, tilted, and then began spinning rapidly on its axis.
“I’ll be your partner,” Kael said.
My mind froze, body froze, and whatever logic I had, also froze. All that was left of was me was a jelly mess as I stared into his intense eyes that sparkled golden for a moment. Or did I imagine things? Electricity shot through my body and settled right between my thighs. My eyes dropped to his perfect bow-shaped lips and my breath hitched.
19:58 Sat 22 Jun