"Fuck! I hate this, Ri. It's only been a week, and we're already swamped with homework and assignments," Lucy groaned in frustration. We were in the study hall, working on our math assignment, since we had a free period.
"What would you prefer to do?"
"Anything but this. Also, Andrew is annoying me to the core. He hasn't texted me since this morning." She pouted and kept checking her phone every five minutes.
"Here, let me help you." I grabbed her notes and started to teach her. Not to brag or anything, but I was pretty good at math. It was probably the only thing I was good at.
"Damn! You are good, girl," she whistled when I solved a complex problem, but I simply shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it.
"You just need to use your brain," I teased, earning a smack on my arm from her.
"Shut up."
"You know what? You could probably do this for money," she added after a while, making me scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think anyone is as good as you at math in our grade. You could put up an advertisement on the school notice board or newspaper as a tutor," she explained. I thought about it for a while. It was actually a pretty good way to earn some money for college. I would be learning and teaching at the same time. Dad would also understand if I explained it to him.
"Do you think anyone would notice?" I asked in a doubtful tone.
"Sure, just post it anonymously with your contact info, and wait and see. No harm in trying, right?"
"You know, I think you've finally put that brain of yours to good use," I grinned widely, making her roll her eyes.
"Yeah, whatever. Let's go, babe. I'm craving some ice cream." She stood up without waiting for my reply, and I copied her actions, collecting my things from the table.
***
"Psst! Why is Tristan staring at you?" Lucy hissed, making me frown. We were inside a small ice cream shop close to Woodcreek High School. We saw half of the school's population inside this popular spot, so it wasn't a big surprise that Tristan was here. He and his mates used to hang out here almost every day.
"I think it's time for us to leave," I whispered back, brushing her question aside.
"Hmm, if you look closely, he is good looking. Do you think he secretly likes you or something? Maybe that's why he annoys you."
"Ew! Gross, Lucy! Stop looking over at his table. I don't need any drama today. Plus, I need to get to the library or I'll be late for my shift," I stood up, hiding my face with my hoodie, and walked towards the counter. She immediately followed me, almost running to catch up.
"Alright, relax. I was just kidding," she sighed beside me at the counter while I paid for our orders.
She was right though. I could feel his eyes boring into my back, and I didn't understand why.
Was he planning something big?
I had no freaking idea.
We rushed out of the shop immediately, and I let out a huge sigh of relief. We said our goodbyes, and she headed home while I walked back to the school to submit my tutoring ad to the school newspaper. Around 5 pm, I left the school grounds and made my way towards the small library just twenty feet from my school.
"Hey, Judy!" I called out to the girl behind the reception desk, and she turned around to face me with a bright smile. She was around my age, with short blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She went to a different school, so I didn't know that much about her.
"Right on time, as always. Have fun, Riley." She smiled and started to collect her things to leave.
The library was mostly empty, except for a few kids doing their homework or reading a book. I got bored and started to work on my own school stuff. Halfway through an essay, I felt a huge shadow looming over my head. I lifted my gaze to see who it was, and my eyes went wide, mouth hanging open and pencil dropping from between my lips.
I was met with a pair of ocean green eyes with thick eyelashes, followed by a pair of plump lips. His chiseled jawline was sharp enough to cut through anything, and my eyes roamed freely all over his disheveled light brown hair. He was wearing a white polo shirt underneath his black jacket, which looked really hot on his arrogant shoulders. I came out of my trance immediately, feeling ashamed to be checking out my enemy.
Fuck!
Lucy was right.
Had he always looked this good?
"Are you done checking me out?" He smirked, leaning against the desk, and I caught a whiff of his strong, musky cologne. It sent tingles down my spine.
Ew! Ew! Ew!
Dear God! Please, don't do this to me.
"Could you please take a step back? I'm feeling nauseous." I coughed a bit, trying to get myself together.
"More like breathless, Adams. I tend to have that effect on people. Girls especially." He winked, making me roll my eyes at his cockiness. "I didn't know you worked here," he added, throwing a book at me, which I caught swiftly. I looked down at the title of the book and raised my eyebrow. It was a trigonometry textbook.
"I didn't know you had time to study with all your fooling around," I replied almost immediately, making him sigh heavily.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," he muttered, surprising me with his non-flirtatious response, making me more confused than ever.
"You have seven days to return this book without any damage," I spoke, typing away on the computer in front of me. When I was done, I looked up to find him staring at me. He snatched the book from my hand forcefully, making me scowl.
Spoke too soon!
"Whatever." He cleared his throat and rushed outside, leaving me puzzled.
"Asshole," I muttered loud enough for him to hear. Thankfully, he didn't turn around to give me any snide comments, just kept walking towards his fancy-ass car.
My shift ended at 7 pm. After grabbing my stuff, I started walking in the direction of my house, wearing my headphones. When I got home, I noticed that my dad's car was not in the driveway, so I made dinner for myself.
After finishing my dinner, I went back to my room, turned on Netflix, and started streaming The Vow. Not even Lucy knew that I watched romance movies. I acted all tough, saying that I hated romance and all that cringe stuff, but deep down, I secretly wanted a love story of my own, as corny as that may sound.
I was a girl after all, and I wanted to experience all the cute and heartfelt things that high school girls gushed about. I thought about Lucy's words from the other day.
Get a boyfriend?
But who would even talk to a girl as boring as me?
I sighed and drifted off to sleep to the soothing sound of Channing Tatum's voice.