Chapter 10: Class

I closed my eyes and tried to conjure the face of Vesper Bianchi in my head. The Quarterback. The Golden Boy.

I had seen him on the cover of magazines a thousand times—always surrounded by a phalanx of jocks and girls with perfect hair. He always had that cocky look, with that practiced charm that politicians' sons are bred with.

Find out what he’s hiding. How do you spy on someone who is never alone? He usually has like a million bodyguards following his every step. I needed an angle.

If I played the flirt, he’d see right through it. Guys like Vesper were used to girls throwing themselves at him. He’d be bored before I even started. If I played the quiet, studious partner– maybe forcing my way into his classes, or getting my dad to help make us partners, he’d ignore me. I’d just be the furniture while he copied my answers.

I needed to be something else. Something he wasn't used to. I needed to be a challenge. Or maybe... a confidante?

After freshening up and changing into something a bit more comfortable, I grabbed my bag, then proceeded to check my reflection in the mirror. The hoodie was gone, replaced by the standard issue Obsidian blazer and plaid skirt. I’ll look like everyone else. And even though I adored this school, I’d never really liked the idea of us wearing uniforms. It was giving glorified private high school vibes.

"I'm heading to class," I told Aleera.

"Good luck," she mumbled into her book. "Don't blow anything up."

Too late. My whole life is a bomb waiting to go off.

The hallways were crowded, a sea of navy blue and grey. I kept my head down, navigating the current with the map Aleera had given me until I reached the Science wing. The air here smelled of antiseptic and Bunsen burner gas.

I walked into the AP, a surprisingly small classroom with very few students. I don’t think we’d be anything more than fifty in here. The lecturer was already at the whiteboard, writing out complex-looking formulas and muttering words I wasn’t sure I cared to understand. The room was buzzing with chatter.

My eyes skimmed through the room, and shockingly, I saw him.

Vesper Bianchi, sitting at a black slate table near the back, by the windows. He was leaning back in his chair, tossing a stress ball up and down, laughing at something the guy next to him—a linebacker named Julian—was saying. He was practically hard to miss.

I then noticed the seat next to Vesper was empty. Seems like he’s a two time carryover student.

My stomach twisted. This was it. The start of the mission. The first step. I took a breath, gripped the strap of my bag, and walked toward him.

As I approached, the bell rang. The lecturer clapped his hands.

"Alright, settle down, people! We have a lot to cover before the middle of the semester. And as I sent out in the email this morning—which I’m sure none of you read—we have shuffled the lab pairings to facilitate better... academic synergy."

Groans erupted across the room, but the lecturer ignored them. "Check the list on the board if you're confused. Otherwise, take your new seats."

I didn't bother to check the board. I just got myself settled into my seat.

Vesper caught the movement and looked up. He caught the stress ball in one hand, his laughter fading into a polite, confused smile. His eyes were green, startlingly bright, and lacked the cold calculation of my father’s.

"Hey, you," he said, tapping my table.

I turned to look at him, a bit surprised he was talking to me at all.

"Yeah," I said, setting my bag down. Looking straight at him reminded me of what my father told me. He was the one I saved that night. I was still finding it hard to believe that for a lot of reasons.

“What’s your name?” He asked, an indecipherable tone simmering under his voice.

My brows rose up slightly at the question, but I managed to answer. “Sylvania Rodgers. And you?”

He as well as a few other eavesdroppers around us snickered for obvious reasons. Of course I knew who he was. But with the air of pomposity oozing off of him, I wasn’t about to give him that satisfaction.

"I'll take that statement as a joke– you know who I am."

I kept mute and kept on staring at him. When he saw I wasn’t responding to him, he continued with his voice lowered and his expressionless mask dropping into something more serious. "Well, Sylvania Rodgers, looks like we’re partners."

I blinked, almost unable to believe I heard right. Was this the universe’s way of making my job easier?

"Wow! Really?"

His face eased into a small smile at my question. “Thought you didn’t know me.”

When I realized what he was getting at, I almost faced-palmed myself. He thinks I was one of his fans. Well, I am kinda, but this wasn’t about that. I was here thinking about ways to help ruin him and he thinks I am another wannabe fan.

"Unfortunately. However, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but I don’t need a partner, especially not a scholarship student," he said, his voice hardening slightly.

I froze, my pen hovering over the paper. Scholarship student. How did he even know that? And he made being one sound so demeaning. I freaking worked my ass off to get this. Who the fuck does he think he is?

“Says the person who’s been repeating a year two course for the past two years. If you were so smart, genius, you wouldn’t be here!” I shouted at him, my feet moving on their own accord.

The next thing that I know, I was standing up, picking up my bag, while I struggled to hide the hurt and anger he had sparked in me.

Vesper looked at me, his gaze intense, searching my face. He looked… shocked, and so was I, but I wasn’t about done with him yet.

“You think being a scholarship student is such a bad thing huh? Well, at least I worked for it. Unlike you who had everything handed to him on a platter of gold. We’ll never be on the same level, Vesper Bianchi, and the sooner you realize that, the better.

Tossing the bag over my shoulder, I walked away from him and past the shocked stares of practically everyone in class– including the lecturer.

It wasn’t until I stepped a good distance away from the class that I realized what I had done. Not only had I ruined whatever chance I might have had with him, I confronted Vesper Bianchi, in front of the whole class!

No one had to tell me that my days here were numbered.