Chapter 2: Chapter Two

RILEY

“Ugh! I can’t stand it, Ri. It’s only been a week, and we’re already drowning in homework and assignments,” Lucy moaned, clearly frustrated.

We were in study hall, trying to tackle our math assignment during a free period.

“What else would you rather be doing?” I asked her.

“Literally anything else. Plus, Andrew is driving me nuts. He hasn’t texted me since this morning.” She checked her phone, a habit she’d been repeating every two minutes for the past hour.

“Here, let me help you.” I reached over, taking her notebook and started to explain the problems to her.

I was pretty good at math; it was probably the only thing I was good at.

“Wow! You’re really good at this.” She whistled when I solved a tricky problem.

I shrugged, trying to downplay it. “You just need to use your brain.” I teased, earning a playful smack on my arm from her.

“Shut up.”

She pursed her lips. “You know what? You could probably make money doing this,” she suggested.

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t think anyone in our grade is as good at math as you. You could advertise on the school notice board, or in the newspaper, for tutoring,” she explained.

I mulled over that for a bit. It was actually a pretty good way to earn some money for college.

I’d be learning and teaching at the same time. And Dad would understand if I explained it to him.

“Do you think anyone would sign up?” I asked, sounding doubtful.

“Absolutely. Just post it anonymously with your contact details, and let’s see what happens. No harm in trying, right?”

“You know, I think you finally put that brain of yours to good use,” I said with a grin.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s go, babe. I’m craving some ice cream.” She stood up without waiting for my reply.

I followed suit, gathering my things from the table.

***

“Psst! Why is Tristan staring at you?” Lucy whispered.

I frowned. We were inside a small ice cream booth near Woodcreek High School. Half the school was inside the tiny place, so it wasn’t a big surprise that Tristan was here.

He and his friends hung out there almost every day.

“I think it’s time for us to leave,” I whispered back, brushing her question aside.

“Do you think he secretly likes you or something, and that’s why he annoys you?”

“Eww! Gross! Lucy, stop looking over at his table. I don’t need any drama today; I need to get to the library. I’m late for my shift.”

I stood, pulling my hoodie over my face, and walked toward the counter. She immediately followed me, half-running to keep up with my pace.

“Alright, relax. I was just kidding,” she sighed from beside me as I paid for our orders at the counter.

She was right, though. I could feel his eyes on my back, and I couldn’t understand why.

Was he planning something big?

I had no clue.

We hurried out of the shop, and I let out a huge sigh of relief.

We said our goodbyes and she went home while I walked back to the school to submit my tutoring ad to the school newspaper.

It was nearly five p.m. by the time I left the school grounds and headed toward the small library near the school.

“Hey, Judy!” I called out to the girl behind the reception desk. She turned around to face me with a bright smile.

She was around my age, with short blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. She went to a different school, so I didn’t know much about her.

“Right on time, as always. Have fun, Riley,” she smiled and started to gather her things to leave.

The library was almost empty except for a few kids doing their homework or reading books.

I soon got bored and started to work on my own schoolwork. I was about halfway through it when I felt a large shadow looming over me.

I looked up to see who it was, and my eyes went wide, my mouth hanging open with a pencil dangling between my lips.

I was met with a pair of ocean-green eyes framed by thick eyelashes and a pair of full lips. His chiseled jawline was sharp enough to cut through anything.

My eyes roamed over his disheveled light-brown hair. He was wearing a white short-sleeved polo underneath a black jacket that looked really good on his arrogant frame.

I snapped out of my trance immediately, feeling embarrassed to have been checking out my enemy.

~Damn! Lucy was right.~

~Did he always look this good?~

“Are you done checking me out?” Tristan smirked, leaning against the desk. I caught a whiff of his strong, musky cologne and tingles went down my spine.

~Ew! Ew! Ew!~

~Dear God! Please don’t do this.~

“Could you please take a step back? I’m feeling nauseous.” I coughed a bit, trying to regain my composure.

“More like breathless, Adams. I tend to have that effect on people. Girls especially,” he said with a wink.

I rolled my eyes at his arrogance.

“I didn’t know you work here,” he added, tossing a book at me.

I caught it swiftly and looked down at the title, raising an eyebrow. It was a trigonometry textbook.

“And I didn’t know you studied instead of fooling around,” I replied almost immediately.

He sighed heavily. “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he said.

I was surprised by his decent response and more confused than ever.

“You have seven days to return the book without any damage,” I said, typing away on the computer in front of me. I looked up to find him staring at me.

He snatched the book from my hand, and I scowled.

~Spoke too soon.~

“Whatever.” He cleared his throat and rushed outside, leaving me puzzled.

“Jerk,” I muttered loud enough for him to hear. Thankfully, he didn’t turn around to give me any snide comments but just kept walking toward his fancy car.

I clocked out at seven. I grabbed my things and started the walk home, earbuds firmly in place.

Reaching home, I noticed my dad’s car was missing from the driveway. I took it upon myself to whip up dinner for the both of us.

Once I’d eaten, I retreated to my room and flicked on the TV. A Channing Tatum movie was my choice for the night. Even Lucy didn’t know about my secret indulgence in romance flicks.

I put on a tough exterior, always claiming to despise romance and all its cheesy clichés. But, if I’m being honest, I secretly yearned for a love story of my own. It might sound sappy, but it’s true.

I mean, I was a girl. I wanted to experience all the sweet and steamy moments that high school girls couldn’t stop talking about.

Lucy’s words from the other day echoed in my mind.

~A boyfriend?~

~Who would even give a second glance to a girl as dull as me?~

With a sigh, I let sleep take over, lulled by the comforting sound of Channing’s voice from the movie.