receive that day.
My first class was Microeconomics and to my horror Eloise, Finn and their whole crew took the class. I hadn’t been expecting to see them all together in one class and while the teacher introduced me I had to quickly put my mask of indifference on.
Eloise didn’t acknowledge my presence as I took a seat on the other side of the classroom. My eyes drifted to Finn but he was staring at the teacher, almost too studiously, like he was trying to avoid my gaze. I shook that suspicion off, knowing Finn thought he was superior to me—I probably wasn’t even on his radar.
Not that I cared if I was on his radar or not.
My Microeconomics teacher was pretty cool and I got through the class not feeling totally out of my depth. I considered that a positive for the day.
Fiction Writing was next and Charlotte was in my class. When I walked in, her eyes lit up and I thought I detected the beginnings of a smile before a thought passed over her expression. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked like she wanted to blend into the background.
I decided to ignore her weirdness and waved at her as the teacher approached to introduce herself. The teacher saw my exchange with Charlotte and insisted I sit with her.
“Hey,” I said as I took the seat beside her.
Charlotte gave me a half smile, half grimace. “Hi.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t cheat off you.”
Her answer was a tremulous smile.
Encouraged, I nodded at her violet dress. “That color looks awesome on you.”
Appearing almost taken aback, Charlotte glanced down at the dress and ran her fingertips over it. “Really? Bryce said it washed me out. She said I look trash in it.”
Of course she did. I got more than a few mean girl vibes off that girl. “Well, she’s wrong. It’s really cute.”
“Thanks.” Charlotte gave me a shy smile before wariness replaced it and she turned determinedly to face the front.
Her body language told me not to push talking to her, but I felt hope.
Smiling inwardly, I faced forward, too, and listened to the teacher as she started class.
Two classes passed and I already had more homework than I’d ever had back at Fair Oaks High. I wasn’t freaking out about it just yet, considering I had no friends and no extracurricular activities to distract me from all the schoolwork, but once I did I’d have to find a way to juggle it all.
As I was walking toward my next class I noticed the glances and full-on stares from my new schoolmates. Their looks varied from curious to sneering and I felt a tingle of wariness across the back of my neck. Turning a corner on my search for my Modern European History class, I came face-to-face with my stepsister-to-be and her girls. They sashayed down the hall like an ad for a TV show about beautiful popular high school kids, long hair fluttering out behind them like silk, long trim legs on display in their designer dresses and elongated by their Jimmy Choo sandals.
Eloise saw me, looked right through me and kept on walking without a word.
My skin felt hot with embarrassment at her obvious cut.
I watched her disappear around the corner with her best friends before looking around the hallway. That’s when I realized I hadn’t been imagining the sneers of my classmates.
A sick feeling settled in my gut as I wondered what the hell was going on.
Determined to pretend I didn’t care, I threw my shoulders back and continued on my search for my class. To my relief I discovered the classroom without having to ask anyone for directions. The last thing I wanted to do right then was interact with anyone. I strode inside, cursing Hayley all over again for bringing me to Massachusetts, unaware of anyone else but the tall faculty member standing by the whiteboard.
He caught sight of me in his peripheral vision and turned. He was my youngest teacher so far, probably in his late twenties, and he was cute in a nerdy, intellectual kind of way.
“Hi.” He smiled.
“I’m India Maxwell. I’m new.”
“Oh, India, yes. I knew that.” He held out his hand for me to shake. “I’m Mr. Franklin, but most of these guys drop the ‘Mr.’”
I smiled back, liking his down-to-earth vibe immediately. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You, too.” He looked out at the class and I followed his gaze.
I felt a horrible jump in my heartbeat at the sight of Finn Rochester sitting in the middle of the room and things pretty much got worse from there.
“Finn,” Franklin said, “you’ve got an empty seat beside you, right?”
No. NO. NO!
I did not want to sit beside that stuck-up ass. Only seconds into the class and already I knew it was going to suck worse than anything that had happened in my day so far.
Finn glanced at the table and chair beside him and then looked over at me. His expression was carefully blank. “Yes, it’s empty.”
Franklin gestured toward it. “Take a seat, get comfy and we’ll get started.”
I murmured my thank-you and slowly made my way to the chair I’d just been allocated. Finn stared straight ahead at Franklin, much like he had done in our Microeconomics class. As I sat I glanced at his profile.
There was a weird flutter in my stomach that I put down to nerves. After all, it was messed up that someone as influential as Finn had decided I wasn’t good enough. It would make the school social climbing that much freaking harder. More than that, I realized...it hurt. I didn’t want it to hurt. But it hurt nonetheless. It reminded me too much of a time spent with a man who thought I was worthless.
Shaking that black hole of memories away, I found myself studying Finn.
The flutter in my stomach intensified.
It was a damn shame that someone so good-looking was such an incredible dipshit.
I noted his broad shoulders tense. Slowly, he turned his head to lock eyes with me. His look was dark and fathomless; mine was challenging.
Something weird happened to me as our silent interaction drew out. Franklin’s voice became just a murmur in the background and my blood turned hot. The whole world faded out—everything but Finn’s eyes and the squirming heat under my skin.
I began to worry that the longer he stared into my eyes, the more he’d see, because the longer I stared into his, the more I saw to my surprise that Hayley was right—there was a sadness in Finn’s eyes. And what surprised me even more was how curious I was to know what put it there. I hadn’t expected it. What could ever have made someone as lucky as Finn sad?
Finally his eyes narrowed and I could have sworn his expression turned wary a split second before he wiped it blank and turned his head away.
Feeling strangely unsettled, I decided to take a page
