Chapter 22 #2
“Dude, she’s coming this way,” the guy next to me whispers.
They glance around for the empty seat she’s heading toward, but all the desks around us are full.
Her focus is on me, but the guys don’t seem to notice.
“Hey—”
“Get up,” I cut him off.
Shifting in my direction, he doesn’t seem to recognize me. “What? No, I’m not getting up.”
“She needs somewhere to sit.”
He makes a show of looking around. “Seems like all the seats back here are full.” He glances from her to his lap. “But I’ve got a place for her right here.”
Sam stops in front of us.
“What do you think, sweetheart? I know how much you—”
I push my chair back, the metal dragging against the tiled floor. “I’m gonna say this one more time,” I tell him slowly. “Get the fuck up so my girlfriend can sit.”
He darts his eyes from me to Sam then back to me again. “Your girlfriend?” He turns back to her. “Your brother know about this?”
Instead of answering his question, she says, “I’d really get up if I were you.”
When he continues to sit there, I push my chair back farther and start to stand.
He whips his head in my direction and raises his hands. “Fine, whatever, we’ll move.”
Him and his friend stand, starting for the front of the room, as Sam drops into the spot he just vacated. “Thanks for saving me a seat,” she jokes.
“I actually would have, if I knew you were gonna be in this class.”
“That was so much better, though.” She beams. “I loved watching Miles squirm. He’s such an asshole.”
I frown. “You know that kid?”
“He’s on the football team and friends with Carson.”
“Your brother keeps shitty company.”
“My brother is shitty company.”
I’m about to respond when a bright voice filters through the room. “Welcome everyone!” I turn away from Sam and find a young blonde woman smiling at us. “I’m Ms. Morris, and I’m so excited to have you all with me this year.”
She’s clearly new to this—her tone is much too cheery, far too hopeful.
“This is my first year, so be patient with me.”
Yup.
“But,” she continues, “I’m sure we’ll learn a lot together this year.” She claps her hands. “Okay, let’s start class with a get-to-know-you activity.”
I internally groan as she explains, “We’ll all go around and share our names and one fun thing we did this summer.”
She moves through the room, and everyone introduces themselves. When she gets to Sam, she mutters her name and says she hung out with her friends this summer.
“Nice,” Ms. Morris says. “What did you all do?”
Sam quickly glances at me. “I don’t know,” she answers. “Played cards and stuff.”
Ms. Morris nods kindly and moves on to the next person.
I smirk, leaning into Sam. “And stuff?”
She rolls her eyes. “Shut up.”
“I had fun this summer doing stuff with you, too.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“Sure,” I whisper.
“How about you?” Ms. Morris asks.
I look up, realizing it’s my turn. “I’m Jameson,” I start. “And I—”
“Your last name?” she interrupts.
“Baxston.”
She motions for me to continue.
“I hung out with my friends this summer.”
“Wonderful,” she answers. “And what did you all do?”
I shrug. “Played cards and stuff.”
She looks between me and Sam. I wait for her to tell me to give an original answer or to sigh in disappointment as she writes me off, but she does neither. Instead, she says, “Seems like a great summer.”
I look over at Sam. “It was.”
The introductions take most of the class, so by the time we’re done, Ms. Morris moves quickly through the syllabus. The bell rings right before she can finish, and she tells us that she trusts us to read the rest ourselves.
I wait for Sam as she grabs her bag and follow close behind as she walks to the front of the room.
We move past the two assholes from earlier, and I don’t miss the way they watch us as we stride past them, but they’re both smart enough to keep their mouths shut.
I come to Sam’s side as we step into the crowded hallway, weaving around people as we head for the cafeteria.
She follows me into the food line, and I grab a tray, handing it to her. “I brought a sandwich,” she murmurs, eyeing the food in front of us.
“Milk?” the lunch lady asks.
I nod, and she hands one over.
“Can I get a chocolate, too?”
She passes it to me, and we push through the line. I pay for my lunch and give the chocolate milk to Sam.
Smiling, she takes it and says, “You didn’t have to.”
“Baxston!” someone yells.
I scan the room until my eyes land on a table in the far corner and find Mason waving me over.
“You good to sit over there?” I ask Sam. Before she can answer, I add, “Or we can sit wherever you usually do.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t have a table.”
I look down at her, reading the truth those words cover—I don’t have friends.
“Well, you do now,” I tell her.
Stopping in front of the table, all the attention turns to us.
“Hello again.” Mason says, eyeing Sam.
She hasn’t been around the guys since that time she came with me and Billy to the park.
“Hey,” Sam answers, sliding into an empty chair.
Glancing from her to me, Mason questions, “So, is this”—he waves his hand—“like a thing?”
I cock my head. “A thing?”
“’Cause, if not …”
Rowan shakes his head and mutters, “You’re an idiot.”
Billy comes up behind him and drops into the seat next to Sam. “Hey!” he says, looking between us all. “What’s up?”
“Mason’s looking to get his ass beat,” Rowan answers.
Billy gives him a questioning look, and Rowan juts his chin forward, motioning to me and Sam. “Just asked Jameson if they’re a thing.”
Billy barks out a laugh.
“What?” Mason asks defensively.
“You got eyes?” Billy asks.
Mason grumbles. “Yeah.”
Billy pushes the food around on his tray. “So use ’em.” He points his fork at us. “They’re clearly a thing.”
“Well, how am I supposed to know?” he says. “It’s Jameson we’re talking about.”
I turn toward him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, man. You’re just …”
Rowan snorts.
“I’m what?”
Dylan comes up to the table, his focus instantly going to Sam.
“Jesus,” I mutter. “You’re all acting like you’ve never seen a girl before.”
Rowan laughs. “Oh, we’ve seen girls before, just never one with you.”
I quickly flit my gaze to Sam and see her eyeing me curiously, but then her attention shifts to Madison, who walks up to the table and slides into the chair next to Billy.
“I thought you said you were gonna wait for me after class,” she whines.
He takes a bite of his burger. “Sorry, got caught up.”
I give him a look that says, I thought you were done with this.
And he gives me one that says, Fuck off.
“Well,” Rowen says, leaning forward to talk to Sam, “welcome to the group.”