Chapter Eight
Addie
Caleb walks a few feet behind me as my friends and I enter the school building and head to first period.
He keeps himself so well hidden that most people don’t even see him.
I spot the girls who were all over him in the dining hall glancing around, most definitely searching for him.
I wonder if I should just take them out of their misery and tell them they’re wasting their time.
Maybe once he’s no longer my bodyguard, they can try again.
But would he even stay here once his job is done?
I guess not, unless he’ll still be hired as my security detail.
But he won’t have to watch over me like a hawk.
I’d be free to do what I want without having to answer to him.
My friends and a few others stop before a classroom. Chemistry. Along with sharing this class with all three of them, my warden is in it as well. He told me he’ll be in all of my classes .
He finally emerges from wherever he was hiding, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, intense eyes on me. My gaze leaps to his buff chest and muscled arms as they flex with his every move.
As if he’s got the spotlight on him, a flock of girls rushes to his side, each demanding attention from him. But he keeps those eyes on me.
“No surprise there,” Raven says with an eye roll as she nods in their direction. “The brooding bad boy who’s got the entire female population worshipping him? Yawn.”
“Well, he is kind of mysterious,” Sophie points out.
The girls pull and tug at various parts of him, but he still doesn’t drop his gaze from me.
“He’s kind of rude,” Carly says. “Remember how he didn’t answer any of my questions yesterday, Addie? Now he’s ignoring all the girls.”
We continue to watch as girl after girl tries to flirt with him, but he waves them off. Luckily, he took his eyes off me, maybe because he realized my friends are asking too many questions. Impeccable hearing, right? Though he still watches me from the corner of his eyes.
Some girls give up and go to their classes while a few stay behind and try to win him over by twirling their hair or batting their lashes.
“We’d better get to class,” Sophie says. “I don’t want to be late and ruin my perfect attendance.”
“Tragedy of the century,” Carly jokes.
We enter the chemistry classroom and they take their seats. Carly waves me over, gesturing to the empty desk next to them.
“No one wants to sit near the losers of the school,” she informs me. “So this seat has been empty since the beginning of the year.”
“I don’t think you’re the losers of the school,” I say as I sit down and take out my laptop. “You guys are great.”
Sophie smiles. “Thanks. That was very sweet of you.”
“Unfortunately, most kids here don’t share your views,” Raven says, pushing some blonde hair out of her eyes.
Caleb enters the classroom after most of the students have settled down and chooses an empty seat across the room, directly in my line of vision.
Obviously, he chose that seat because he needs a clear path in case someone crashes in from the window and tries to hurt me.
Caleb would be by my side within seconds.
Some girls surround him, but most have given up. He turns his head away from me, but I know his eyes are still on me.
Sophie talks about the book she’s reading—something about dragons—until the teacher walks in. He’s an older man, dressed in a crisp suit, and whatever white hair he has left is brushed in this very “gentlemanly” kind of way. He looks like he popped in from the 1950s or something.
“Good morning, students.” He glances around until his eyes focus on me. “Ah, there you are…” He glances at his attendance sheet. “Addie Nelson. And…Caleb Foster.”
Caleb doesn’t even look at him. Or at me, but I know he is somehow still watching me.
“Welcome, new students,” the teacher continues. “Would you like to tell us about yourselves?”
I shake my head while Caleb crosses his arms over his chest.
“All right,” the teacher says. “I’m Mr. Barnelli. This class is a very difficult one and I suggest you ask another student for help catching up. Now, where did we leave off yesterday? Oh, yes.”
He resumes his lesson. I was taking chemistry this year as well, and sure, this class is much harder than my old one, but I can still follow.
The kids are frantically jotting down everything the teacher says. Caleb keeps his eyes on me during most of the lesson. He pretends to write some notes as well.
The bell rings.
“Remember the exam tomorrow,” Mr. Barnelli calls after the students as they rush out of the classroom.
I stop walking and Carly nearly crashes into me. “Exam?”
Raven waves her hand. “It’s a quiz. He calls all quizzes tests. It’s on yesterday and today’s lessons.”
“Oh. Will he expect me to take the quiz?”
“Yeah,” Sophie says. “He doesn’t excuse anyone . Do you need help catching up? We can study in one of our rooms after school.”
“Sure. That would be great. Thanks.”
“Of course. Oh, shoot. I have tutoring after school. We can get together after that.”
“Okay.” I pluck my phone from my backpack and scan my schedule. “What class do I have next? English with Mrs. Garcia.”
“Same,” Sophie says with a grin. “The class is right there.” She nods to the classroom across from us. “Fair warning. Mrs. Garcia has us read our essays to the class, so if public speaking isn’t your thing…”
I twist my nose. “Public speaking is definitely not my thing.”
Carly shrugs. “This school prepares the students for their future. Most are rich kids who will inherit their parents’ companies, so they need to pretty much be trained.
That’s why there are so many business classes and foreign language classes.
And considering they’ll be talking to many important business people and investors, there are a few public speaking classes. ”
“But for people like us who won’t inherit companies…” Raven adds. “I mean, sure the business classes can help anyone’s future, but the speeches? Lame.”
Sophie nods in agreement. “I still haven’t recovered from my speech last week.
Ugh. You know what happened? I went up to the front of the room to read my essay out loud, but then I realized I left my essay in my dorm room.
I was distracted that morning because I wanted to finish the chapter in my book and I forgot to put it in my bag.
So there I was, standing in front of everyone, without my essay. ”
“Couldn’t you go to your room to get it?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Mrs. Garcia’s rule is if it’s not on your desk or in your backpack when the bell rings, it’s like you left it at home.”
“What happened?”
She sighs. “I remembered a lot of what I wrote and made up the rest. Mrs. Garcia gave me a B. A B ! The nerve.”
Carly giggles as she says to me, “To Sophie, a B is like an F.”
Sophie mutters under her breath how unfair the world is.
The bell rings and Sophie and I say bye to Carly and Raven and head to English. Like before, I feel Caleb nearby.
Sophie and I sit down and she continues to tell me about the book she’s reading. She’s extra excited today because it was just announced that they’ll be making a movie version of it.
“I know, I know,” she says, cheeks a little red. “I need to shut up. But I can’t . You have no idea how much these books have changed my life. I can’t even explain it. I just feel like a happier person, you know?”
I smile. “I’m so happy for you.”
“I’d recommend the books over and over and over again. Do you like to read?”
I shrug. “Not unless I have to. I’d rather watch the movie.”
She slides down in her seat, dropping her face on her desk and releasing a heavy sigh. “In case you’re wondering, you just killed me.”
“Sorry.”
She sits up, smiling. “It’s okay. I know not everyone loves to read like I do. I just…I don’t know what it is. Being transported to a world where anything is possible. Believe me, if I was able to, I’d live in that world. Can you imagine talking to dragons?”
“Uh, not really, no.”
She sighs happily and starts to talk about the assignment that was due today for this class, but I lose focus when I notice the person who just entered the room.
Warner Hearst.
His eyes sweep the room until they find me. A smile breaks out on his face, making him look so much hotter than he normally does.
Within seconds, he’s by my side. “Hey, Addie.”
My heart leaps out of my chest. “Hi, Warner.”
He turns to Sophie. “Hey, Soph.”
Sophie’s eyes are so wide you can fit two bowling balls inside. “Hey!” Then she mouths to me, “He knows who I am!”
Warner dips his head slightly, his hair falling in this messy way that makes him look super sexy. “How’s it going?”
I’m about to respond when I spot Caleb move from the corner of my eye. He’s at the other end of the classroom and it’s obvious he’s being extra vigilant. But for heaven’s sake, Warner isn’t a threat. Will the guy ever lighten up?
“It’s going,” I say lamely.
“We were talking about…things,” Sophie adds, then cringes.
Warner smiles. “Nice. It’s always cool to talk about things.”
I nod while Sophie looks like she wants to slam her head into the wall.
Warner smiles at me again. “Me and some others are hanging out in the rec room after school. I hope to see you there.”
“I…um…” Sophie and I are supposed to study after she’s done with tutoring .
Sophie nods vehemently. “Of course she’ll be there.”
His grin widens. “Nice. I’ll see you then.” He saunters to the back of the room. Sophie and I keep our eyes locked on him for a bit.
“What just happened?” she exclaims. “We were just talking about Warner Hearst not paying attention to people like us, and then he walked over here? Just like that?”
“Aren’t we studying after school?” I ask her.
She gives me an incredulous look. “Warner just asked you to hang out and you want to study?”
My eyebrows furrow. “But don’t you like studying?”
“Of course, but that’s me. You should hang out with him. Dude, Warner Hearst might possibly be interested in you!”
I can’t help but smile. “No guy has ever been interested in me.”
She frowns. “That can’t be true. You’re gorgeous and smart and so nice.”
“Thanks. So are you.”
“Meh, but thanks for the compliment.”
I think back to the guys at my old school. Most of them grew up with me since kindergarten. It was weird to see them as more than just friends. I shrug. “I never had a boyfriend because I guess it just never happened. But why would Warner suddenly be interested in a scholarship kid?”
“Maybe because you’re new? Or maybe it’s because you fell on your butt right in front of a cute guy and had the best meet cute in the world. And yes, books are very much a reflection of real life, so don’t deny it. ”
I laugh. “I won’t.”
Sophie lifts her shoulders. “We already established Warner is very nice and not a snob like most people here. Maybe he doesn’t care about all that stuff.”
“Yeah, it’s not right to lump all rich kids together.”
“Yep.” Grabbing my hands, she squeals. “I can’t believe he basically asked you out.”
I give her a look. “I think you’re thinking way, way ahead. Hanging out with him and his friends is not asking me out. Besides, you and the others are coming with me, right? I need moral support.”
“I totally would, but I have tutoring. I can come after.”
“Thanks.”
“And then we do homework,” she says in a stern voice.
I can’t help but chuckle. “Ma’am, yes, ma’am.”
She laughs, too. Then she excuses herself to squeeze in a few pages of her book before the teacher comes in.
I feel intense eyes on me, and as soon as I look at Caleb, I sure enough find him watching me. Then he glances at Warner who’s chatting with his friends. He frowns. Sheesh. What’s his problem with Warner? Ugh, don’t tell me he thinks he has an agenda , too.
Smiling, I give Caleb a small wave, similar to the one I gave him yesterday during dinner. He narrows his eyes, jaw clenching.