Chapter Forty-Three
Raven
My friends and I follow the rest of the students to the auditorium after breakfast. We received notifications about the assembly on our phones, but they also announced it during breakfast. We don’t usually have assemblies, so everyone is whispering and wondering what the occasion could possibly be.
“You think we’ll get out of class?” Ryder asks as my friends and I choose a row in the middle of the auditorium.
“I hope not!” Sophie exclaims. “We’re supposed to have a math test,” she tells her boyfriend, Damian, who groans.
The two of them just got together a few days ago, and they’re so adorable.
Just as my other best friend, Addie, and her boyfriend, Caleb, are, as well as my other best friend, Carly, and her boyfriend, Ryder.
Being surrounded by so much love definitely makes me feel left out. I’ve secretly always known that I would be the last of our friend group to have a boyfriend. Could it be pessimism? Maybe. Intuition? Possible. But I think it’s mostly logic. I didn’t want it as much as my best friends.
But now that they’ve experienced something so amazing and wonderful, I want it, too.
I want it more than I thought I would ever want anything.
But the guy pool at Harrington Bay Academy is very small.
Well, it’s not that there are barely any guys here.
It’s just that every guy is worse than the last. My friends and I have known it since ninth grade, but Addie, who was a new student this year, wanted to prove us wrong.
She made a list of potential boyfriends, which Sophie put to the test. Unfortunately, every single guy was a bust.
Which means logically and probability wise, there’s a very slim chance I’ll experience high school love. Unless a new guy drops from the sky.
“Who are they?” a girl in the row in front of us asks.
When I turn my head toward the entrance to the auditorium, my brows lift. Because a group of three boys I don’t recognize has walked in, each of them wearing our uniform.
“Are we getting three new male students?” Carly asks. “There’s hope for Raven!”
“Ooh, totally,” Addie says. “Maybe I should start a new list—”
“No, Addie,” Sophie stresses. “Your lists are a curse.”
“They are so not!”
As they argue back and forth, my stomach bottoms out. Because another new guy rushes inside, calling after the other guys to wait up. The color drains from my face when I take in his familiar light brown hair, tall build, and striking green eyes.
“Oh no,” I whisper as I snap my head away and stare forward at the stage. What the heck is he doing here?
“They’re sitting in the back,” Carly observes. “It’s like they’re not sure if they want to meddle with the other students.”
“Who are they, though?” Addie asks.
“Gosh, no,” I beg as I squeeze my eyes shut. “This can’t be happening. Please let this be a nightmare. Wake up, Raven. Wake up.”
“Raven?” Addie rests her hand on my arm. “You okay?”
“Whoa, you’re pale,” Sophie says. “Like you saw a ghost.”
“You good?” Caleb asks.
I chance a glance at the last row and quickly yank my gaze away. It’s not a nightmare. It’s real. He really is sitting there dressed in my high school uniform.
Curious, Addie’s eyes move to the last row. “Raven, do you know any of those guys?”
With my eyes squeezed shut, I nod.
“Which one?” Damian asks.
“The one with the light brown hair.”
“How do you know him?” Carly inquires.
I open my eyes and say, “He’s…he’s…”
They all appear extremely confused, and then Sophie gasps. “Oh my gosh! Are you saying that’s—”
“Camp Lover Boy?” Addie nearly yells.
Unable to talk and wishing I could teleport out of here, I nod.
“Wait, who?” Carly stretches her neck. “The one with the light brown hair? Ooh, he’s cute.”
“This is so not happening.” I rub my hands down my face. “Guys, I think I’m going to puke.”
“Settle down, settle down,” Principal Harrington says as she walks on to the stage and reaches for the mic.
“Settle down. Good morning, students of Harrington Bay Academy. I hope you’re all having a beautiful morning.
I called you here today to inform you of some good news. We are having new students join us.”
She gestures to the boys in the back. Every single student in the auditorium turns around to look at them. Everyone but me. There’s no way I can risk him seeing me.
“They attended Everheart Academy for Boys, but unfortunately their school was shut down due to a fire. I’m sad to say the building was completely destroyed.
Harrington Bay Academy has graciously decided to take several of them in.
I hope you all make them feel welcome here.
And boys?” she addresses the new students. “Welcome to Harrington Bay Academy!”
Some kids cheer, though mostly everyone just stares at the boys with curious expressions. Some of the girls seem excited about fresh male meat.
“Now back to class!” the principal calls. “Anyone who’s late will get detention. Go on.”
I remain planted in my seat as everyone else starts to leave.
There’s no way I’m risking bumping into him.
Does he even know I go here? Would he remember the name of my school?
Hopefully I mattered so little to him that the information slipped his mind.
I need to bank on that if I’m going to spend the next year and a half avoiding him.
“Raven?” Sophie asks. My friends are already in the aisle and are heading to the exit of the auditorium.
“I’ll catch up with you later,” I tell them.
They seem curious and concerned, but they shrug and follow the rest of the students to the exit.
I sneak a peek at the new boys and see that they are still sitting in the last row. Geez, what are they waiting for? Don’t they know to be pushy and cut in line like everyone else?
Oh, gosh. Did I make a mistake by waiting to be the last to leave? What if I do run into him?
I heave a sigh of relief when they finally get up and walk out. Then I race into first period with my head lowered and my eyes basically glued to the floor.
I don’t know how I’m going to avoid the guy, but I will. Because there’s no way in heck I’m allowing myself to run into him ever in my lifetime.