Chapter 26 Surprise
Mr. Huang blinked.
Probably never met someone this brazen before.
"Is it that hard?"
"Yes." Mila nodded frantically.
"Fine." He chuckled. Pulled out Mila's test. "Copy these five questions ten times each tonight. Repetition is the best teacher. Come to my office next week to redo them. One wrong answer, twenty more copies."
Honestly, Luna's legs were a little wobbly.
Mila asked in disbelief. "Ten?"
"Not that many." Mr. Huang tossed her the test. "You can go."
Mila took the test mechanically. Left looking like her soul had left her body.
She closed the door.
Some teacher must have just put on hand lotion. The office smelled of floral cream.
Mr. Huang glanced at Luna. "That girl copied your homework, didn't she?"
"No." Luna denied it.
Mr. Huang snorted. "Come on. She didn't even change the steps. Whatever you got wrong, she got wrong."
Luna went quiet.
Mr. Huang sighed. "I've been watching your grades, kid. Your English and Chinese are top of the class. How'd your math end up this crippled?"
Luna kept her head down. "I've been trying."
Mr. Huang glanced at her. Picked up his red pen. Tapped the test. Then he actually started explaining the problems.
Luna was a little touched.
But not much. Because Mr. Huang's explanation was even more abstract than the class rep's.
"Make sense?"
He asked hopefully.
Luna's mouth twitched. Her lips trembled for a long moment. "Y-yeah. Got it."
Mr. Huang was about to say something when the door pushed open.
A boy walked in holding a stack of freshly printed tests. "Mr. Huang, I brought the tests."
Mr. Huang looked over. "Thanks. Just put them there."
"Sure."
The boy set them down obediently. Luna stepped aside to make room.
The boy put the tests down. He was about to leave when he noticed the test on the desk, covered in red marks. He frowned. "Huh. Luna, didn't you say you understood this one when I taught you yesterday?"
"..."
The room went dead silent.
Even Jax stopped grading. Looked over quietly.
Luna almost died on the spot.
Mr. Huang raised an eyebrow. "You taught her this one?"
"Yeah." Dylan nodded. "Last night."
Mr. Huang's face cleared. "So you're a repeat offender. Faking it till you make it."
Luna went pale. "I didn't..."
Mr. Huang pointed at his chin. "Then explain it to me."
Luna took a deep breath. Ready to die a hero.
Then Jax spoke up. "Sir, you're making her nervous."
"Nervous? Am I that scary?" Mr. Huang asked.
"A little," Luna said.
"Oh." Mr. Huang thought about it. "Then find a time to explain it to Jax instead."
Luna nodded fast, afraid he'd change his mind. "Okay."
-
Once she grabbed her test and got out of the office, Luna felt like she'd climbed out of hell and back to earth.
She was about to leave when she saw Mila leaning against a pillar, chewing bubble gum, scrolling her phone.
Luna was surprised. "You waited?"
"Obviously." Mila said. "Of course I'd wait for you."
"You're the best." Luna hugged her arm, touched.
Mila giggled.
-
After school, Luna lugged a backpack full of homework back to Crescent Bay.
She walked in to see Leo coming out of the kitchen with an ice-cold Coke. "Hey. School's out?"
"Get away from me." Luna's face was ice.
Leo paused. His fingers tightened around the Coke bottle, knuckles going white. His expression didn't change. "What's wrong?"
Did she make up with Hayes again?
So she was ignoring him again.
"Nothing. I'm covered in school stink. Can't get too close to your day-off vibes, can I?"
Leo looked completely lost. "What's wrong with you?"
"Hmph." Luna dropped her bag and flopped onto the couch. She felt like a total dead fish.
Leo nudged her shoe. "You upset?"
"Is it not obvious?" Luna kicked off her slippers and sprang up from the couch. "It's written all over my face."
"About what?" Leo twisted the cap off his Coke. About to drink.
Luna smoothly snatched the Coke from his hand. Tipped her head back for a big gulp. "Who actually enjoys going to school?"
Leo looked like he wanted to curse. Held it in.
"You used to like school, didn't you?"
Luna thought for a second.
Before?
She used to like it because she got to see Hayes. And she hadn't cared about grades back then. Bad at math? So what. The family had enough money to last her a lifetime of fun.
Now things were different. Seeing Hayes gave her a headache. And she had to push through math and physics whether she understood them or not.
It was exhausting.
"We're seniors now. It's a lot of pressure." Luna tossed out a decent enough excuse.
Leo was a year younger, still a junior. He said, "Oh. I'm going to shoot pool with Ryder and the guys. Wanna come? Take your mind off things."
Luna thought about her backpack full of homework. She decided to leave that problem for the version of herself that existed two hours from now.
She slid her slippers back on. "I'm in! Let me change first."
Leo nodded. Wandered to the kitchen to grab another Coke from the fridge.
-
Luna threw on sweatpants and a fitted tee. Pinned her hair up with a claw clip. Going for comfortable.
Dean drove them again.
Dean smiled. "Haven't seen you two go out together in a while."
Luna said, "He took the day off. So he's free."
Dean nodded.
When they got out at the drop-off, Luna said, "Dean, you go ahead. Leo and I'll grab a cab home later."
Dean looked worried. "A cab isn't safe."
"Leo's with me. Don't worry." Luna smiled.
Dean hesitated. Then drove off.
Once he was gone, Luna's smile vanished.
In her previous life, after Charles Harrington went to prison, every old servant was let go. Except Dean. He stayed on as the driver for her uncle.
Dean was hiding something.
-
"What are you spacing out for?" Leo waved his hand in front of her. "Let's go."
"Coming." Luna followed.
They stood outside a pool hall. Luna looked around. Seemed like a place Leo came to often. Pretty big.
Leo was on the phone with Ryder. "You here yet?"
"Yeah." Ryder's voice had a sly edge. "We brought you a surprise."
Leo frowned. "What surprise."
Ryder wouldn't say. "You'll see when you get here."
"Tell me the table number."
Ryder gave the number. Leo hung up.