*Edited*
Today would be the first day of senior year. Summer vacation had gone by fast, but I was ready to go back. Nah, just kidding. I hated school. The only reason I'd be even remotely happy to go back would be to see Mae.
Mae.
We'd texted each other a few times throughout the summer, but I never got the chance to tell her about Elijah and I. I was pretty sure she still had feelings for him even after he was a jerk to her. You didn't just get over your crush that easily. Trust me, I knew all about it.
I groaned, sitting up in my bed. Now I was really dreading school.
"Veronica! Time for school!" My mother yelled from downstairs, causing me to groan even more.
I sluggishly slid out of bed and threw on the first shirt I saw, which just happened to be a band t-shirt from Hot Topic with a pair of ripped jeans and converse. My hair was growing longer, past my shoulders, so I figured I'd have it get it cut soon.
When I got downstairs, my mother was wearing her apron, cooking pancakes, and my father was reading the newspaper, drinking coffee like usual. I took a seat across from him and my mother raised her eyebrows at me.
"You sure you want to wear that for the first day of school?" She asked me.
I looked down at my clothes. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
She sighed, flipping a pancake. She stacked a few on a plate and handed them to me, saying, "Nothing."
Hah, she knew better than to argue with my choice of clothes.
I ate the pancakes slowly, enjoying every bite before I realized I'd be late for school. I quickly finished eating them and grabbed my backpack, bolting out the door with strange looks from both of my parents.
I ran out to the driveway for a surprise. I shoved my car keys in the pockets of my jeans and got into Elijah's car instead. He turned down the music once I was inside and turned to me.
"Ready to go back to school for one last year?" He asked me.
"No," I said, making him snicker. He backed out of my driveway and drove us to school just minutes before the final bell.
We went our separate ways to our lockers and then to homeroom to receive our schedules for the year. I sat down in the last row of the science lab that my homeroom teacher taught in.
I hated having my homeroom teacher be a science teacher because there was always random flasks, graduated cylinders, and just about anything else found in a lab, on my table.
When my teacher handed me my new schedule, I scanned my eyes across it and angrily crumpled it up in my fist, earning myself a few weird looks. The bell rang, dismissing us for our first period class.
Which just happened to be math class with the teacher I had last year. Ugh.
I took the same seat I sat in everyday last year, right next to the window and in front of the last row. I was busy doodling in my notebook so when I felt the pen tap my back, I had a déjà vu.
I twisted around to see Elijah grinning at me. I rolled my eyes.
"Fancy seeing you here," he said, sarcastically. I took his pen from him and said, "Give me your schedule."
I circled two other classes that he had with me. History again, and physics. Just as I was handing it back to him, a girl I've never seen before with bright red hair and green eyes came up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
He averted his gaze to her and smiled. A pang of jealousy flashed through me at seeing him smile at someone else like that.
"Hey, I'm new here," she began, shyly. Her cheeks turned the color of her hair when she continued talking to him. I mean, yeah Elijah was extremely attractive, but why did every girl have to fall into his trap? Oh right, I did too.
"Hi, New Here. My name is Elijah," the smartass replied to her. I didn't think it was possible for her face to turn even more red, but it did. I wanted to keep listening to their conversation, ready to intervene, but that was when Mae walked in the room.
Her hair bobbed as she speed walked over to me with a huge smile on her face. She took the seat in front of me and turned around. "Veronica! I haven't seen you all summer. Your hair looks pretty like that," she said, noticing how my hair had grown longer.
"Oh, thanks. How was your summer?"
She shrugged. "I went to Poland for about a month and then I had to babysit my younger brother for the rest. How was yours?"
I tapped my chin. I should tell her about Elijah and I now. I opened my mouth to tell her when her eyes drifted to someone behind me. I turned around to see what she was looking at.
Her eyes were directly on Elijah who was still animatedly talking to the new girl. Yeah, she still definitely had a crush on him. I couldn't tell her, but I had to.
"Listen, Mae-"
"Want to meet me at my locker after class so I can show you around?" I heard Elijah ask. I stiffened as the girl said, "Sure, that would be great!"
Damn, that girl was bubbly. And I already didn't like her.
When I was about to confront the two of them, Mrs. Humphrey walked into the room right as the bell rang. Everyone took their seats and I could barely pay attention as she took attendance. I listened for the new girl's name. Allison Clyde. Blech.
Mrs. Humphrey visibly grinded her teeth when she read off my name and then Elijah's farther down the list. We hadn't done so well in her class last year.
I couldn't stop thinking about Allison Clyde or how I still had to tell Mae about my relationship. I couldn't focus the entire class, right up until the bell rang.
I stood up, packing all of my stuff up when Mae said, "I'll see you at lunch, Veronica!" Before I could stop her, she walked out of the room. I turned to walk with Elijah who was in my next period history class.
Then I saw Allison practically glued to his side. I'd been happy about the fact Bianca and Christi weren't in this class, but now I couldn't tell if I'd rather have them over Allison.
Elijah leaned down to whisper something in her ear and she giggled, blushing. I narrowed my eyes on them. Elijah must've felt my heated gaze because he lifted his eyes to mine.
"Oh, I was just about to show New Here around since she just moved here," he said. Allison laughed at his joke and placed her hand on his arm.
I looked down at her hand on him and then back up into his eyes, daring him to let her arm stay there.
When he didn't make a move to get out of her embrace, I said, "Okay. I hope New Here knows about us."
I thought Allison had liked being called New Here, but she didn't appreciate it when I called her that nickname. She frowned, tightening her hand on my boyfriend's arm. Elijah said, "Well if she didn't know before, she sure does now."
Was this girl stupid, or what? She didn't get the hint and kept her hand on him. I strode right up to them and plucked her hand off of him. "Who do you think you are?" I sneered.
She took a step back and tugged on his shirt, saying, "Let's go. This girl is being rude."
Elijah shot me a look as if he couldn't believe why I was being mean before looking down at her and my heart literally dropped to my stomach when he said, "I know. I'll show you around now."
They left the room without a glance back. I thought my first day back had been bad when I thought about having to tell Mae about who my boyfriend was. I'd been naïve to think it couldn't get any worse.
Because it just got a whole lot worse.
I clenched my fists around my backpack straps as I left the classroom in pursuit of Elijah and Allison. My clumsiness got in the way, causing me to bump into a tall kid with dark red hair and hazel eyes.
"Ah, I'm sorry," I said, bending down to pick up my backpack. He beat me to it, handing it to me. I gratefully took it back, slinging it around my shoulders.
"Don't worry about it. I'm kind of lost, so I wasn't looking where I was going," he said.
"Oh, are you a new student?" I asked.
He nodded, held out his hand, and said, "I'm Quinn Clyde."
Oh. Oh.
This must be Allison's brother. I grinned mischievously at him and clasped his hand in mine. "I'm Veronica Fray. Allow me to show you around."
********
Uh oh. What is going on!?