Page 16 of The Charade

A few more students walked into the classroom, which brought Mrs. Simmons back to whatever she'd meant to tell me. "I've already spoken with Headmistress Sutton about your situation." She cleared her throat before ducking her head closer and continuing in a hushed tone. "And we thought the best way for you to excel in my class this year would be for us to do something we've had success with in the past years."

Great.

Apparently, my case was special enough that the teachers had already been warned about me.

A deep feeling of shame seeped into my chest, spreading throughout my whole body and making me feel hot in my blazer.

I tugged on my necktie and quickly glanced behind me to make sure the students already seated weren't eavesdropping on this possibly humiliating conversation.

Thankfully, they were all either busy chatting with each other like long-lost friends or staring into their phones.

Mrs. Simmons continued, "I always try my best to cater to the needs of each of my students, but since it can sometimes be helpful to have things explained in different ways, we have arranged for your peer tutor to attend during this same hour so you can sit together. This way he can help answer any questions you may have during my lectures."

He? My tutor was a guy?

"Okay." I nodded and then breathed in through my nose, telling myself that if I remained calm, none of the students behind me would guess that Mrs. Simmons was doing anything other than welcoming a new student to her class.

My teacher's attention caught on something behind me, and then she smiled again. "Looks like your tablemate has just arrived."

I glanced behind me and found a tall guy with dirty-blond hair and piercing blue eyes that only appeared even more blue next to his navy blazer.

Yes, I was looking at Carter Hastings.

Oh no, oh no, oh no. Please don't let him be my tutor.

Carter nodded in our direction before taking a seat at a table in the center of the second row, leaning back and stretching his long legs. He lazily draped his arm across the back of the chair beside him. And when his gaze lifted to mine, looking at me through eyelashes that were surprisingly dark for his lighter hair, my face burned hot with embarrassment.

Had he known yesterday when we met that he'd be helping me this year?

Was that why he'd barely given me the time of day? Because he already knew I was beneath him?

Ugh!

Of all the people at this school I could have been partnered with to help me with math, why did it have to behim?

I turned away from Carter and focused back on my teacher. "I have to work with Carter?" I asked, my throat dry.

"Oh, so you're already acquainted with Mr. Hastings?" Mrs. Simmons’s eyes lit up, obviously not sensing how unenthusiastic I was at this pairing. "He’s one of my brightest students and has proven to be a great tutor in previous years."

So he did tutoring on the regular. Was that, like, his charity project? Rich people always liked being seen as charitable, right?

The bell rang.

"I, um, guess I better take my seat," I said, even though the thought of sitting next to Carter and officially outing myself to the whole class as the girl who needed Carter's benevolent help this year was about the last thing I wanted to do.

But since I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself by standing next to the teacher after the bell had already rung, I walked the few feet to where Carter was and set my binder on the table. And then, after waiting for Carter to remove his arm from the back of my chair, I sat down and scooted in.

"Good morning," I said to him. I decided that if I didn't make the first move to break the ice, based on our previous interactions, he might just ignore me altogether.

He took his time to turn in my direction, and before he said anything, he looked me over from head to toe. His gaze seemed to linger on the burgundy-colored socks that hit just below my knee, but then he finally lifted his gaze up to mine and said, "Hi."

I furrowed my brow together, confused at why he'd eyed my socks for so long. Had I worn them wrong or something?

I'd never had to wear a uniform to school before, but I was pretty sure it was customary to have the socks pulled up instead of folded over.

I was just about to glance around and make sure the other girls were wearing their socks the same way when Carter's deep voice sounded again and he asked, "You're Ava, right?"

"Yes." I cleared my throat, and with a shaky hand, I pointed at the gold letter A that I'd pinned to the end of my necktie. "The A is for Ava."

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