Page 8 of Autumn Secrets

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, but thankfully I heard a familiar voice cry out: “There you are! Sorry, I’m late.” I quietly sighed in relief as Lexi ran toward us with a big smile on her face.

“Lexi, hi.”

“I see you’ve already made a new friend on your first day.” Lexi winked and glanced towards Adrian. “Hi, Adrian.”

“Hi, Lexi. I was keeping Aurora company until she found you.”

“Appreciate it,” she said and gave me a huge grin.

I had no idea how she could be immune tothatface, but she seemed quite unaffected by Adrian’s charm. Or maybe she was just better than I was at keeping a straight face. That was probably more likely.

“Well, I better be going or I’m going to be late for class,” said Adrian. “Enjoy your first day.”

I watched as he walked away, shaking my head slightly in an attempt to find my focus again. This was the second time Adrian had made an appearance in my life, and both times he had completely startled me by doing very little at all.

“I know, he’s sooo hot, isn’t he? He’s like a freaking supermodel. I told you we have some good-looking guys here,” Lexi said, as if reading my mind, and grabbed my arm. “Let’s go, we don’t want to be late for class, first impressions and all. I need to take you to the office.”

The office was located at the end of the building and as we walked through the corridors, I couldn’t help but admire the high ceilings and the colourful artwork that was displayed on the walls. It was the complete opposite to what the school looked like from the outside. It felt warm and almost homely in here. The office lady greeted us and gave me a huge folder with information, a key to my new locker and a map of the school.

We had just made it to the classroom when the bell rang. I let my eyes wander around the room and cringed inwardly when I saw that everyone was already seated and staring at me, the new girl. I shifted my gaze towards the teacher instead, in a desperate attempt to get away from all those curious eyes.

“Sorry, I don’t know where you will be seated,” Lexi whispered and approached the teacher by the desk. “Mr Thomas, this is Aurora Kinsley. She’s new here,” she explained and left me at the front of the classroom as she walked to her seat. I stood there awkwardly and waited for Mr Thomas to give me some kind of direction. He straightened his glasses while he threw me a quick glance.

“Oh yes, Aurora, welcome. I’m Mr Thomas. Please have a seat next to Julian. You can share books with him for today.”

“Sure,” I replied as I waited for him to tell me who Julian was, but he never did.Okay, weird.I made my way between the desks as I desperately scanned for a boy who obviously had an empty seat next to him. I found the empty chair in the back of the room. Too shy to look at him, or anyone else for that matter, I quietly sank down in my seat and focused my attention back on Mr Thomas, as I exhaled slowly. That was horrible. I hated unwanted attention, and in the last few minutes I had had way more than I was comfortable with.

“I’m Julian,” a voice said softly next to me.

Startled, I turned my head and was caught in a pair of dark, obsidian eyes. Lexi sure didn’t exaggerate when she’d told me that they had some good-looking guys in this town. His light blond hair was the complete opposite of Adrian’s, but his features were just as perfect, with sharp cheekbones and a sensual mouth. I felt my heart pick up speed for the second time this morning as he studied me with a hint of a smile.

“Aurora, I presume?” I nodded and swallowed, and he pushed his book between us. “We’re talking about how to sustain a resilient democracy and a cohesive society for the future.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled. He just nodded and turned his gaze back towards the front of the room. As it turned out, Julian was very bright and really contributed to the classroom discussion. Which also meant that all eyes were constantly turning our way, and I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat every time he opened his mouth. When the bell finally rang, I couldn’t have been happier that the lesson was finally over. I watched everyone gather their books and move towards the door.

“That bad, huh?”

I turned my head in the direction of his voice and got caught in his stare once again. “S-sorry…what?”

“I like this subject. I like to challenge how people think.” He smiled. “I’m not always this chatty. I could feel how uncomfortable you were with everyone staring.”

“That’s okay, I’ll get used to it. I’m actually quite happy to contribute to class discussions as well, just not on my first day.”

He ticked his head towards Lexi near the front of the room. “Do you know Lexi?”

“Yeah, kind of. We used to play together when we were little. My mum invited her and her parents to dinner on the weekend.”

“Well, isn’t that nice. Lexi is a great girl.” He studied me with curious eyes. I blushed and looked away. His eyes were so dark, so different to Adrian’s. Still, there was something about those eyes that spoke to me.

“Yeah, I know. Hopefully we can make up for lost time,” I finally said.

He was still watching me with a hint of a smile on his lips. “Well, I hope you do. I have to go, but I’ll see you later?”

“Sure,” I murmured, watching him gather his things to leave. He was very tall, I noticed. Just like Adrian…

“I told you,” Lexi had snuck up behind me.

I jumped slightly at her voice. “Oh my God, you scared me.” I laughed and shuffled my notebook into my bag.

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