Page 14 of Heartthrobs Don't Date Wallflowers
I wasn’t so sure about that—getting lost in schools was a specialty of mine. But I nodded like I believed her and walked out. This time without bumping into anyone.
The second I walked into the classroom, it felt like the walls were closing in. All I wanted to do was back out of here and never come back, but that obviously wasn’t an option, so I went for the second best thing: sitting at an empty desk in the far corner. And if I was lucky, nobody would come to sit beside me.
My heart was pounding like I’d just sprinted upthree flights of stairs. I kept my head down like maybe, if I tried hard enough, I could will myself to be invisible. I pulled out my phone, thumb hovering over the screen for a second before I opened my messages. If I couldn’t deal with real people right now, maybe texting someone wouldn’t be so bad.
My first instinct was to text Poppy but she was in the middle of her school day right now and didn’t always have her phone on her. But there was one other person I could text…
Ivy
Please tell me you’re not in school right now.
I didn’t lift my head from the phone after I sent it. I kept just clicking into random message threads as if I was busy texting someone, instead of being the pathetic new girl who didn’t have any friends. I wasn’t sure if I was fooling anyone, but it made me feel better.
Not Zesty
Would you prefer for me to (a) lie and say what you want to hear or (b) tell the truth?
I smiled, my shoulders dropping a fraction as I typed back.
Ivy
Depends. If I say (b), can youkeep texting?
Not Zesty
As a matter of fact, I can
Not because I’m not in school but because I’m a terrible student
I snorted, and it was probably louder than I intended because a few people in the front rows glanced back at me. I ducked my head, pretending to dig through my backpack. Rule number one of starting at a new school was not bringing attention to myself.
Ivy
A man after my own heart
It’s only my first day of school and I already feel behind
The door creaked open and I jerked my head up. The teacher, a middle-aged woman with blonde hair, walked in, carrying a stack of papers. She let them drop on the desk and blew some hair out of her face, looking a little haggard.
“Okay, everyone, let’s settle in,” she said. The room slowly got quieter as everyone moved to their actual seats instead of just standing beside their friends. I felt the pressure building again, like I was supposed to be doing something—anything—besides staring at my phone.
Not Zesty
Well to be fair it IS two months into the semester
Unless you go to some weird school that starts in November.
Ivy
No no you’re right
Ok so I don’t need to feel bad that I’m behind because I’m SUPPOSED to be behind
Not Zesty
I’m,,
Not sure that’s what I meant
