Page 6 of Wylder and the Almost Rockstar
He’d stood up there with her, giving her strength, and reminding her she wasn’t ever in this alone.
“D.” She wiped her eyes. “I’m going to go.”
“But there’s still one more inning.”
“Period.” She did know that one. Diego did too, but he still slipped up. “I know, but I need to get out of here.”
“Want me to come?”
She loved him for offering. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she smiled. “No. Stay and watch Killer. I’ll be okay.”
Those words echoed in her mind as she climbed the steps to the main concourse and made her way through the double glass doors into the bright fall day.
I’ll be okay.
And she would.
Wylder was always okay.
But as tears stung her eyes, the knowledge wasn’t enough to make them disappear.
2
If anyone had told Wylder the first day of class that she’d miss having Sebastian as a teacher when he was gone, she’d have rolled her eyes, because they obviously didn’t know her well.
To say it was less than ideal to stare at her ex every day, knowing if their secret got out it would be the end of both their lives—dramatic? Yes—would have been an understatement. Yet, as Mr. Carlisle droned on and on aboutBeowulfin a monotone voice, she missed Sebastian’s excitement, the way he’d thrown out their usual syllabus to have them read books they actually wanted to read.
Beowulf? Not one of them. It was from the summer reading list, and Wylder hadn’t made it very far. The story wasn’t bad, but the writing was a snoozefest. It had no importance in today’s world.
That was what she missed the most. Sebastian used books to teach them about the world.
Mr. Carlisle used them to teach the class about literature, nothing else.
This was the first year Wylder felt like she didn’t have to be a bad student. Whatever happened between them, Sebastian was the first teacher to truly think Wylder could do better. He didn’t accept her poor grades as a lack of knowledge, only a lack of drive.
And he hadn’t let her get away with it.
Resting her chin on her arms, Wylder tried to focus on Mr. Carlisle’s words, but all she saw was his little goatee with a piece of food stuck to the hairs. He wiped ridiculously small glasses on his shirt before returning them to his nose and stood, a stack of papers in hand.
“Diego, would you pass these out?”
Diego dropped a packet on Wylder’s head. She sat up straighter, and the papers slid off, but she caught them before they hit the ground. “A study guide?”
Mr. Carlisle crossed his arms. “I am only your substitute until Mr. Cook returns, if that happens, but he has this class behind on the required reading and testing. I plan to catch us up. OurBeowulftest is on Friday. I expect excellence from students at Defiance Academy. Anything below a C plus will be considered a failing grade.”
He turned to his desk to check the time on his phone. As if on cue, the bell rang.
Wylder groaned as she slid the study guide into her bag. This test was going to be a nightmare.
Diego hadn’t moved as he leafed through the packet, his eyes widening. “How does he expect us to know all of this when we haven’t covered it in class?”
“You’ll be fine, Diego. You know everything.”
He lifted panicked eyes to hers. “Wylds.”
She’d never seen Diego worry about school before. He was the smartest person she knew. “We’ll study together and get Devyn to help.”
Devyn stopped at the edge of her desk. “I was actually going to ask if Diego could help me. This study guide is intimidating.”
