Page 8 of Love Me Steadfast
“No problem.” She arches a slender eyebrow at me before leading me down the hallway. The way she pivots makes the pleated hem of her skirt flare, and for a split second, my throat constricts.
I fall in next to Tori. From the classrooms come fragments of teachers giving instructions and students shuffling into chairs. The bell rings, and I wince. How is it that everyone seems to know where they’re going but me? I should have paid better attention at orientation.
“It’s the first day of school.” Tori waves her hand like she can erase my unease. “She’ll go easy on you.”
We turn the corner. The hallway is completely empty now. “That’s good.”
Tori gives me a sly smile. “You actually care, huh? That’s…cute.”
She sounds surprised, even amused.Great. I stifle a groan and swear to never open my mouth again.
“What’s your Snap?” she asks.
Ahead, the door propped open has Mrs. McGinley’s name on it. I stay focused on getting there.
Tori stops just in front of the door and gives me one last curious look, but I stay quiet. I don’t even have a smartphone, let alone a social media account, something Zach was adamant I avoid for as long as possible.
Inside the classroom, the woman talking to rows of mute students sitting at double desks stops talking, and all eyes turn to me.
“Mrs. McGinley, please excuse William,” Tori says with apleasant smile she must reserve for teachers because it’s nothing like the looks she’s given me today. It reminds me of Charlotte’s warning. “He’s new here. He needed some, uh, assistance finding your class.”
The teacher’s left eyebrow twitches. “Take a seat, William.”
I hurry into the classroom, avoiding eye contact with the thirty-some pairs of them tracking me to an empty seat in the third row. By the time I settle in, Tori has disappeared from the doorway.
Chapter Four
CHARLOTTE (AGE 14)
When Mrs. McGinleyhands back our quiz on the invention of the steam engine, “SEE ME” is written across the top, next to my perfect score. Frowning, I scan the front and back of the page, but I didn’t make any mistakes. We’re barely a month into the new school year. Did I already manage to screw something up?
Though I know Mrs. McGinley from Model UN club last year and from Theo’s stories, that doesn’t help me figure out what she might want.
When the bell rings, I hurry to the front of the room, where Mrs. McGinley is erasing her whiteboard.
“You wanted to see me?” I ask while the other students file into the noisy hallway, a few of them not shy about throwing me curious looks over their shoulders.
Mrs. McGinley sets the eraser down. “The tutoring center is looking for a couple of peer helpers. Are you interested?”
Relief that I’m not in trouble ebbs inside me. Wait, does she think I’d make a good tutor? I adjust the strap of my backpack. “Um, maybe?”
She uncaps the black whiteboard pen. “They pay twenty dollars an hour. It’s on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings.”
This would be tough with my tight schedule, but I’m intrigued. “Thank you for thinking of me.”
She gives me a rare smile. “You’re welcome.”
I hurry out of her classroom and beeline to my next class, replaying the conversation. The tutoring center is managed by the athletic department. Theo used it last year for help with AP Bio. Though really, I think he milked his “need” in order to get tutored by Shannon Green.
I’m no Shannon Green, but the thought of sitting next to some hulking athlete who cracks dumb jokes and smells like the locker room isn’t exactly motivating. Though twenty bucks an hour sure is. I make a lot less than that babysitting.
At lunch, I beg Wren to visit the athletic department with me instead of flirting with her current cowboy crush at the student store.
“Why?” she whines.
“Safety in numbers,” I tell her, practically dragging her down the hall.
Outside, the autumn air bites my cheeks, but the weak sun feels good on my face.
