Page 10 of A Scandal in Homeroom
Locke and Wick’s interaction only lasted a minute, then both were walking away from one another without having noticed me.
Which was good. It meant now I had one up on Locke. Something I was starting to realize might prove to be very interesting.
Quietly, I made my way toward my locker and retrieved the cardigan I’d bought recently in a consignment shop. The bell had rung minutes ago, but for me there was no hurry. My next class was with Mr. Darling, and he pretty much let me get away with anything.
Really, I should write a book.Perks of a High School Hottie.
Like I told Locke, it was both a blessing and a curse.
3
Locke
“Funny finding you here.”
I didn’t startle at the sudden presence of Irene Adler in aisle 4 of the CVS, the pharmacy located in the center of town. I’d watched her entrance into the store on the security camera minutes ago. It was only a matter of time before we eventually ran into each other. Time I wanted, dare I say,needed, to plan a defense against her.
I assumed a bored expression when I faced her, but the impact of her on my senses was no less jarring than it was any time I confronted her. She was again wearing her cheerleading outfit in preparation for tomorrow night’s game. I was told it was considered a show of support for the team.
“Miss Adler,” I said, with a long drawl. See how utterly unmoved I was by her?
“What are you doing?”
“Shopping,” I said. “Obviously.”
“Oh, there is nothing obvious about you. Hmm. That’s a lot of bottles in your cart. What is all that?”
I glanced down at the basket on my arm filled with about ten bottles of pills I’d pulled off the shelf.
“Let’s see, that’s one, two, three…bottles of none of your business.”
She smiled and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m trying to makeyoumy business.”
“Oh, I can tell. I just don’t understand why. Do you always accost the new boys at school?”
“Accost? That seems like a harsh choice of words, and I seldom have time for boys.”
Our eyes met. An acknowledgement on her part I wasn’t like the other males in school. I was apart. Always apart. My intellect made it so.
“What. Do. You. Want?” I asked her. Carefully, slowly, so there would be no misunderstanding. Irene Adler was a bright, shiny light, and she made my eyes hurt just to look at her. The fact that she was also intelligent and incredibly cagey didn’t help matters.
“I want a lot of things, Locke. So, so many things.”
That was the truth. I could see it in her expression. A sense of longing for things she didn’t have yet. There was also a determination in her gaze.
“I meant from me.”
That broke her concentration, and, for as second, I could sense she struggled to find an answer.
“I’m a cat,” she said, flippantly. “And you’re a shiny new toy.”
I laughed at that. Again, something I wasn’t prone to.
“Trust me, I’m not someone you want to play with. I come with spikes and thorns.”
She moved an inch closer to me and I had to force myself not to take a step back. “I think you can tell by now I like a challenge.”
“Miss Adler. Go away.”For my own sanity, please, please go away, I thought.
