Page 60 of We Shouldn't Be Together
Cammy and I file into the gym with the other students. Yvie is already taking a seat in the middle of the third bleacher. Cammy pushes ahead of me, zeroing in on the seats Yvie is hopelessly saving for us. Is this health class 2.0 where I’m left out again?
I follow Cammy along the aisle, and surprisingly, she leaves a space for me between her and Yvie. Unnerved, I take a seat. Vice Principal Franklin is at the microphone, telling all the stragglers to take a seat. My breath hitches when I witness Kai Nelson and his friends walk into the gym. I exhale when they all take a seat on the second bleacher, a few rows down from me and the girls.
Our vice principal gets the assembly moving. Apparently, there’s been a spike in kids using the school portal to bully other students. It’s definitely not a good look that Ashworth Academy’s in-house student and teacher interface is becoming a breeding ground for cyber crime. To be honest, I didn’t really know this was a thing. I barely log-on, unless I need to do an assignment that’s due that week. Or, like last night, it’s the only way to communicate with my lab partner.
My gaze wanders, searching for Kai. I swallow and suck in a breath as I view him messing around with his friends. They laugh and punch each other in the arm until a teacher passes by and hushes them. There’s a carefree ease to his expression, and the ache in my chest softens when I focus on his smile.
“Who are you looking at?” Yvie whispers beside me.
“Huh?” I jolt in place, flicking my gaze back to the basketball court. “No one.”
“Mm-hmm.” She sniggers to herself. “Have anything to do with Hayden McGregor sitting over there?”
There’s a sting between my eyebrows as I frown. I’ll never live down that text.
Although, Yvie thinking I was staring at Hayden is a much better predicament than who I was actually gawking at.
“Mm,” I vaguely murmur back.
I let Yvie giggle to herself about my apparent crush on Hayden McGregor, and I can’t help wondering about the chemistry class I’m missing out on.
There’s a flutter in my heart.
What if Kai and I were civil?
What would that be like?
I focus on his smile and how he chats with his friends instead of listening to Vice Principal Franklin yammering into the microphone. Kai leans into Jamie, whispering in her ear, and there’s a tug in my stomach. The feeling clamps down. My gaze drops to my hands when the agony spikes. I unfurl my fingers, prying my fingernails from the flesh of my palms.
In shock, I look back up at Kai and Jamie.
Was that jealousy?
Over them?
I gulp, soaking in the presence of my friends on either side of me. Again, I watch Kai and Jamie laugh together. Maybe that’s it. I’m jealous of a good friendship. When’s the last time I effortlessly laughed with my friends?
I rub two knuckles over the ache in my chest. Why am I pining over a class with a boy who does nothing but yell at me? It’s just because Mom was drilling me again, and my guilt over using Drew. Well, he offered. He practically pried the homework away from me. But, ugh, he did it, and I shouldn’t have let him.
If Kai and I could get along enough to finish the assignment, I could ease my guilt and show Drew I can do it on my own.
Yvie nudges my side. “Do you think we’ll still have phys-ed after this?”
I grimace. “Eww. I hope not.”
“What are you two talking about?” Cammy whispers.
“Possibility of having phys-ed after this,” I whisper back.
“Isn’t it health class again?”
I cross my fingers. “Either way, I hope this is a long assembly.”
Cammy sniggers. “Maybe if everyone around us keeps chatting, our reddening vice principal will go even more ape and keep us for an extra period.”
I sink in my seat. “I have no problem with that. I can zone him out.”
Cammy giggles, nudging me. “You’re so bad.”
