𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 ✰ v. hacker

twenty-sixth ❀ irl

| VINNIE |

although i'd never admit it out loud, the only reason i was enjoying chemistry and getting through with a passing grade was because of maisy. i'd never been much of a science person, and since i'd started getting treated differently at school, i'd lost all motivation to try hard in classes since it was hard to make an effort to care about anything.

that is, until she came in.

we actually had fun during class. she actually knew what she was doing. even though she'd make fun of me for being dense and not understanding a concept, she'd actually take time to explain it to me. sometimes she'd even draw a terrible diagram to help explain, but usually it'd just end with me roasting her drawing skills.

still, i appreciated her more than she knew. she pushed me to study harder and actually made chemistry a class i looked forward to. we'd pass notes during class just to keep each other entertained and not falling asleep. and of course, during labs, we were always goofing off and having fun with it. we'd met up a few times to study for exams and because i was putting the time into chemistry and studying for it, my grades were getting better.

if was the only class we had together, but our friendship was beginning to grow beyond just the short classroom time we had together...and i wasn't complaining about it.

"turn to the illustration in the textbook on page 395." our chemistry teacher called out, turning my attention back to the class at hand. "can anyone explain the process depicted there without using the words underneath the drawing?"

i felt a nudge in my ribs as maisy elbowed me, hard.

"ow!"

"you can explain it," she hissed, grinning widely. "we just talked about it at the library yesterday." with a wink, she added, "get that extra credit for class participation!"

i frowned at her, rubbing the sore spot on my ribs. "so? i'm not gonna say it because i hate speaking."

"stella and vinnie, are you discussing the illustration on page 395?" interrupted the professor from the front of the room, hearing our loud whispers.

"yeah, actually!" spoke up maisy very excitedly. "vinnie knows the answer."

i groaned, elbowing her back. she jumped a little, laughing smugly.

"mister hacker?" the teacher raised his eyebrow at me expectantly.

reluctantly, i began an explanation, casting a dark look at maisy next to me every now and then. but as i finished speaking, our teacher looked pleased and commended me on my answer.

phew.

"see? that was great." maisy leaned over to whisper to me, beaming proudly. i crossed my arms and tried to glare at her, but i couldn't be angry at her for too long since i was pretty proud of my answer.

i tried to ignore the stares of the fan girls in front of us who were turning around to look at me, and continued taking notes.

the teacher continued on, finished the new lesson and began some review from a recent test. luckily, maisy and i had studied hard for it and had gotten a pretty good score, so this was all pretty much useless information.

"by the way," as i leaned over to whisper in her ear, she turned to face me, our faces getting really close, "did you hear about the photoshoot we're doing together next wednesday after school?"

her face lit up. "no, i didn't hear that! that's so exciting." she made a funny face. "and sneaky...how mysterious and wild of us."

i laughed quietly. "did you see the pictures back from the la shoot though? straight fire."

"yes." she nodded vigorously. "they were so cool. we really do have great chemistry."

"we are such a great pair," i agreed. "we are almost good enough to-"

"stella and vinnie," interrupted our teacher again. "please stop whispering or i'll separate you two."

"yes sir," we both looked at him, nodding politely, and then back at each other, stifling our laughs. she leaned over to write a note and slid the paper over to me.

i wouldn't mind sitting separate from you. you talk too much >:(

i rolled my eyes with a chuckle, writing back a simple reply.

i wouldn't mind sitting separate from you either. you force me to answer questions i don't want to >:(

with a smile, she wrote,

please, you know you love speaking up. you love the attention.

i shrugged nonchalantly, sliding the paper back over to her with a note that read,

you're totally right. i'll dedicate my next thirst trap to you. xoxo, your favorite tiktok fboy

as maisy read the note, she mimicked throwing up and then flipped me off under the table. i tried to hid the amused smile that spread over my face, but i couldn't stop it.

geez louise, this girl was gonna be the death of me.

besides jordan, maisy was the only reason i actually enjoyed school and stayed in it. if it weren't for them, i'd have dropped out long ago.

❀