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AURORA WASN'T SURE HOW WORD DIDN'T GET AROUND.
Maybe Jimmy was embarrassed that he'd been turned down, and forced everyone to keep their mouths shut. Or maybe everyone knew and was doing a good job at hiding it from her.
Whatever the case, not one person mentioned it to her.
Jimmy became a little closed off to her. Instead of treating her as a friend — like he used to — he began to treat her indifferently. He flirted shamelessly with everyone around her — resulting in Sana cussing him out under her breath every time the two crossed paths. He smirked at Aurora whenever she passed, as if the two were sharing a deep, dark secret.
In all honesty, Aurora was only here for a short while. After a few weeks, no one would even remember her name, or the fact that she'd been here. Even if Jimmy had told the world, she wouldn't have minded.
"Switch your answers with the person in front of you," Mrs. O'Conley instructed. "If you didn't finish your work, it doesn't matter. We'll figure that out later."
Ethan turned in his chair, the two of them swapping their assignments.
"Ethan," Aurora said, causing the boy to turn back around.
"What?"
Aurora opened her mouth, before closing it again. Maybe she was imagining things, but she could've sworn she saw something on his eye — like an eyepatch, maybe.
"Never mind," she shook her head.
Ethan furrowed his brows, but turned back in his seat.
Mrs. O'Conley called on different students in the class, taking up the worksheet together. It was a long and tedious process, and by the time Mrs. O'Conley got to Aurora, she'd managed to decipher Ethan's handwriting.
"Aurora," the teacher called her name, eyes narrowed. "Read out the answer that's written in front of you."
Aurora nodded, "Urban runoff picks up trash, chemicals, and other harmful things found in city streets. All of this is later deposited into lakes, ponds, and groundwater. This affects the underwater marine life negatively." She continued reading Ethan's answer out loud, impressed by how well written it was.
"Wonderful!" Mrs. O'Conley grinned, showing off weirdly sharp teeth. "That's the kind of answer you all should be seeing on your page. If there's a problem, let me know. Jimmy, can you read out your answer?"
Jimmy read his answer, only for the bell to ring while Mrs. O'Conley was talking. There was a sudden rush as students made their way out the door.
"Drew, stay behind please," Mrs. O'Conley said to her. "We need to talk about last week's assignment."
