Between the desks

Chapter 5

Amren's POV

Lily and I make our way to our first class of the day—English.

As we step inside, my eyes immediately find her. There she is. Stunning. Our eyes meet for a split second, and I offer her a small, tentative smile.

"Isn't that the woman who bumped into you earlier?" Lily asks, her voice low.

"Yeah," I reply, scanning the room for a place to sit. The only seats left are in the front row. Great. I walk over and drop my bag on the desk, pulling out my notebook.

"You look all prepared," Lily teases, smirking.

"This year, I'm doing everything differently," I say, trying to sound serious.

But Lily just bursts out laughing. "Why are you laughing?" I ask, feeling a bit irritated.

"I'm sorry," she chuckles, "but I just can't take you seriously right now."

I roll my eyes and flip her the finger, but before I can say anything, a sharp voice cuts through the moment.

"I don't want to see that in my classroom," a stern voice says. I glance up and see her standing right in front of my desk, arms crossed, looking down at me.

Shit.

"I'm sorry, miss," I say quickly, trying to play it cool.

"It's professor to you," she corrects, her voice tight with irritation.

"Sorry, professor," I mumble, biting back my annoyance. What a bitch.

She walks away, and I exchange a look with Lily, who seems just as stunned. "What the hell was that?" I whisper.

"I have no idea," she whispers back, eyes wide. We're both too shocked to speak further.

"Good morning, class," the professor announces, her voice filling the room with authority. "Welcome. I'm Professor Olsen, and I'll be teaching you English this year. Professor Saw has retired, and I've taken over."

Her voice is cold, clipped, and no-nonsense. Yep. Total bitch.

"Enough small talk," she continues, not wasting a second. "Let's get to work."

I roll my eyes and lean toward Lily. "I don't like her," I whisper.

Lily grins mischievously. "But she's hot though," she whispers back.

I jab her in the arm. What the hell, Lil?

But then my gaze shifts back to the professor, and I can't help but notice how her grey suit hugs her frame perfectly. Lily's not wrong. She is hot.

Before I can process that thought, I glance up and realize the professor is already looking right at me. Shit. She caught me checking her out. My face burns as I quickly look away, pretending to jot something down in my notebook. So awkward.

For the rest of the class, I do my best to avoid her eyes, my stomach twisting every time I think she might be glancing in my direction. When she finally dismisses us, I practically bolt from the room, eager to escape the tension.

"Am!" Lily calls after me, rushing to catch up. She grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks. "What the hell, bitch?" she sighs, out of breath.

"I'm sorry, Lil," I say, flustered. "I just... I need to go to the bathroom."

Lily narrows her eyes, clearly not buying it. "Sureeee."

She loops her arm through mine, and we head toward the bathroom together. I try to shake off the weird feeling lingering from class, but it's harder than I thought