Complicated

Chapter 1: Partners and Football Games

Chapter 1

"Yes, dad, I know." I sighed, holding my phone to ear as I walked down the crowded hallway.

"And you can't be late this time." My dad said impatiently.

"I'll be there." I sighed. "But you have to stop calling me in the middle of the day! I'm in school. Like a normal teenage girl who doesn't need to deal with this sort of stuff!" I groaned, walking into my english class.

"Yes darling, whatever you want." My dad said, sounding preoccupied. "Look, I've got to go. Just please don't be late this afternoon, your grandmother won't be happy if you are."

"Goodbye." I said as I sat down in my seat.

I hung up the call and slid my phone into my back pocket.

My dad was handling everything extremely well, considering the circumstances in which he ended up part of the royal family. He married into the family after my mom got unexpectedly pregnant in college. After my mom died when I was 10, everyone in the family expected my dad to get out as fast as he could, but he stayed and raised a little obnoxious princess who would run wild through the halls of the castle. Well, he raised her until he got fed up with her and moved with her to America so she could attend public school until it was time to take the throne.

That certainly taught me how to behave.

I quickly looked down at my notebook as Oliver James walked into the room.

He was the popular guy that I had been absolutely in love with ever since I moved here in sixth grade.

But of course, nobody knew who I was here... I was the loser with glasses who always looked dead tired.

My breath caught in my throat as Oliver James took the seat next to mine.

Was this a coincidence? Why was he sitting here? Was he going to talk to me? What would I say?

"Hey." He smiled, giving me a grin.

"Hi." I managed, still not looking up from my notebook.

What did I even call him? I know that basically everybody calls him OJ, but I've never talked to him before... So would I call him that?

But before I could sort out those thoughts, he was already turned around, talking to the cheerleader sitting behind him.

Of course, he was only sitting here to be closer to her...

I couldn't help but feel a moment of embarrassment. Had I honestly thought he was sitting here for me?

"Alright! We're getting our project groups today." Mrs. Alexander said with a smile as she stood up in front of the classroom. "I hope you chose your seats wisely today because the person sitting next to you will be your best friend for the next four weeks while we're reading The Awakening."

My eyes momentarily widened. I slowly turned to my left to glance at Oliver. He was just smiling, a knowing look on his face.

Had he purposely sat here, knowing that we'd be getting partners today?

If he did, what did that mean?

But if he didn't, would he be okay being partners with the loser of the class?

My stomach sunk to the floor, knowing that we'd have to be working on this project on a lot of week nights and weekends. He was on the football team and they practiced every day... But I couldn't do weekends... I was never even in the country on weekends...

Crap.

Thankfully, we didn't have to do to much work with our partners in the actual class period that day. But when we did have to talk, I was stuttering over everything and getting more nervous than I'd ever been, even more nervous than when addressing an entire ballroom of diplomatic families from various nations.