Branara ~ Magnum

Chapter Eight - Number

KARA'S POV

I don't know why I feel so happy that Brandon is deciding to do his homework. I also have no clue why I felt like I was about to scream at Hunter when he decided he wanted to use fifth grade insults. On Brandon, of all people.

"Hey," I say, catching up with him.

"Yeah?" he mumbles, blushing a little.

"You can stop being so shy around me, you know?" I say awkwardly. "I'm not going to...I don't know, scream at you, or whatever..."

"I'd expect you to."

"What? Come on now, realistically, all I can do is talk to you."

He looks at me. "Yeah, and you talked so much that Mitch's nose broke."

I look at him incredulously. "Brandon, are you afraid that I am going to hit you?"

He sighs. "Wouldn't be the first time someone did. But...no, I guess not. Not really."

I don't know why my stomach feels like it's got butterflies in it whenever I go near him.

He looks at me for a few moments. "Did anyone ever mention to you why Mitch, Jerome, Mat and I haven't been held back for failing a class, ever?

Now that I think about it, this year, he may have only skipped homework and class work for two days. But he also acted as though he was planning to do it for the rest of his high school life. How did he not get held back?

I shake my head, frowning.

"I'll give you two clues. Mitch's father is the principal of this school, and his mother comes from a family that is rich as all hell."

I sigh. "Really? His parents had to bribe the district to let you move on?"

He looks back down at his shoes. "It wasn't fair, obviously. But...there were three of them, and they all agreed that school was a waste of time. I still dislike work, but I don't want to cheat my way through life. I should have left them. But I didn't."

We get to the school gates.

"Mitch suggested that we start bunking classes," he goes on. "Well, this time, I decided no. They listened, surprisingly."

I smile. "Brave."

"No," he mumbles, still staring at the floor. "It was just...the right choice."

"Yeah," I say softly. "And not many people can make correct choices, can they? I can't, most of the time."

"Yeah," he replies distractedly. "I've made a lot of bad ones...like that one text message I sent to Mitch..."

"What?"

He shakes his head, as though to clear his thoughts. "Never mind. It's not important."

I frown, but I don't press him any further. "Think you're going to need help with your homework?"

He looks at me. "Maybe. Why?"

"I...I could help you..."

"Could you?" He sighs. "Maybe I'm beyond help."

"Maybe, but I can try."

He grins. "Yes, I am in need of a lot of help, nerd."

I can't help but smile back. "Well, then you're going to get it."

Well, that's how I got his number.