Dedicating Every Day to You

Chapter Thirty-Three

"All first-year students to the auditorium, please, all first-year students!" The PA crackles after this announcement.

Theo grabs her backpack and stands up. It takes me several minutes to jam all of my papers into my bag. There are a few other first-year students- Harriet, Philip, and George London, a few boys and a couple of girls. We're all from different homerooms, but we all converge in the corridor.

"Hello, Laurens." A British accent comes up at my shoulder.

"Hello there, London," I snap, not even bothering to turn around. "That's not my name."

George stops beside me, running a hand through his hair. "I thought your father was John Laurens."

I stop, too, and turn to face him. I know my cheeks are red, but I couldn't care less at the moment. "I have more than one father, and you know it. Now, what do you want?"

He pouts. "What says I need to want something? Can't I just say hello to a friend?"

"No, you can't- not when it's me you're talking about. What do you want?"

George waits until most of the class has filed into the auditorium. "I wanted to apologize for getting you suspended."

I snort derisively. "Why? You got off scot-free, so what do I matter to you?"

"I feel rude. It's incredibly gauche for me to hit a girl like yourself." He hangs his head, then brushes an imaginary speck of dust from the shoulder of his fancy sweater.

I fold my arms. "So, you're not sorry you said all those rude things, just sorry you broke your own rules?"

George cracks the barest hint of a smile. "You know, you're quite funny, when you're not punching me in the face."

I reach back and adjust my ponytail, sending spiralled curls into a waterfall over my face. "And you seem like you'd be a decent guy, when you're not trash-talking my family."

He reaches out and pulls one of my curls, stretching it until it's straight and then letting it release and spring up. "I did apologize for that."

"Do not touch my hair. People who touch my hair are dead people." I finish my dancer's bun, sighing as the inevitable happens- kinky little curls pop out of the bun, one by one and then all at once.

"Alright, fine. I'm fully aware that what I said was wrong, and I'm sorry." George looks just a little contrite, and I laugh in spite of myself.

"I guess you're forgiven. I'm sorry I messed up your face." Realizing that my hair is not going to listen to me, I shake the bun out completely and slide the elastic back onto my wrist.

"I suppose I'll forgive you for that." George nods. "Are we friends?"

I giggle. "Nope. More like frenemies."

He smiles wider. "Good- I like a challenge. Now, shall we go into the auditorium before they worry about us?"

"I mean, I'm already worried about you, so I think you've failed in that department," I quip, and he hooks his arm with mine.

When we get into the auditorium, everyone is sitting in the first row of chairs. It's hard to slink in unnoticed when there are two gapingly open seats and three teachers glaring at us. I sit down between Theo and Harriet, one of whom is grinning like mad and one of whom is staring at the stained carpet, deep in thought.

"Kathryn!" Theo hugs me, beaming. Today is a day of Spirit Week, Era day, so we're all in costumes. Theo's got a red bandana wrapped around her head and a blue button-down with the sleeves pushed up past her elbows. "I have fantastic news!"