Varsity Boy and The Prep

3

Sitting in class, a week after the earthquake incident, I felt inclined to put my head down and sleep. I couldn't though, because Mr. Marks was about to assign us new lab partners. I currently sat next to Gabrielle, but because of our class' tendency to talk, he'd decided to assign partners for us.

"Macy Andrews is with Ava St. Whiteford." Marks said, looking down the rows on his seating chart. He was only at the beginning of the alphabet, which was good for me, but unfortunate for my friend. Mr. Marks looked to the two of us. "Gabrielle Rockbilte is with Emerson Williams."

Gabrielle hugged me from the side, her perfume filling my lungs.

"Sister, I knew we'd be together." she said.

It wasn't much of a surprise that he'd kept us as partners- I had the highest grade in the class. It would only be smart to put Gabrielle with someone who could raise her grade. I grabbed my backpack and began to put away my belongings. There were on five minutes of class until free period. The corners of my mouth tugged downwards.

"What's wrong, Emery?"

I looked Gabrielle straight in her hazel eyes. "Mind walking me to the library?"

"Oh, that. I mean....sure!"

"Gab," I said, "this is serious. I've been skipping free period for the past week and this is my first time back. And ignoring Asher isn't an option-he practically saved me from cracking my head open. I owe it to the jerk."

"I don't see your point." Gabrielle said. The bell cut her off mid-sentence, but we both got up and began towards the art side of campus. "I mean, what's the problem with this Asher kid? Isn't it good that you get to spend time with someone on varsity? He could possibly help persuade your coach. Have you though about his looks on a one to ten scale?"

Definitely a ten.

"Nope." I said.

We walked past the dining hall, which made my stomach growl. Today was definitely not the day to have free period right before lunch. Hunger would make the hour go by so much slower than it already would go. I stopped.

"Can we get a snack?"

"Sure. I'll grab us some smoothies. You.....stay out of trouble. A punishment on you is also a punishment on me."

When Gabrielle trotted off to get us frozen drinks, her ponytail bouncing, I sat down at a table. It was a beautiful day for November, and I could feel warm sunlight hitting my back. Admiring campus was something that I loved to do, but today I felt exposed. I felt as if the librarian would come from across the street and drag me in. I'd had nightmares the past few nights, but none involved her. They were usually of Asher falling to the ground, because I didn't save him.

"Stalling time?"

A high pitched scream almost escaped my mouth, but someone covered my mouth. I slowly opened my eyes to find a tall, blonde male.

"Who-"

"I'm Theo, one of Ash's friends. I heard that you're stuck in the library with him, but I wanted to make sure, because he told me it starts at twelve on Tuesdays."

"He didn't tell you-"

"I know about your skipping out. And what a great plan. It's almost as if you don't want to face him, and enjoy faking sick. You wouldn't be that way, though."

I sighed. This boy already knew too much, probably even about the earthquake. "Are you on varsity, too?"

"Got my jacket last week."

A genuinely proud expression took on Theo's face. It added an extra glow to his practically perfect face. Inside, I scolded myself for even attempting to compliment one of Asher's friends. I stayed silent-not by choice. There were so many questions that I could've asked about the boy in the library, but I was so afraid of messing things up. One thing wrong and Asher could be giving me the silent treatment. And as much as it bugged me to admit, he was my only friend during free period.