The Exchange

Chapter 11

A few more class periods came and went, and by the time I had my last class, AP calculus, I was about ready to murder someone. That wasn't any different from a typical day of school, but at least I would be alone for my favorite class. It was always easier to focus when there was no one who cared enough to distract me from my studies, plus it was pretty relaxing to not have to talk to anyone for nearly an hour.

I took a look around the classroom, and no posters or decorations lined the walls. The room didn't exude friendliness (and neither did I), so I figured this would be a nice place to end the school day. I always liked to read those inspirational posters in the classes I didn't like, but math was my favorite, and I didn't need a distraction.

"Hey! I guess I'm in your class," Viktor said. I hadn't noticed him walk in, and before I could stop him, he took the seat next to me.

Yay.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

Viktor took a lot of shit away from me, and I would have been damned if he tried to take my focus and good grade away in math.

"Not really, but it's the last class of the day, and it's nice to see someone I know. I only have one class with Matt," Viktor said.

"I figured you to be the outgoing, friendly type."

He nodded. "I usually am, but this time it's just different."

"Well, you seem to be having an easy time talking to me."

"That's because I know you. But everyone here is pretty nice, and they talk to me." Viktor smiled.

I chuckled. "You don't know me."

"You're my best friend's sister, you only like to talk to your friends, and you're allergic to peanuts. I feel like I know you pretty well," Viktor said as another (vaguely) familiar face slunk into the classroom, and I struggled to put a name with it. Red hair. Skinny. From the park. Louis? Logan? Larry?

He approached me. "Amanda, right?"

I nodded. "Here, sit by me."

He smiled, which made him seem happier than our previous meeting. "Thanks. It's a miracle I found this place."

"You're new too?" Viktor asked.

"Yeah. I'm Lukas."

Lukas. Duh, me.

"I'm Viktor. Nice to meet you."

Lukas's eyes narrowed on Viktor, and he said, "Yeah. You too."

Something was off. The way he looked at him screamed that Lukas didn't like him for whatever reason, and everyone seemed to like Viktor besides me.

I didn't actually mind that he was jumping on my hatred train, but he at least needed a semi-valid reason to get on board.

I ignored the signs and kept talking to the two of them. "Canada and Sweden both have cold weather, so you can bond over that, I guess."

"What part of Canada are you from?" Viktor asked.

"Saskatchewan," Lukas replied.

Viktor's face lit up. "Oh, that's cool. I went there for a hockey tournament when I was about ten. Did you live close to Regina?"

"Just north of it," Lukas said.

"We actually got caught in a snowstorm at the airport, and we spent three days there before we could go back to Sweden. My sister actually was so sick the last day, and it was terrible. I loved it there overall, though."