The Fix

Chapter 10

When I reach the cafeteria there are only a few other people still eating. I spot Tessa in the corner drawing on the table, her blue hair hanging over her face. There's three girls who I don't recognize giggling over their fruit cups a few tables away from her. 

The only other person in the room is Grayson. 

I make my way to the picked through breakfast table and grab a banana. I turn back to face the empty tables. There's no way I'm going to sit by myself. That would just make me even more of a loser. Tessa isn't really an option, not that I'd want to sit with her in the first place.

The other girls are watching me and whispering behind their hands. No thanks.

With a groan, I shuffle towards where Grayson is sitting, my shoulders slumped. He has a notebook open in front of him and is scribbling in blue pen. I hesitantly sit down across from him. He doesn't even look up. 

"That's it?" he asks, his eyes still trained on the page in front of him. 

"Huh?"

"You're only gonna eat that?" he clarifies, chewing on the cap of his pen. I'm a bit surprised. He hasn't even looked up, how would he know I only had one thing? 

"Nothing much left," I reply, tapping my fingers on the table. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. It was awkward. 

"I thought you didn't want me to come near you?" he says, finally lifting his head. His eyes lock with mine. He doesn't blink. His lashes are incredibly long, casting shadows beneath his gorgeous eyes. I force myself to look away first. 

"Yet now you're over here. With me," he says when I don't respond. He looks back down at his notes and shakes his head. "Funny how that works."

"Are you always this much of a jackass?" I snap. Grayson splays his fingers out on the table. Veins stick out beneath his skin. 

"I didn't realize me making observations makes me a jackass," he says, raising his eyebrows. I peel my banana slowly. 

"Your parents must like Ethan better," I finally reply. A low blow, yes. But I honestly have nothing better. Grayson rolls his eyes. 

"If that's what you want to think, then sure." 

He's so calm it's infuriating. The banana's all brown and mushy inside. I throw it away. 

"What are you even here for?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. Grayson glances up from his notes. 

"Excuse me?"

"It's reform school. What did you do to get put here?"

Grayson runs a hand through his hair. 

"What did you do?"

"That's none of your business," I reply, squinting at him. 

"Well there's your answer," he says, shutting his notebook and pushing back from the table. "I'll see you around Olivia." 

I stare after him as he walks out of the cafeteria, shoulders dipping with each step. 

What just happened?