The Undercover Bad Boy

Chapter Twenty Two - Truth and Reality

Chapter Twenty Two - Truth and Reality

"You're not serious," I stated, slightly relieved and slightly surprised by the fact that Zach was going to be the new counsellor. In any eventuality, I would prefer it to be him rather than confessing my life story to a random stranger.

Zach's grin widened even more. "Indeed I am, young Alex," he said complete with a wink. He adjusted himself on the plastic chair which was directly opposite me, across the circle.

"You didn't tell me about this," I said, gesturing to the room around us.

"It was a surprise," he replied casually as he flicked a loose strand of hair out of his face.

"A surprise," I repeated with an incredulous expression.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jimmy grumbled in the chair next to me. His face seemed to drop at the sight of Zach. "This makes it so much worse. It isn't fair."

Life isn't fair, Jimmy, man up.

He jutted out his lower lip and crossed his arms over his chest like a toddler.

"Look, Jimmy, this is my punishment too," Zach said wearily.

"That hardly counts. I get double the punishment. First off, I have to be here. Second, I have to be here with you," he practically spat. "But, it's okay because I get to sit next to Alex for the next few weeks." He shifted closer to me in his seat with a smirk gracing his features.

I resisted the urge to pick up my chair and move to the other side of the world. Because I was such a polite person, I remained where I was.

. I pursed my lips and sent him a flat look. I should have been flattered that the most popular guy in the school actually wanted to sit next to me but I was just too awkward for my own good. I knew that Jimmy probably didn't mean what he was saying. He was only saying that to rile up Zach.

It had evidently worked.

Zach's body tensed up and he was glaring at Jimmy, noticeably watching his every movement. I had to admit, the fact that he was getting jealous was pretty adorable. I don't even think I was worth getting jealous over. He caught my eye and I sent him an amused glance.

Someone cleared their throat making all three of us sit bolt upright. Apparently, we had gathered the attention of everyone in the room.

"Hi everyone, I'm going to be your new counsellor," began Zach, addressing the group.

If he was even faintly nervous, he didn't show it. He adjusted his glasses, looking perfectly content with where he was and what he was doing.

They were all looking at him with doubtful, suspicious expressions - except for Jimmy.

Jimmy was just glaring and gritting his teeth.

Zach seemed unfazed and continued speaking in a chirpy tone. "Because I'm new, I think it would be a good idea to get to know each other a little bit better. Let's go round the circle and tell each other our names. My name is Zachary."

I suddenly felt like I was in nursery or something. There was about a dozen - not including Zach, Jimmy or myself - people in the basement and they all looked especially irritated. Zach noticed this and started to chew his lip out of nervousness. I sent him a thumbs up and a hopefully encouraging smile.