The Conversion

Chapter 10

"Good morning, Max," I said as I got into Max's car.

"Morning, babe," Max replied. Yes, Max and I are a couple. Honestly, it shouldn't come as a surprise. I leaned over and pulled him down to me, his lips crashing into mine. We made out for a few moments until I pulled away and groaned.

"Ugh, we're going to be late for school," I said and shot Max a sour look.

"You were the one that forced me to kiss you!"

"I wouldn't say forced," I said with a smile. "You totally enjoyed it."

"I did, but I could go without kissing you!" Max said.

"Oh, really? Wanna bet on it?" I said, raising my eyebrow.

"Yes! Ten bucks says I will withhold myself from kissing you for the rest of the day. If you kiss me, I get ten bucks. If I kiss you, you get ten bucks," Max said breezily.

"All right then. Deal," I said as I shook his hand. I smiled, trying to tempt him. He didn't look at me, but kept his eye on the road. I pouted.

"Where's Jenna?" I asked, suddenly noticing her absence.

"Home sick."

"Aww, poor thing!" I said. I didn't care. If anything, I was relieved I didn't have to put up with her presence. I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick consoling text. Wow, I really am cold-hearted. I need to work on my empathy. We pulled up at school and I got out. I was a bit late for History. Our teacher expected us to be five minutes early. He was the worst!

After depositing stuff in my locker I arrive at History and take a seat at the end of the class. "Good morning, children!" Mr. Arboro called out. A few boys muttered in annoyance. Mr. Arboro ignored them and continued enthusiastically, "Today we're starting our projects! I will let you pick your groups." He was a fun teacher, but no one liked him for some reason. Maybe because he taught history.

"Thank God he always let's us pick our groups," I heard Paige say as she approached me.

I looked around the room for a partner. Several people looked my way curiously. "Hey Bella, want to be partners?" Paige asked.

"Oh... um, no thanks. I kind of wanted to work with her," I replied, pointing at a girl sitting alone. She seemed to do well academically and I knew she's be good to work with. I made my way over to her and sat down in the desk next to hers.

"Hey. Want to be partners?" I asked. The girl stared at me in surprise. She was much smaller than all of us.

"Um.. I guess, sure... Yes?" she mumbled.

I laughed. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." I rarely partnered with the same person more than once and she was the only viable option.

"Okay," she whispered.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm Bella," I said.

"I know. I'm Lauren," she squeaked.

"Great!" I said and redirected my attention to Mr. Arboro who had begun speaking.

"If you have all found a partner, I will explain the project. As we have been covering Ancient Civilizations, you will randomly pick a civilization to do your project on. The project is to make a model of an important artifact and write a paper on it. Then, we will have a school History museum where they will be graded and voted on and so on. I will go into more detail on that later," Mr. Arboro explained. He took out a bucket and moved to the first desk.

"Pick a slip of paper, please," he said and handed it to the pair. They selected one without looking and Mr. Arboro continued on. Finally, he got to us and I encouraged Lauren to pick it for our group. She timidly selected a slip and unfolded it so we could both see. Mongolian Civilization. Oh! That's easy... I smile eagerly. "You may start planning and researching," Mr. Arboro said.

"This is going to be so fun!" I said and pulled out by MacBook. Lauren nodded in agreement.

"Let's get started doing some simple research," Lauren said. I smiled in agreement and we got started.

****************
"Hey Luna," I said when I went to her locker after our last class before lunch.

"Hey girl," she said. Some other girls came up and greeted us. We all started walking to lunch together when Peter came up to us.

"AnnaBelle, are you riding with me on the bus to rowing?" he said. Some of the girls sniggered.

"We do ride the same bus, so yeah I guess," I said, managing to cover up my uncomfort. I smiled.

"OK and I almost forgot, I have your shirt," Peter said and pulled something it out of his backpack. I couldn't hold back the blush that covered my face. Paige and Eliza smirked.

"Thanks," I said and stuffed the shirt into my backpack, giving him an imperceptible glare. Luna had a look of utter bewilderment on her face, but she glared as well. "I'll see you later, then." Peter nodded and walked away.

"Wow, what a loser," Eliza scoffed. A few other girls expressed their agreement. I paused and rubbed the back of my neck, completely confused as to what to do.

"He's actually pretty cool. We're partners for History," Luna said, looking after Peter. I nodded.

"Yeah, he's fun. He just has a grudge against me now," I said, waving it all off. A few girls shook it off as well, but some rose their eyebrows.

"Why does he have a grudge against you?" Luna asked curiously.

"Long story. I'll tell you later," I assured her. She nodded slowly. Why did Peter do that? Was it because of Max and I? That's got to be it... He seemed pretty hurt. Is he getting his revenge? I shook my head to focus on other things.

"Come on, let's go to lunch then," Luna said after I stood in the middle of the hallway, dumbstruck, for a few moments. I nodded and followed her.

Hey guys!

I hope you like it. It's longer than usual I think. I thought we needed some drama to spice things up. You're going to hate me because I've thought of soo much more drama. Not just romantic drama, but family, friend, school, and rowing!! You're probably going to hate me!

Please

vote

follow

comment

You know the drill! Haha Hope you enjoyed it. Also, any ideas for the cast? I'm not quite sure.

Happy reading!

B