Opposites Attract

Chapter 7

"And that assignment," Mrs Hardman began shouting out above the slight murmur of the students. "Is due in exactly a month. Choose your group wisely..." A snigger was heard coming from the back of the classroom.

"Yes Adam? Care to share the joke with the rest of us?" She raised an eyebrow as she glared at the boy who had disturbed her very important announcement about the recent class assignment.

"No miss. Can't wait to get on it miss." Adam and his friends struggled to keep their snigggers dormant. 

"Get on the assignment? Yes?" 

"Yes miss."

Mrs Hardman nodded approvingly and silenced the class before continuing with her lecture. She was known to have a soft spot for Adam and so naturally, he got away with his little outburst.

"Okay, go ahead. Pick your partners and sit together. I will allow 5 maximum as the workload is heavy. Be mindful of that - this is worth half your grade this year. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT!"

With that, the volume levels in the class rose immediately as students began approaching their friends and making plans for groups. Sara sighed and made her way over to Jasper's desk at the front of the classroom as he looked up at her. "Oh no, not you again!"

"HA HA HA! You love me really." Sara rolled her eyes and plonked herself down on a chair next to him.

"If only," he said, poking her arm as she adjusted her gaze towards the board. She found that her view was blocked by a towering figure who stood in front of her.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Sara heard Jasper exclaim from behind her.

"Nothing from you so don't worry about it pretty boy!"

Sara looked up and couldn't believe her eyes. "Tyl...Tyler?" she stammered.

"Yeah, erm, hi?" Tyler smiled weakly at Sara as he sat down on a nearby chair.

"What do you want?" Sara repeated Jasper's question in a significantly more polite manner. Her voice still contained a drop of hostility as she threw Tyler a puzzled look.

"Wanna' be partners for this project?" Tyler asked, ignoring the glares he was recieving from Jasper.

"As in... you want to join us?" Sara couldn't believe what she was hearing. She pointed a finger at Jasper and then stared at Tyler, waiting impatiently for an answer. "Us?" she repeated.

Tyler looked around the room, his eyes switching from Sara to Jasper and then back to Sara again. Breathing out rather heavily, he nodded. "Yeah."

Sara still looked really confused and Jasper's glares had now become death stares as he eyed Tyler suspiciously. He didn't want Tyler hanging around - Tyler was a player, a rude jerk. He couldn't be trusted, not around them, not around her. Sara. He didn't want Tyler around Sara.

"W...well, why?" Jasper heard Sara whisper, her eyes not dropping from Tyler's face.

"We need help. We suck at projects!" He flung his arms out in the air in exasperation.

"We?"

Tyler nodded as his friends Ryan and Adam came up behind him. Adam lay an arm on Tyler's shoulder and grinned at Sara. "We," he confirmed as they both sat down on chairs around them.

"So, you guys," Jasper pointed at the three boys. "Want to work with us? Me and her?" Now Jasper pointed at Sara and then himself.

She cleared her throat and punched Jasper's arm lightly. "Her?" she glared at him expectantly.