Serendipity

Chapter 2

Kay liked to think she was a good person.

She liked to think she was generous , and kind. She stayed out of other people's business and never made her business anyone else's. She tutored underclassmen that needed help, and she did a lot of service hours for her honor society. She helped plan pep rallies and encourage new organizations, and whenever it was requested of her she helped with other events. She had been the one in charge of the last Bingo night at their school, and even when she had been yelled at by an old woman for not calling her numbers and rigging the game against her, she had just smiled.

Kay liked to think she was a good person.

Kay liked to think she didn't deserve this.

She had tried to bargain with God...after two minutes of that, she realized he wasn't gonna listen. She had tried to scrounge up the nerve to actually ask Lexi if she wanted to switch partners, or figure out how that would occur in a way that wouldn't entirely offend Cameron. She had sat there and entertained the prospect of dropping out of school entirely...that would have a little more long-lasting repercussions in comparison to the first two, but she was pretty sure that she could make it work if she was pushed.

But, no. It was just pointless. This was a project meant to be done with a partner. And they had been late, so there was no other option. Fate had taken Kay's dislike for his constant talking and smiling and prodding and poking, and it had disregarded it entirely, deciding instead that it would be a good idea to have them be together for the next couple of weeks. Really, she shouldn't be surprised. Fate never really did have a good track record when it came to her. There was no point just sitting there and whining about it to herself. Everyone else was already talking amongst themselves and getting to work. It was just one assignment, and then after that they wouldn't have to work together. And, despite his goofiness, Cameron did seem to know what he was doing when it came to literature. He was in the honors class, after all. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

She'd just get through it.

So she said nothing; her shoulders just drooped and she gave in. Shockley had long since stopped caring about the two late students; she was answering questions from other students over what was expected of them. Kay shook herself and started to try and pay attention. They'd missed the introduction thanks to Cameron's sheer stupidity. They had to catch up to the rest of the class. But her concentration was broken when she felt a pencil tap her shoulder. And she had to hold back a huff of irritation at Cameron's voice in her ear. "Psst."

"What, Cameron?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

He wasn't put off by her tone. He usually wasn't, though, so it was nothing new. In fact, he was grinning from ear to ear when she looked back at him. Again, she was left to wonder if it was coffee he injected into his veins in the morning, or just straight heroin. "Where do you want to work on this?" he asked. "I'd invite you to my place, but..." He paused, before he grinned wider and shrugged, "Johnny plays his music too loud. We'd never be able to hear each other. And I know how much you love to listen to my amazing voice."

She eyed him, raising her eyebrows a little bit. " Jonathan , playing his music too loud?" she echoed. Didn't seem quite right. Jonathan always had his headphones in when she saw him, and he was the definition of 'keeping to yourself.'

Cameron nodded earnestly: "Oh yeah, he's obnoxious as hell. I'm close to suing him." He looked down at his desk, fiddling with his pencil. His smile was dropping a bit. "But the only lawyer I could find wanted to be paid in radishes, and it's not radish season yet. I gotta wait." She looked at him, her stare very dull and requesting him to be normal for once. But he didn't look back up at her.