Someone Like Adam

53. Hot Tub And Soap Bubbles

"But why me?" I snarled at Mrs. Dale and then bit back my tongue the next moment.

She threw daggers at me with her eyes first and then propping her elbows on the desk, sighed deeply. "Because McArdle refused to go there and you are the only other person suitable for this competition."

I groaned internally, stressing my brain to come up with a perfect excuse but the traitor didn't help at all. "What about Candy Rivers? She has the third-highest average."

"Well, now that you mentioned her name, I should tell you that she is joining you too. You'll be going there as a team." Mrs. Dale said, well more like ordered.

"But what about-"

"Miss. King! If you want to earn some extra credit, you need to join the team. That's it." she said and turned her attention back to checking the assignment.

"Brainiac 2019" was going to be held on coming Saturday and teams from all over the city were going to participate in this competition. For the last two years, as Emily had told me, Adam was winning the trophy for Redwood High but for some vague reasons, he was backing out from the competition and guess who earned the honor of replacing him. The sweet, little me.

"Fine." I said in a fake saccharine tone and walked out of her office.

Huffing, I made my way to the last class of the day. Realizing that I had arrived a little too sooner, I decided to turn around but a voice stopped me. Angling my neck, I found Adam's tall height towering over me as he looked into my eyes with relatively softer expressions.

"Yeah?" I asked, keeping my voice distant and aloof.

"Um.. I don't remember much of last night but thanks for the ride." he said while my eyes kept focused on his Adam's apple as he spoke.

I tried my best not to let my grief cloud my senses. I wanted to scream at him that I didn't need his thanks, I just needed his sorry. His sorry for breaking my heart, his sorry for all the tears I have shed because of him, his sorry for being the cold, arrogant idiot that he was. Instead, I just spoke in a straight voice, "It's fine."

Nodding, he walked inside the classroom and sat down on the last seat. The class had started to fill so I seated myself in the opposite corner. Noah arrived soon after, flopping on the seat beside me.

"A little birdie told me that you are going to participate in Braniac 2019." he said and I nodded for his confirmation. "Nerd." he teased and passed me his M&Ms.

Dropping a handful of the heavenly delights into my mouth, I chewed until my mouth was empty. "Jock." I replied and opened my notebook.

"So Candy Rivers gets to spend two whole days with you in a single room. Lucky girl!" he said, using his flirtatious voice and I rolled my eyes.

It was a two day event. On the first day, sixteen teams would participate. Out of which, six would be selected for semi-final and then there would be a final round between three teams with the highest scores. The participating teams will spend those two days in a hotel.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm straight and apparently, so is she." I smacked his head and told him.

"Well, one can never be so sure." he commented, raising his eyebrows as he winked at me.

While talking to him, my eyes accidently fell on Adam and strangely, he was looking right at us, without even realizing that I had caught him looking at me. Feeling warm and flushed under his gaze, I licked my lips and turned my attention back to the board.

...

After sleeping for almost five hours, I woke up at almost dinner time and made my way downstairs. Dad had not arrived yet so I decided to cook the dinner for us. Pulling chicken breasts out of the refrigerator, I marinated them with some spices and left them in the oven to cook. While it was getting prepared, I made some garlic rice to go with the chicken.