My Stepbrother secret-possession

White Napkin

The journey to school wasn't long today, as we didn't have to give Quinn a lift. Lilith mentioned that she spoke to Quinn on the phone last night and that her car had been repaired. After some quick chit-chat and exchanging new rumours, the girls and I made our way to our lockers in the hallway.

"Hey, I love your dress," someone hugged me from behind.

Turning around, I saw Evie in dungaree jeans. "You love everything about me," I smiled, reminding her.

"Who doesn't adore the British?" She playfully winked, and I laughed while shaking my head.

I made sure to wave goodbye to Lilith, who was standing next to PDA Quinn and Harry. Evie and I strolled to the partially filled class and settled into our spots from yesterday. We discussed the number of notes I needed to catch up on from the past week until the Modern Literature teacher walked into the classroom, and everyone focused attentively on her discussion about authors and their accomplishments.

"Who can assist us with the characteristics of Modern Literature?" Mrs. Murphy asked the whole class. Reacting without thinking, my hand shot up. "Yes, you," Mrs. Murphy beamed.

"The characteristics of Modern Literature can be categorized into individualism, experimentation, symbolism, absurdity, and formalism," I confidently stated.

Smiling, Mrs. Murphy nodded. "Good, what's your name?"

"Ava Lancelot."

"Indeed, the mother superior is definitely omniscient," a girl from the front row chimed in, and everyone burst into laughter. Evie sent me an apologetic smile while I swallowed my annoyance.

"Lisa, it would be better if you worked on improving your GPA because you only have one shot in life," Mrs. Murphy calmly shot back at the girl. With a smile, I watched her flare up and turn away. "So yes, as Ava mentioned, individualism. In Modern Literature, the individual is more intriguing than society. Modern writers present the world or society as a challenge to the integrity of their characters. Ernest Hemingway is especially remembered for vivid characters who accepted their circumstances at face value."

Smiling at my favourite subject, I continued to listen to Mrs. Murphy's explanation. "Irony, satire, and comparisons are frequently used to illustrate points regarding society."

"Excuse me, can I please give these to Ava?" a deep voice politely asked Mrs. Murphy. It was a deep, polite voice that I recognised. Suppressing the blush threatening to surge, I did my best to act neutrally as the tall, handsome, most popular student in the school appeared beside my desk—Leigh. He was wearing a brown leather jacket that made his hair shinier and accentuated his lively green eyes. I stopped breathing as he stood by my desk. "Your tea," he said, holding out a purple mini-thermo flask, and I forced my hand to accept it. "See you later." With that, he smiled and walked away.

The entire class froze, as if the air had been knocked out of their lungs, while I finally closed my slightly parted lips and regained my composure. Evie managed to whisper, "You know Leigh Boyce?" I nodded once and refocused on the lecture, or at least tried to concentrate on Mrs. Murphy's moving lips. "Oh my gosh," Evie whispered, completely shocked.

***

"So, Ava, is it true you can drive from England to France via an underwater tunnel?" Suri asked.

"I've never tried that," I answered with a giggle. It was lunchtime, and all four girls were seated at the cafeteria table, along with Harry and some other boldface juniors.

"What about Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh? Are they really based on a real person?" Suri asked again.

Before I could answer, Quinn leaned over. "So it's true, Robin Hood was a real person... I could've married him."