Redwood High

“I hadn’t thought of that, thanks,” he said.

I blinked. He was British, a very handsome British guy. “Um, I’m new here. Would you happen to know where Room 401 is and direct me, please?” I said quickly, not about to be distracted from my original mission.

“Oh, that’s where I’m headed.” He quickly scrawled something into a tiny open book on the desk before closing it and picking it up along with a backpack that had been on the floor. “Come on. I’ll take you there.”

I followed him out the door, and we headed down the hallway.

“I’m Aaron, by the way,” he said, turning to make sure I was still behind him.

“Kat,” I offered with a shy smile.

“Nice to meet you, Kat. I hope you enjoy Redwood.”

We made it into the classroom precisely fifteen minutes late. And the calculus teacher didn’t say a word to Aaron about his lateness, which made me raise a curious brow. I, on the other hand, was asked to introduce myself to the entire class, something which I had been dreading but did anyway.

I proceeded to take my seat in an empty chair beside a boy with curly red hair and beautiful gray eyes with thick-rimmed glasses. I immediately knew that he was a nerd when he diligently wrote down everything the teacher said in his large notebook. However, contrary to the general opinion that nerds were unattractive, this particular one was drool-worthy.

After the class ended, he turned to me with an outstretched hand.

“Hi, I’m Liam.”

I took his steady hand, muttering, “Kat.” Like I said, I was never good with people.

“Making friends with the new girl already, Eddison?”

Another boy appeared beside us, looking like the ideal image of a high school quarterback; blond hair, blue eyes, six feet tall. And a look that exuded the confidence that could only come from popularity.

Liam rolled his eyes in a bored manner.

“This is Mason. He’s a total jackass, but he’s my friend, so you can trust him.”

Well, that’s new, I thought. At my old school, the popular ones didn’t hang around the nerds, not to talk of being friends with them. Redwood was indeed a different place entirely.

“Glad to make your acquaintance, cherié,” Mason said with a flirty smile that had no doubt made many girls go weak in the knees.

“Back off, guys. I saw her first,” said Aaron as he came to stand before me with a slightly playful smile on his lips.

Mason sent Liam a look of surprise as he clapped Aaron on the back. “Did he just make a joke?”

“I think he did.”

The two burst out laughing while Aaron blushed.

A smile formed on my lips involuntarily as I watched the dynamics between these three. I was vaguely aware of glares coming from the girls in the class before my eyes traveled to the far corner of the room and met with familiar dark ones.

Jake Grayson was in my class too.

Chapter 5

I was two weeks into my new school. All seemed to be going on well. Or at least, I felt so.

‘It could have been worse,’ I kept saying to myself.

But I couldn’t hide the idea that it might have been better. Or it could be better. Maybe it was normal. Or abnormal. So far, I had been spat on, gotten drinks thrown at me, had my personal belongings destroyed or hidden, and been outright insulted by most of the girls in my class. Basically, I was bullied every day. And I thought it was normal.

Why do you ask? Oh, simply because I was friends with the most popular boys in Redwood High.

Liam, Mason, and Aaron had taken me under their collective wing, helping me get out of my shell and become comfortable with them. We had instantly connected and became a group. We did everything from going to classes, getting lunch, and heading back home together. It was more friends than I had ever had before.