Him? I can’t tell. He doesn’t exactly seem happy to see me.
“I’ll take it from here, Miss Collins.” He flashes a smile her way, and even though she’s probably twice his age, she laughs, almost like she’s flirting. He’s pretty charming when he wants to be.
I follow him out into the hall, staring at the back of his head. Should I mention the bridge? I don’t think he was having one of his best moments when he was out there, so maybe I should let it go and pretend it never happened unless he brings it up.
“So you go here.” He’s not so charming anymore, and I realize that’s an act he puts on for adults. He slides his hands into his pockets before looking me up and down. “I wouldn’t have guessed.” There’s something snarky in the way his mouth pulls upward at one corner. I know what he means. He doesn’t have to spell it out. I don’t belong here.
“I’m a last-minute student. My mom—”
“Nobody asked.” So we’re back to that, I see. “Anyway, I have history with you, so we can walk there together.”
“Should I stop at my locker first?” They listed the locker number on my roster, and there’s a key taped to the inside of the folder that I guess I’m supposed to use to unlock it.
“Why are you asking me? I’m supposed to show you to your classroom. That’s it.” We make a left at the end of the hall, at the big entrance area that’s now filled with students, and head to class. The noise is almost enough to give me a headache.
“Hayes! How was your summer?” A girl with waist-length blond hair and a killer tan falls in step next to him, then wraps her arms around his and drops her head to his shoulder. She couldn’t get closer if she tried.
I glance up at him and find his jaw twitching like it did at the bridge. What’s bothering him now? He’s got a hot girl hanging on him. “Fine. How was yours?”
“We spent the whole time in Hawaii with my mom and her boyfriend. It was boring as shit, but the beaches were nice.”
“Cool.”
She cranes her neck, looking around him so she can study me. “Who are you?” she asks in a sour voice.
I open my mouth, but Hayes does the talking. “New student. I’m showing her to class.” I guess I’m not allowed to answer for myself, either.
Her nose wrinkles. “Oh. Good luck.” I would ask her what that means, but she stands on tiptoe to murmur something in his ear, then bursts out laughing while very deliberately looking at me. He’s snickering by the time she walks away, swinging her hips in a short skirt.
That’s how it is the entire way down the long hall. One person after another calls out to him, waving and slapping him on the back. I might as well not be here, and it might be better if I wasn’t. Two guys who look like they could be football players practically tackle him and almost knock me over in the attempt. He laughs it off and ignores me like everybody else. Maybe it won’t be too hard to hide for the entire year. I pretty much blend into the walls.
“Hayes!” A redhead in a cheerleader’s uniform throws herself at him, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. They are obviously not strangers.
This time, he doesn’t act like it bothers him. He comes to a stop, laughing, and gives her a hug. “What’s up, Salem? You’ve been MIA for weeks.” He sets her back on her feet while she laughs.
“I had stuff going on.” She looks me up and down, but at least she’s not nasty the way the blonde was. More like genuinely curious. “Who is this? Are you new here?”
He nods toward me. “Yeah, this is her first day. I’m showing her around.”
She shoots him a dirty look. “What, she can’t speak for herself? I wasn’t talking to you.” She gives him a playful shove.
“My name is Morgan. Like he said, this is my first day.”
“Cool. Well, he’s the guy to show you around. He knows pretty much everybody.” She turns her attention to him, and her smile fades. “Heads-up. Madison is looking for you.”
“Of fucking course she is.” He rolls his eyes. “Thanks.”
She smiles at me before continuing down the hall. “See you around!”
“Wow. She seems nice.”
“Yeah, she’s great.” But his voice is flat, and he’s not looking at me.
“Listen.” People might surround us, but no one is paying attention to us right this second. “If you’re weirded out, don’t worry about it. I won’t—”
“Just drop it.” Something in his voice tells me I’d better do as he says. Obviously, he’s embarrassed about what happened at the bridge. Maybe he really was considering jumping, the way it seemed. Looking at him as he strolls down the hall like a king, I can understand why he might want nobody to know he felt that vulnerable and lost. I can’t be mad about his attitude when I look at it that way. If anything, I feel sorry he can’t show his true feelings to any of these people who obviously love him.