Chapter 15

CHAPTER15

She could really use a nap, Mikey thought as she stepped out of the way of several large seniors as she looked for Sebastian and Cole. When she couldn’t find either one of them, she settled for grumbling to herself as she made her way to an empty table in the back and-

“Ah, what do you think you’re doing?” came the question that had Mikey biting back a sigh as she looked up to find her newest BFFs, who’d spent the past week going out of their way to annoy the hell out of her, standing in front of her.

“Minding my own business. You?” Mikey asked, blinking up at the girls that had been going out of their way to point out that she was a charity case since she got here.

“Wondering why you’re sitting here,” Heather said as she leveled a look on Mikey that had her seriously wondering when they were going to get bored and move on.

“Why wouldn’t I be sitting here?” Mikey asked as she grabbed the chocolate milk off her tray and took a sip.

“Because the charity cases sit over there,” Nicole said with a pitying look as she gestured absently to her left.

“I see,” Mikey murmured, following her gesture to the tables next to the bathrooms.

“You need to leave,” Heather said as she folded her arms over her chest.

“Seriously,” Nicole said with a snort of disgust.

“Yeah, that’s just not going to work for me,” Mikey said, shrugging it off as she took another sip of her extra-creamy chocolate milk.

“That’s really too bad because these tables are for the football team and everyone that’s not a loser,” Heather bit out as she once again gestured for Mikey to move.

Blinking, Mikey asked, “Then, what are you doing here?” earning matching glares as Cole dropped down on the chair next to her with a sigh and a murmured, “What do we have here?” as he reached over and helped himself to Mikey’s fries.

“Ah, why are you letting her sit here?” Nicole demanded with a look of disgust aimed at Mikey.

“Why wouldn’t she sit here?” Cole asked, sounding bored as he reached back and-

“Why are you manhandling me?” Chloe demanded, sighing heavily as Cole gave her no other choice but to sit down next to him.

“Because you’re a pain in the ass,” Cole said before frowning as he glanced down at her tray. “What happened to the brownie that I saw you buy?”

“I ate it,” Chloe admitted with a shrug.

“But I wanted it,” Cole said with an accusing glare.

“I know, which is why I was forced to eat it in line,” Chloe said, not really looking all that concerned that Cole was glaring at her.

“Ah, excuse me, but we were talking,” Nicole said as she shot Chloe a look of disgust.

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked as he sat down next to Mikey and helped himself to her fries.

“My new best friends, who can’t seem to live without me, were trying to put me in my place,” Mikey said, nodding solemnly as she reached for a fry only to sigh when Cole beat her to it.

“That was nice of them,” Sebastian murmured absently as he helped himself to another fry before he pulled a book out of his bag.

“It really was,” Mikey readily agreed.

“Are you really going to let them sit here?” came the demand that had Mikey biting back a sigh.

“Why do you care?” Cole drawled, sounding bored as he reached over and stole one of Chloe’s fries.

“Actually, now that you ask, I have a question,” Nicole said as she sent Chloe a pointed look. “Why are you hanging out with her?”

Cole went to answer her only to turn a glare on Chloe when she said, “That’s what I’ve been wondering,” with a long-suffering sigh and a sad shake of her head.

“Because I’m your best friend and you can’t live without me,” Cole bit out with a glare.

“I’d really like to try,” Chloe said with a sad shake of her head as several large football players joined them.

“Me, too,” Mikey mumbled sadly with a wistful sigh as she went to grab a fry only to find her tray pulled away and Sebastian narrowing his eyes on her.

She opened her mouth only to find herself wondering why Braxton was glaring at her when he dropped down in the chair across from her, forcing her fan club to move out of the way.

Clearing her throat, Mikey said, “You remember my fan club,” as she gestured to the teenage girls once again glaring at her.

When Braxton only continued glaring at her, Mikey cleared her throat, went for a hopeful smile and grumbled when he reached over and snatched her chocolate milk off her tray. That was followed by Sebastian stealing her burger and Cole stealing her fries.

“God, they’re all losers,” Nicole said, rolling her eyes as she walked away with Heather following her.

“I’m really starting to think that they don’t like me,” Mikey murmured as she watched them go only to once again find herself wondering why Braxton was still glaring at her.

She opened her mouth and-

“Wiffle. Ball,” Braxton bit out, bringing back fond memories of gym class earlier.

When she once again opened her mouth, he reached over and snatched the brownie off her tray and took a bite all while glaring at her, which was understandable given what happened when the wiffle bat slipped out of her hands.

* * *

“Mr. Thompson, please send Sebastian Bradford to the front office for early dismissal,” came the announcement that had Sebastian frowning as he looked up from the notes that he was going to need for the math exam next week.

“Make sure you do the homework, Mr. Bradford,” Mr. Thompson said as Sebastian shoved his stuff back into his bag and headed towards that door.

“I will,” Sebastian murmured absently, wondering what was going on, that is, until he reached the front office and found Mrs. Blaine waiting for him along with her helper, Steven.

“You’re late,” she said with a firm nod, making his lips twitch.

“Late for what?” Sebastian asked as he shifted his bag over his shoulder.

“Board meeting,” was all Mrs. Blaine said as she gestured with her cane for him to get moving and-

“Where are we going?” came the question that had Sebastian frowning as he glanced down to find Mikey searching through the receptionist’s candy bowl.

“Did you get called down to the office, too?” Sebastian asked, shifting his backpack over his shoulder as he watched Mikey help herself to a butterscotch.

“No, but I don’t like being left out,” Mikey said, shrugging it off as she popped the piece of hard candy in her mouth.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Sebastian asked as he watched Mikey select a root beer barrel from the bowl.

“Does it really matter?” Mikey asked, blinking up at him as she handed him the root beer barrel.

“We’re going to a board meeting where they’ll be discussing stocks, policies, paperwork, and legal matters,” Sebastian explained as he popped the piece of candy in his mouth.

Nodding slowly, Mikey said, “I see,” as she took her time selecting another piece of candy before handing it to Mrs. Blaine, who was watching them with an amused expression. Once she was done, Mikey cleared her throat and shifted her focus to the receptionist. “I’m going to need a note to get back to class, Janice.”

“See you later, brat,” Sebastian said with a teasing smile as he reached over and gave one of her braids a gentle tug, earning an adorable grumble that had him chuckling as he stepped behind Mrs. Blaine’s wheelchair and followed Steven out the door and to the car waiting outside.

“Why aren’t Cole and Braxton coming with us?” Sebastian asked as he opened the back passenger door and tossed his backpack inside.

“Cole isn’t interested in this,” Mrs. Blaine said as Sebastian leaned down and carefully picked her up.

“And Braxton?” Sebastian asked as he carefully placed Mrs. Blaine inside the car.

“I want him to be happy,” she said as he closed the door and made his way around the car.

“And you don’t think he’d be happy at Blaine Industries?” Sebastian asked a moment later when he joined her.

“No, I think it would destroy him,” Mrs. Blaine murmured, looking lost in thought as she stared out the window.

Considering what Braxton told him about his family, she was probably right, Sebastian thought as he moved to grab his bag, deciding to get some work done during the ride to Blaine Industries only to frown when she tapped his bag with her cane.

“Do you have your iPad in that?” she demanded as her eyes narrowed dangerously on him.

“Yes,” Sebastian said, biting back a smile as he pulled his iPad out of the bag.

Nodding approvingly, Mrs. Blaine said, “I had a file sent to you that I want you to look over before the meeting.”

“What is it?” Sebastian asked, throwing her a questioning look as he turned his iPad on.

“Your homework.”

* * *

“That’s really not goingto work for me,” Mikey said as she stood in the doorway, taking in the two girls sitting at the table in the back of study hall as they whispered something only to laugh seconds later when they looked back at her.

Deciding that she’d had enough for one day, Mikey turned around and headed down the long hallway until she found the door that she was looking for. With a heavy sigh, Mikey raised her fist and knocked. A moment later, Uncle Jason opened the door, only to frown down at her when she handed him the hall pass.

“Last time I checked, you weren’t in this class, Miss Campbell,” Uncle Jason drawled as Mikey reached into her backpack and pulled out the small Tupperware container with two of the oversized cupcakes that her mother made yesterday and-

“But I suppose we could make an exception today,” Uncle Jason murmured absently as he plucked the container out of her hand and stepped back so that she could walk into the classroom full of curious seniors staring at her.

When she didn’t see any empty seats, Mikey gestured to a spot on the floor against the wall just beneath the windows. “I’ll just be over here if anyone needs me,” she said with a nod as she quickly made her way to the other side of the room and sat down.

That was followed by reluctantly pulling her homework out and deciding that she might as well get it over with. She’d really been looking forward to that nap in study hall, Mikey thought, biting back a wistful sigh as she settled to get more comfortable, only to find herself drawn to the image on the large monitor mounted on the wall of a painting of a large castle with the sun setting behind it.

It was beautiful, Mikey thought, unable to look away as the next image appeared on the monitor, this one of the same castle, but instead of a portrait, it was a modern image. She listened as Uncle Jason spoke about the castle as he rolled his chair next to her while he devoured the cupcakes. She watched as the images on the screen changed, showing the castle at different angles while Uncle Jason spoke, explaining the location and natural defenses while she found herself comparing the portraits with the modern images as she reached for the bottle of juice she grabbed earlier and-

Sighed when Uncle Jason held his hand out in silent demand. Biting back a grumble, Mikey handed the bottle of juice over and went back to watching the images change. All too soon, the class was over and she realized that she’d enjoyed it more than she thought she would. As she grabbed her bag and got to her feet, Mikey found herself wondering what the pictures would have looked like if the photographer had taken them at the same angle as the portrait to catch the sun setting down behind the castle. She-

“Miss Campbell, if you have a moment, I’d like to speak with you,” Uncle Jason murmured as the rest of the students left. When they were gone, his gaze flickered to her as he asked, “What’s going on?”

“I missed you?” Mikey said with a hopeful smile as she watched him lean back against his desk.

“I’m sure you did,” Uncle Jason said as he considered her for a moment. “You know that you can tell me anything.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Mikey said because there was nothing to talk about. Her new BFFs would eventually grow bored and then, she would be free to enjoy a lovely nap during study hall. Until then…

She was going to have to remember to pack extra baked goods every day for a little while.

Nodding absently, Uncle Jason reached back and grabbed a textbook off his desk and handed it to her. “Make sure you read the first two chapters by Monday.”

At her questioning look, he said, “That’s the price of getting out of study hall.”

“Can’t I just pay in baked goods?” Mikey asked with a hopeful smile that quickly died away when Uncle Jason said, “I’ll see you Monday, Miss Campbell,” leaving her with no choice but to do the unthinkable.