Chapter 7

CHAPTER7

“Perfect spot for a nap,” Mikey murmured as she made her way to the desk in the back corner hidden behind several large boys and dropped her bag on the floor with a satisfied sigh. That was followed by dropping down on the chair that was definitely going to make it easier to take a nap and-

“Umm, what do you think you’re doing?” came the demand that let Mikey know that her first day of high school was about to get a lot more interesting.

“Wondering why you can’t seem to take your eyes off me,” Mikey said, blinking up at the girl glaring down at her before taking in the two girls standing behind her and noted the matching highlights, the perfect makeup, and the school uniforms that looked more expensive than the one that she was wearing.

“Probably has something to do with the fact that you’re in my seat,” the girl who really seemed determined to glare at her said as she made a flicking motion for Mikey to move.

“Is that why you’re staring at me intently?” Mikey asked, blinking up at her as she settled back in her seat while she waited for her new fan club to move on.

“That’s why I’m waiting for you to move,” she said as she folded her arms over her chest while she slowly ran her eyes over Mikey, taking in everything from her Dutch braids to her backpack before adding, “Charity case,” in a mocking tone.

“Charity case?” Mikey repeated back slowly as she followed her new best friend’s gaze and found her looking down at the backpack the school sent to her over the summer.

“They send those to all the charity cases,” one of them said in a mocking tone.

“Our parents paid for us to attend this school,” the girl who really didn’t seem to like her said with a look of disgust and another gesture for Mikey to move.

“Which means that seat belongs to us,” her friend said as Mikey looked up just in time to watch Uncle Jason walk back into the room without Sebastian.

“Find a seat, ladies,” Uncle Jason said as he picked up a file off his desk when her fan club continued to stand there, glaring down at her.

In a conspiratorial whisper, Mikey said, “I think he’s talking to you.”

With a look that told her that this wasn’t over yet, her new best friends reluctantly found their way to the other side of the room as Mikey released a heartfelt sigh and shifted to get comfortable in her seat, needing a nap now more than ever. With another sigh, Mikey folded her arms on her desk and laid her head down with a sleepy murmur and-

“Miss Campbell,” Uncle Jason drawled, drawing her attention to find him watching her.

“Yes?” Mikey said, trying not to wince when he leveled a look on her that she knew all too well.

“What are you doing, Miss Campbell?” Uncle Jason asked as he folded his large arms over his chest and leaned back against his desk while he waited for an answer that probably wasn’t going to end well for her.

“Waiting for class to begin so that I can take some lovely notes,” Mikey said with a hopeful smile.

“And your notebook?” Uncle Jason asked as Mikey blindly reached down into her bag and grabbed the first thing that felt like a notebook.

“Right here,” Mikey assured him as she held up the notebook that she’d helped herself to from one of the tables outside.

“And a pen?” he drawled, making her sigh as she admitted, “I didn’t have time to steal one.”

Without a word, Uncle Jason pointed to the empty desk in the front row. Biting back a wince, Mikey murmured, “Right,” with a nod as she grabbed her backpack and reluctantly headed to the front row. As soon as she sat down, Mikey cleared her throat, went for a hopeful smile, and watched as Uncle Jason grabbed a pen off his desk.

“Put it to good use, Miss Campbell,” Uncle Jason said as he placed the pen on her desk while she sat there, resigning herself to waiting until second period for that nap.

With that in mind, Mikey shifted to get more comfortable, opened her notebook before she reached down into her bag and grabbed the candy bar that was going to help her get through this and-

“Welcome to United States History,” Uncle Jason began as he plucked the candy bar out of her hand and replaced it with a syllabus. “My name is Mr. Bradford, for those of you who’ve never taken one of my classes before. There are a few things you should know about me before we start. I don’t tolerate tardiness, late assignments, excuses, or cheating. Remember that, and you’ll be fine,” he said as he finished handing out the syllabus while Mikey sat there, struggling not to panic when she saw the words midterm, final, and paper repeated several times.

Oh, this wasn’t going to end well…

Then again, she already knew that, Mikey thought, biting back a wistful sigh as she found herself drawn to the large windows to her left and releasing that wistful sigh after all when she spotted the baseball fields on the other side of campus. She’d been dreaming of those fields ever since she saw them last year.

God, the pitches she could throw on that mound…

She-

Should probably find out why her desk was suddenly moving. Afraid that she already knew the answer, Mikey turned her head to find Uncle Jason dragging her desk away from the row and turned her so that her back was to the windows. That was followed by Uncle Jason releasing a heavy sigh and a muttered, “I should have known the temptation would be too much for you to handle.”

Nodding solemnly, Mikey said, “It really was.”

* * *

She should probably be payingattention, especially since there was something written about a science project that was worth twenty-five percent of her grade written on the whiteboard, Mikey decided as she noted that it was for a group project. She really wished that Sebastian was here, but since he wasn’t, Mikey took in the occupants of the other lab tables as she considered her options. She quickly decided against asking the two girls that really seemed to hate her, mostly because they hadn’t stopped glaring at her since first period.

Still wondering about that, Mikey continued debating the rest of her options, noting that most of the tables already had partners before deciding on the teenage boy sitting in the back by himself. Wondering why all the boys in her life had to make everything difficult, Mikey grabbed her bag and headed to the table in the back and-

“No,” Braxton said as she climbed onto the stool next to him with a satisfied sigh.

While Braxton glared at her, and they really needed to work on that glare if they were going to be friends, Mikey grabbed a baseball from her backpack and began rolling it between her hands.

“I’m not working with you,” Braxton said, which was sad really.

“Because you’re ashamed of your feelings for me?” Mikey asked, blinking at the boy who really needed to smile more.

“Something like that,” Braxton said, nodding to the two girls that couldn’t seem to stop staring at her. “What’s their story?”

“They adore me,” Mikey said with a heartfelt sigh.

“I can see that,” Braxton murmured absently as he shifted his gaze back to his iPad while Mikey sat there, rolling the baseball between her hands as she found herself wondering about something.

“Why did you stop going over to Uncle Jason and Aunt Haley’s house this summer?” Mikey asked as she watched the boy, who she couldn’t quite figure out, as he glared down at his iPad.

“Why do you care?” Braxton murmured absently as he swiped his fingertips across the iPad.

“Because I’m nosey,” Mikey said, watching his lips twitch.

“I can see that,” Braxton said, sighing heavily as he reluctantly turned his iPad off and placed it on the table when the man that she was assuming was their teacher dropped two red folders on their table.

“Are you going to answer my question?” Mikey asked as she helped herself to one of the folders.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Braxton said, sighing heavily as he reached over and grabbed the other folder.

“Because admitting that you missed me would be too painful?” Mikey asked, wondering if his father had something to do with it. Probably, she thought, biting back a sigh as she found herself wondering why his father seemed to hate him so much.