“I don’t want to spend my Friday at home crying and thinking of ways to commit suicide. Please, come on,” she says pleadingly, and I roll my eyes at his exaggeration.
“Emily, I don’t think Alex-”
“Fuck Alex! You live with him!” she exclaims. “Where does that leave me? Where are your friends?” she asks, and I make a face. She sighs. “At least ask him to go with you. If he doesn’t want to go, come with me. I need you, just today, I promise,” she begs, and I gulp.
“Bitch! You live with Professor Gray?” Noah asks, his eyes wide. I roll my eyes.
“Okay, I’ll be there,” I murmur, hearing Emily squeal with excitement.
“And Professor Gray?” Noah asks, raising his eyebrows.
“Also,” I assure him, and this time he squeals. I laugh, watching as James shakes his head, rolling his eyes.
—
“Shit, shit, shit, shit,” Emily grunts, typing quickly.
There are three minutes left until the end of class, and she has just started the summary the teacher assigned fifteen minutes ago.
“Come on, Emily, it’s now or never,” I murmur. She wipes a bead of fake sweat from her forehead. “Just a little more…”
“Finished!” she exclaims and runs to Professor Winston.
The level of her voice draws attention, and Emily looks at me from her desk, giving me a thumbs-up with a big, excited smile. I do the same, and she kisses her index finger, lightly tapping her butt with it while sticking out her tongue.
I laugh and shake my head, then watch as Mr. Winston quickly reads her summary and proofreads it. Emily thanks him and walks over to me. The bell rings, and I feel a weight lift off my shoulders.
“Miss Hawk, Smith, and Moore, please wait a minute.”
Son of a bitch. I huff, sitting back down like the other two girls. The students file out, and it’s not until the last one leaves that Professor Winston sighs.
“I know you’re in trouble,” he begins. “Professor Robertson has asked me to give you two weeks of detention,” he mutters. Shit. Forget that.
“Mr. Winston, the number of detention days for some innocent jokes between classmates seems so unfair to me,” Lucy shrieks. “Two weeks is enough,” she complains, pouting.
She’s so desperate; it’s obvious from miles away that she wants to seduce him. I laugh to myself, lowering my face.
“What’s so funny, Miss Moore?” Professor Winston asks, looking at me. I glance at him and notice how he tenses his jaw.
“You gave me five weeks of detention for laughing in class, and she thinks two weeks for insulting a girl is unfair,” I lied-wow, what a professional liar. “Excuse my attitude and vocabulary, but: Lucy, you are a fucking bitch. Accept the consequences,” I say, and the moment I see Mr. Winston’s face, I want to laugh so hard.
“Mr. Winston!” Lucy complains.
“Senor Pin!” Emily and I say in unison, bursting into laughter together.
“Enough! Smith and Hawk, I’ll see you after class starting tomorrow in this same classroom. Miss Moore, I want to talk to you alone,” he says, and I gulp.
The two girls leave, and I look directly at Mr. Winston. He walks over to his desk, resting his hands on it. I raise my eyebrows.
“Oh, hey, Professor Winston,” I say, smiling, and he licks his lips.
“Your attitude bothers me, miss. It bothers me quite a bit,” he admits, and I click my tongue.
“Your class drives me crazy. I think we’re even,” I joke, and he raises his eyebrows.
“What an attitude,” he mutters. I cross my legs, noticing how Mr. Winston glances at them again. I swallow and decide to lower my skirt a little.
“Miss Moore, I am concerned that your attitude is this way only with me. I know this because almost all the teachers have good things to say about you-except me,” he admits, and I make a face.
“I would really like to meet that kind person everyone talks about. I’d like to say that she’s one of my best students. I really would,” he murmurs, and I can’t stop looking at his face. I narrow my eyes slightly.
“I know my subject is difficult for you, and the fact that you hate me makes it even harder. But if you don’t let me help you, this will only get worse,” he says, shaking his head. I sigh.
“What do you propose?” I ask, leaning my elbows on the desk, resting my chin on my hands. He swallows.
“I propose we call a truce,” he whispers. I raise an eyebrow. After a few seconds, I narrow my eyes and look at him.
“I propose we be friends. Anyway, you have to come to my office for two weeks after classes. We’ll handle detention how you want,” he says, and I frown.
“Your office?”
“You hasn’t been to the psychologist,” he says, and I roll my eyes. “I have detention. I can get you out of both problems if we move it to my office. I can be a mix of both, and it saves time,” he shrugs, and I make a face.
Let’s see: Professor Winston is giving me a choice between being friends and having one hour of detention in his office, or remaining enemies and having one hour of detention plus another hour with the school psychologist.
I choose the first option. Alex will surely want to kill me, but if I choose the second, the rest of the school year will be a nightmare. I don’t want problems with Alex, but I also don’t want to spend my last two months of school suffering.
I sigh and look at Professor Winston.
“I have a jealous boyfriend. I need time,” I whisper, and he laughs.
I raise my eyebrows, and he clears his throat.
“Uhm, yes, tell me what you decide tomorrow in my office,” he says simply, and I nod.
I grab my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder. Professor Winston gulps, looking away at his desk.
“Have a nice day, Miss Moore.”
I smile and walk to the exit door, where I see Emily talking to Niall, his jaw tight and arms crossed.