Chapter 2

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I was six minutes late to Home Economics.

"Sorry, sir." The whole class was staring as I barged into the room. "Lost track of time..."

The truth was that I was at the front office, trying to persuade the nasty reception ladies to change my timetable. They refused, spewing some nonsense about messing up the algorithm and the only thing I could do was drag myself to class.

"Take a seat, Miss Patterson." Mr Creed was an absent-minded and apparently very laid back old man who waved off my concerns. "We were just getting started."

I sat down by the window as Mr Creed went on.

"We will be cooking and creating recipes for the next few months. I've pre-assigned partners so get to know each other and write a page of observations each."

A list of names pulled up on the projector and my eyes trailed down before - Alexa Patterson and Tyler Kypriano.

I couldn't believe my luck.

Already irritated, I turned and spotted Tyler sitting with Reid and Jarred at the back of the classroom, chatting up some girls from the volleyball team. I wasn't sure why any of them were in this class but that was the least of my worries. He grinned, sauntering over and flopping down beside me, smelling strongly of cologne. Tyler Kypriano was vaguely part-Asian, all tousled black hair and dark eyes that gleamed with humour, charming when he smiled.

"Lex, right?"

"Right." I flipped open my binder and handed him a sheet of paper. "We both need to pass this class, so let's help each other out."

He looked wounded by the cold reception. "Yes, ma'am."

Before I could feel even a little relieved, Tyler's attention diverged to a blonde girl with glasses sitting behind us. However, it was Jarred who did my work for me as he and Reid sat down across the aisle from us.

"Hey, man." He slapped Tyler upside the head, making him yelp. "Think you're forgetting someone - her name starts with Bree and ends with Richardson?"

I was amazed at the chances of Reid and Jarred ending up as partners, considering it was a relatively big class. If only Dennis had taken up Home Economics, then perhaps he could've been partnered with Tyler. Unfortunately, Dennis was the favourite for valedictorian and voted Most Likely to Succeed in eighth grade so his schedule was probably full.

"Dickhead," muttered Tyler, rolling his eyes and turning back to me. "So I'm trying to make some lifestyle changes, you know? I truly believe it starts with cutting off toxic people and Jarred is at the top of my list."

"Because he reminded you that you have a girlfriend?" I asked.

"That makes you second on my list."

I sighed, tuning out Tyler and against my better judgement, into Reid and Jarred's conversation instead. They were discussing college, which actually surprised me.

"...they're all the same," Reid scoffed, spinning a pen in his hands. "I've spent my entire life trying to impress these Ivy schools. What else do they want from me? He's just trying to keep me distracted so I can't go to Chicago in January."

"But it's the Draft," said Jarred incredulously. "It's the most important night of your life."

"That means absolutely jackshit to him."

"But it's the Draft," repeated Jarred. "The whole world will be watching. And we didn't train all summer for Demetrius to just not give a shit!"

"Well, he doesn't and it's nothing new."

Reid sounded like a petulant child despite the fact that no matter how badly he could screw up, money would get him out of any hole he dug himself into. Marshall Grammar was full of his type; insolent, poster-children of wealthy American families who nurtured all sorts of corruption behind closed doors. Reid Castellan just happened to rule them all.

I snapped out of my thoughts to notice Reid staring right back at me. His brows furrowed with annoyance, green eyes alight and appraising. "Can I help you?"

"No," I said flatly.

Jarred tilted his head and grinned, blue eyes flitting between Reid and I as if he was seeing something nobody else was. "Well, this is a fascinating development."

"You know what else is fascinating?" Reid snapped, cutting gaze switching from me to his friends. "The precise length of my–"

"Lex!" Tyler interjected smoothly, cutting him off. "Shall we get started?"

Triumphant, Reid went back to his conversation with Jarred and this time, they spoke in lower volumes. Tyler was still blinking expectantly at me so I sighed, picking up my pen while counting down the minutes until second period. Tyler and I stared at each other awkwardly for a second.

"Well?" I prompted. "Tell me about yourself."

He grinned, leaning back with his fingers laced behind his head, legs stretched out in front of him. "Tyler Gianluca Kypriano - Italian, obviously. My mom is from the Phillipines. Did you know she left me when I was two years old?"

I scribbled this down.

"I'm an only child." He spoke conversationally, as if discussing the weather. "My dad is a disgraced Senator, turned businessman and my step-mom is a gold-digger. She is, however, very attractive. I have a girlfriend who texts me eleven times an hour. My dog died last week."

I blinked, pen still hovering over the page. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Yeah." He tapped the pen against his chin, doodling on some rude images and chortling to himself. I tried to stay serious as he drew his fifth penis. "Anyway. What about you?"

I faltered for a moment - what was I supposed to say? I'm Lex, I used to swim competitively until my dad and brother died and that completely uprooted my entire life. I have one friend who I love so much. My dream school is Yale, where both my parents went and there are some days where it's the only thing keeping me going.

Mercifully, the bell went for second period and I leapt to my feet, all but sprinting out of the classroom. Just as I was stepping over the threshold, someone pushed in front of me and I opened my mouth to protest, only to close it again. It was none other than Reid Castellan, books tucked under one arm and a cheerleader hanging off the other. He glanced back, smirking when he caught my glare and I didn't bother wasting my breath.

As he walked away, I realized that something about Reid was unsettling. Of course, there was that elusive half-smile, the stupid cheekbones and the arrogant quirk of the eyebrow. But he was also intimidating, a silent challenge in his eyes all the time. It made him seem older.

"Lex! Wait!"

Less than ten steps down the corridor, I turned in surprise at the sound of my name. But upon seeing Tyler again, I quickened my pace. When he caught up easily, I wished he played golf instead of soccer so in moments like these, I could outrun him. Unfortunately, as a star defensive midfielder, he was a time trial champion and I didn't stand a chance.

"Keep an eye on Reid for me." Tyler glanced around as if expecting the devil himself to suddenly pop out of nowhere. "Just for the next lesson."

"What?" I spluttered, incredulous.

He looked at me like I was stupid, which didn't help his case.

"No," I said. "Absolutely not."

"Lex - wait!" Tyler moved in front of me, effectively blocking my path when I tried to walk around him. He sighed as if I was a misbehaving toddler. "Thursday. That's our next lesson. And since I - well, we - won't be in class, all you need to do is make sure Reid is. That's all."

We were standing in the middle of the corridor, causing people to stare.

"Ask someone else, Tyler." I gave him a deadpan look when he tried to protest. "Anyone else. You have plenty of friends, don't you?"

He sighed, shrugging helplessly and it was truly a great performance. "People are so disappointing nowadays. You're the only one I can trust, Lex."

"Flattery gets you nowhere in life!"

"Well, I'm here, aren't I?"

Blinking disbelievingly, I marched on ahead of Tyler, mumbling apologies to my poor classmates who scurried out of the way. It was impossible to try and communicate with someone with such limited intelligence such as Tyler Kypriano. I felt like I had just aged ten years.

"I promise to be the best lab partner ever," he added. "You will pass this class with flying colours. I just need this teeny, tiny favour, Lex."

"There are thirty other students you can ask."

"Yet I chose you!" He jogged up beside me without even breaking a sweat, books clutched under one arm and a pencil tucked behind his ear. I wasn't sure where the pencil had come from. "Just keep him distracted. Keep him in the classroom. You're, like, the perfect amount of weird and intriguing. Trust me, bro."

What?

It was just about the stupidest thing I've ever heard but Tyler continued smiling even when I glared daggers at him. "Will you stop embarrassing me in front of the entire student body if I say yes?"

Tyler grinned, brighter than the sun. "Great! I'll text you instructions."

I frowned. "Wait - what? What instructions?"

But he had already left - just in time for Kayley to emerge from the crowd of students, clutching her Algebra books. Her hair had become frizzy from the heat and I gestured to let her know, causing her to gasp in horror. Quickly smoothing down her blonde curls, Kayley tossed her books into her locker and slammed it shut. Finally, she paused to catch her breath.

"Was that Tyler Kypriano? What did he want?"

I made a face. "A favour. He's in my Home Economics class with Reid and Jarred."

"So that's why Nora Hussein transferred from AP U.S History. Did you know she has a Reid Castellan shrine?"

"She - what?" I wasn't sure how to feel about that but continued when the group of sophomores nearby were out of earshot. "They came into the café last night... something about a girl Reid dated. Something about her breaking his heart."

The bell shrilled but Kayley perked up noticeably with this news. She pulled a piece of hair out of her mouth. "A girlfriend? Reid Castellan? Oh my God, Lex. We could sell this to the media for a fortune! Any ideas on who it could be?"

I shook my head. "I wish I did, so I could send her my condolences."


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