Page 2 of Sporty Girls Don't Fall For Loners

“Sure.”

Sliding out of my desk, I leave the classroom and head toward his locker. I expect him to be standing there scrolling through his phone, but he’s not there. He doesn’t seem to be in the hallway at all.

I walk to the school doors, peeking through the small window to see if he’s out there. But I don’t see anyone. Just as I turn to go back to class and tell Aunt Ally that I can’t find him, I notice a figure by the stairs that lead to the second floor. It’s him—Kade. Sitting on the steps and tapping on his phone. His long hair spills over his face like a curtain, as if he’s closing himself off from the world.

“Hi. It’s Kade, right? You’re wanted in class,” I say.

His head snaps up. Eyes settle on me. Intense, ice-cold blue eyes. He stares at me for a few seconds before focusing back on his phone. Looks like he’s playing a game.

“Did you hear me?” I step closer. “Mrs. Hastings wants you in class.”

“Does she now?” His gaze is glued to his phone. “Well you can tell your Mrs. Hastings, ‘No thank you.’”

“She also happens to be my aunt.”

“Good for you.”

“And when my aunt asks me to do something, I deliver.”

He raises his eyes to me. “Looks like you’ll have to let her down this time.” He puts his attention back on his phone.

“Are you for real? I’m missing class because of you.”

He lazily looks me over. “You a goody two shoes?” He scoffs. “Of course you are.”

“Fine, whatever. If you don’t want to go to class, that’s your problem. I’m going to tell the office to transfer you to a different English class. You don’t deserve an awesome teacher like Mrs. Hastings.”

I spin around and march back to class, where Aunt Ally is talking about the time era Jane Eyre takes place in. As soon as I walk in, she looks at me with hope, as though I succeeded in bringing New Kid to class. But her face falls when she realizes no one is behind me.

“He’s sitting on the steps and told me to tell you ‘No thank you.’”

Aunt Ally sighs again. “Please continue discussing the book amongst yourselves,” she tells the students. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She walks out.

Mia leans closer to me with big brown eyes. “What happened?”

“Guy’s a jerk. And he called me a goody two shoes.”

“Ally looks so worried,” Rylee says with a frown. “Seems like she really wants to be there for him.”

Mason holds up his hands helplessly. “It’s hard to help someone who refuses to accept help.”

“It sucks he’s had a hard life, but I can’t stand seeing anyone take advantage of Uncle Zack and Aunt Ally,” I say. “Hopefully it won’t be long before they find a permanent place for him. A place other than Edenbury.”

Edenbury is our small town in Georgia. I’ve lived here all my life and can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Aunt Ally returns with New Kid lagging behind her, his backpack open and hanging off one shoulder and his phone clutched tightly in his hand. He clenches his teeth like he wants to murder every kid in the room so class could be canceled.

“There’s an empty desk over here.” Aunt Ally points to the desk in the front of the room.

He mutters something under his breath before dumping his backpack on the floor and forcing himself into his seat. He doesn’t care that two pens rolled out of his bag.

“And please take out your copy of Jane Eyre,” Aunt Ally says. “Have you read the book before?”

His answer is a grunt.

“That’s okay. We’ve only started discussing it. I expect you to start reading it tonight.”

He scowls at his sneakers.

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