Page 25 of Spelling Disaster

I’m late for my third and fourth classes of the day. Not because I got lost but because for some reason, the clock moves much faster than my feet carry me.

I can’t catch a break. It’s as if someone has hexed me.

Halfway through the food line at lunch, I miscalculate the distance between my tray and my chest and end up with minestrone soup down my front.

The lady at the end of the line, swiping my dining card, clicks her tongue. “Honey, you’re still paying for it even if you’re wearing it,” she warns me.

My cheeks flame, and I hustle with the rest of my tray toward an empty table in the corner of the room. In the shadows and alone. Where I belong.

I have to watch each step I take to make sure I don’t trip again because suddenly I’ve lost control of my feet and my legs.

“Yo, Yazzy! You are not sitting by yourself.” Blaire motions for me to join her at her table. She’s surrounded by a couple people who eye me strangely but don’t say a word against me joining them. “Even though you’re super embarrassing right now. Do you have enough time to head back to the room to change?”

Probably not, given how my day is going.

I plop down across from her with a groan. “No, I don’t, and things are not going my way right now. Today seems to be particularly stressful,” I tell her.

Her smile is sympathetic as she pretends not to notice the way her friends move away from me, just a little bit. “Girl, it’s going to be fine. You’re probably harsher on yourself than you have to be. You’ll find your footing.”

“Not before my face meets the floor a few more times.” I can’t even blame this on my nerves. I’ve always done really well in an academic setting. Sure, this is new to me, but I’ve been homeschooled. I’ve been trained my whole life to ascend.

So what’s wrong with me?

I stare morosely at Blaire until a flash of color over her shoulder catches my eye. And I sit up straighter, my focus laser-like and immediately captured.

Wow.

The guy stands a head taller than his companions with a swath of wavy auburn hair hanging over his face. Broad shoulders, a wicked smile, and dark eyes. The smile isn’t for me, not anywhere close, but I want it to be.

My mouth goes dry the longer I stare at him. Handsome, mischievous, and apparently popular, if the large group of people clustering around him is an indication.

“Who is that?” I ask Blaire.

I’ve never seen anyone who looks like him before. Not even the heroes of my romance novels.

Blaire twists around in her seat and her expression sours when she sees the object of my attention. “Oh, that’s Theo Acaster. Girls tend to throw themselves at him like he’s Mr. Hotshot. He’s tall, good looking, charming…” she trails off.

“You say those things like they’re bad.”I watch him from the far side of the dining room. Theo swaggers up to a table of friends and is greeted with rousing applause from our classmates.

“Honey, no.” Blaire turns back to me and snaps her fingers until she’s sure she has my attention. “I can see you’re interested, probably want to start sniffing around his heels, and just no. Stop right now before you get your sights set on him. He’s not for people like us.”

I blink until she comes into focus even though I’m still completely aware of Theo. Standing, sitting, talking, grinning. Breathing, even. “Why?” I ask.

“Because he is totally out of your league. I’m not saying it to be a bitch or because I want him for myself,” Blaire warns. Her lips thin, her gaze searching mine. No, she’s not trying to be mean, but her words hurt regardless. “It’s just true. Dudes like him don’t go for girls like you, who live in X House. The path he’s going, he’s going to end up as a high priest somewhere high profile.” She stares me down, meaning business. “And it won’t be with a misfit on his arm.”

“It’s not like I’m ready to get married or anything serious.” I’m all flustered.

“Better to stop you before you let those stars in your eyes carry you away.”

I’ve already been lumped into thedo not touchcategory because of my housing arrangements. It isn’t fair and a part of me wants to buck against Blaire’s words because I’m much more than where I sleep.

Another part of me, the latest part, knows she’s right.

When you’re a Golden Boy like Theo appears to be, then you have to stay in your lane and even if I didn’t live in X House, I’d be beneath him. Or at least in a completely different league. The homeschooled nerd who has no friends versus the alpha-male popular guy?

Yeah, it’s not a match that happens in real life.

Still, there’s something about him drawing me forward and I have to admit, I’m curious. Even when I watch a girl walk out from the crowd and put her arms around Theo’s waist. She latches onto him, her chest to his back, and his arms twine over hers as his smile tenses. He pats her hand with his but makes no move to cuddle her close or return her affection.

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