Page 280 of A University of Betrayal

Her face finally quirked. Was she trying to suppress a grin?

Suddenly she pushed away from the table and made me go back.

“How sweet,your favorite car.I’m sorry to hear that.”

Her smile was exaggerated.

She was actually making fun of me.

The impatience from this morning returned.

She didn’t want to challenge this...

“I can’t just be canceled or paused like a subscription.” She turned and walked around the table, grabbing a few posters. “You started it, now live with the consequences.”

I snorted and stepped up to the table to grab a few posters as well, as if I had any idea what to do with them. Emely started making piles. But what was she sorting them by?

This stupid task helped distract me from wanting to take my frustration out on her... for the moment.

Emely looked up. A few of her long waves fell forward, framing her heart-shaped yet sharp face with its high cheekbones, the angular jawlines, her straight nose and the slightly almond shaped eyes.

Then she laughed. “What on earth are you doing?”

“The same thing you’re doing. Sorting the crap here by color.”

She laughed even harder, which sent a strange tingle through my stomach.

“We’re supposed to sort them bydate. Some of them are old, some are new and need to be re-hung.”

“I knew that...” I lied badly and Emely grinned with amusement.

“Better sweep the room,” she finally said, rolling her eyes.

Even when she didthat, there was something cute about it. I just couldn’t take her seriously.

“I don’t like being bossed around,” I said, lowering the posters.

It bothered me that there was a rather large table between us that I couldn’t just lift up and put aside. She had deliberately made sure there was enough space between us.Too much.She didn’t take me half as seriously from this distance.

“The order didn’t come from me. It came from where you broke in without restraint yesterday.” It still sounded like she was making fun of me, but now something else resonated.

“I wasn’t planning to break in there. I was only there because of my sister,” I corrected her and reluctantly grabbed the broom, and of course I noticed the small triumphant smile on her lips.

Tense from her presence, I dragged the broom across the floor until the dirt formed a pile. It wasn’t that difficult.

“Miles, that’s not how you sweep.”

“Good Lord,how then?” I threw one arm up in the air, gesticulating, earning a disapproving look from her.

“Thatlook exactly.” I pointed a finger at her. “That’s the one you’re best at.”

“I can only return that,” she sighed, obviously annoyed. The right corner of my mouth moved upwards at her words. “Exactly likethat!Your grin widens as soon as I attack you, as if you like being treated like that!”

“You call that an attack?” I laughed dryly and changed the way I swept to the one people on TV always used. Sweeping briefly, then sweeping again and moving in one direction.“Weak.”

“I’m only defending myself because I have no other choice!” She sounded annoyed again.

Had she forgotten who had spray-paintedwhosecar?

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