Page 39 of As the Rain Falls
I think about what Kayladidn’ttell me today at lunch and the look in her eyes, and decide that they definitely make an odd pair: the two smartest girls in our grade, who somehow also happen to hate each other, always sitting together.
I mean, I know it’s out of habit, but it sure as hell is a strange one. You’d think all the animosity would pull them apart, but it actually only does the opposite by bringing them closer together.
Just really odd.
Fifteen minutes later, Mateo Pereira barges in. He walks up to Mrs. Yun’s office, hiding his face behind a napkin and waving a nurse’s note around like it’s a golden ticket.
“Nosebleed,” he announces with a flat tone.
The teacher eyes him suspiciously.
Two weeks ago, Mateo tried to falsify the nurse’s signature to get out of class. One of the teachers caught him doing it, and Mateo got himself three days of total suspension.
Since then, the administration has provided blue stamps to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Everybody thought it was funny, but that’s the kind of thing that will show on his record.Getting suspended is tagged as misbehavior. Misbehavior means you don’t listen to the rules. Not listening to the rules makes you a problem. Nobody shouldwantto be a problem, but Mateo Pereira acts like he doesn’t care.
“Sit down and start your exam.”
The only seat available is the one next to mine.I reluctantly place my backpack down to free up the chair. He walks in my direction with a lazy smile that definitely does not belong in Mrs. Yun’s classroom, and I stare quietly at the way his t-shirt is worn out and unbuttoned, showing a silver necklace with an angel pendant around his neck.
Mateo sits down, quiet at first, but less than five minutes later he starts to poke my arm with his Mario-themed rubber.
“Need any help?”
“Silence, Pereira, or you will be asked to leave!” Mrs. Yun warns without missing a beat, her back still turned to the class as she writes down instructions on the blackboard.
He smiles sheepishly and shrugs, “Sorry.”
30 minutes left.
My table keeps moving.
I glance at my feet and try to keep it steady again by placing my hands over the surface and holding it still. Mateo’s left foot taps harder against the leg of the table, and when I shoot him a glare, he tries hard not to laugh.
The length of his hair gives him a sort of unkempt look, chocolate brown curls falling each way like he just rolled out of bed after taking a long nap. His dark blue pants are two inches too long, and the sleeves are rolled messily around his elbows. A pair of dirty white Converse are covering his large feet, and he keeps the laces untied, rolled together around his ankles.
Mateo’s uniform isn’t tailored, and one might even assume that the uniform doesn’t belong to him at all. All things considered, his enrollment at Sainte Madeleine must be scholarship-based. My father grants them upon merit, but it does not cover uniforms and books. I should have definitely paid more attention to dinner conversation—this is definitely the kind of information that would’ve come up.
His eyebrows shoot up when I say nothing.
“You’re Cassandra, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Mateo,” he smiles knowingly, showing me two perfectly small front teeth. I look away, feeling myself blush a little.
“Oh, I know who you are.”
It doesn’t take too much for him to make anyone’s heart goboom-ba-da-boom,which is never a good thing. A pretty boy who knows he is pretty is always a problem. I try to stay away as much as possible. Beauty makes me act stupid.
“Mn,” he smirks.
Glancing down at my test, I breathe in and out deeply, trying to calm my nerves a little bit. Then, I write down the only answer I’ve found so far. I’m pretty sure I’m right because anything else seems rather far-fetched, so maybe this test won’t be a complete failure after all.
“You’re sure you don’t need any help?”
I watch him flip the page back and forth, gaze flying through all the other questions like he’s deciding where to start.
“The answer to question A is not thirty-one, Rivera.”
