Page 10 of You Had Me At Thirteen

I blow out a breath and step closer. ‘Well… I was coming in here to ask if I could change partners.’

He frowns. ‘Sorry Matilda, I’m afraid that’s not possible.’

‘Why not?’ My grip on the straps of my backpack tightens as I let my teacher’s words sink in.

‘Well, most students have already started. It wouldn’t be fair to swap them now.’

We only got given the details yesterday, so who the fuck would have already started? I tilt my head, running over the few names that come to mind.

Of course. Brown-nosers.

‘But—’

‘Please, Matilda. You have ten weeks left of high school. Wren is a fine partner, and you’ll see, he’s brilliant. Just give it a chance.’

Wren? Brilliant? I hold back a snort.

‘Fine,’ I say, crossing my arms. ‘I suppose it’ll have to do.’

Mr Hughes places his glasses back on before again propping his feet onto the desk and opening his newspaper back up. ‘If that’s all?’

‘It seems it is.’

Fuck my life.

With my head down, mumbling profanities to myself, I storm out of the classroom, not noticing the body in front of me until I smack straight into a goddamn brick wall. I squeeze my eyes shut, my body tingling all over as I suck in a deep breath, my nostrils bombarded with something woody and what I can only describe as male.

When I make eye contact with him, those piercing eyes leave me speechless. I beg my brain to think of something smart to say, but it comes up short as it goes to work focusing on keeping me upright. I hate that Wren renders me without a brain these days. Not only is he invading my personal space, he’s also invading my damn mind.

His chest is inches from my face, leaving me tempted to shove him when he doesn’t move. I step to the side to get around him, but he moves with me, blocking the path of escape.

‘Could you be any more annoying?’ I fold my arms over my chest, as I shift my weight onto one leg.

He shrugs, his eyes doing a slow dance down my body. ‘I guess you’ll find out… partner.’ He leans in when he says the last word with such malice.

It takes all of my energy not to go for the jugular. Or balls.

‘Problem?’ he says with a smirk.

You’ll have one soon, buddy. One involving my foot up your arse.

I stand up straighter and roll my shoulders, before giving him the most sarcastic smile I can muster. ‘Nope. If you’ll excuse me, I have anywhere else to be.’

I expect more teasing from him, but he steps aside with a nod, holding out an arm for me to leave. ‘Matilda.’

A growl leaves my chest as I step around him to storm off down the hall. A low chuckle echoes behind me, and I’m tempted to tell him to eat shit.

Does he enjoy ruining my life? Sadistic bastard. This is all just a gigantic game to him. It makes me wonder how other women stand him. Does he stick his nose in their business too?

But I don’t have too much time to think about Wren’s annoyingness when the bell rings for the start of class.

The first two periods run slowly, but that may be because I have a double in maths. I’m not sure how many times I glance at the clock on the wall, but when the bell rings for the first break, my body relaxes for the first time today. I swear I stared at the same math equation for the entire hour and a half.

Too exhausted to fight with Audrey and Clive, I drag my feet to our spot. I’ve never gone more than a few hours without speaking to them.

Although there was one time in grade two when I thought Audrey had stolen my favourite pencil. I ignored her the whole day, with Clive taking Audrey’s side. Then I found out the next day from another kid that Michaela Johnson had taken it. I marched right up to her and demanded she give it back. She refused to hand it over, and as we stood there staring each other down, Audrey and Clive stepped up behind me. Michaela Johnson’s jaw almost hit the floor when Clive said,give it back you rich bitch. She fisted it at me, then sulked in her chair for the next hour.

That’s my two best friends for you, though. Even when I’m at my worst, they still have my back. And right now, I am at my worst. The stress of the upcoming race, plus the stress of navigating my complicated relationship with Wren, has me snapping at the people I love the most in this world.

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