This must have something to do with that tall girl and Cam. Whatever. It’s no skin off my nose.
She can have him, for all I care.
I walk into class and the professor does a double take.
“Miss Miller, are you all right?” she asks, her voice tinged with concern.
“Yes, professor. I dropped my phone on my face last night. Apparently, it had a vendetta against me.”
A few chuckles sound from the students who are already seated.
The professor arches her eyebrow at me but accepts my explanation.
Class doesn’t start for another few minutes. When the last straggler wanders in, the professor clears her throat, indicating the beginning of today’s lesson.
“Okay, class, let’s go over your behavioral management style reports.”
* * *
“What the fuck, Violet?” Mia gasps when she takes in the bruise on my cheek at lunch time.
I shrug. “You were right. Don’t mess around with cheerleaders.”
She clenches her fists, brows drawn together. I can see her plotting, and I reach across the table, putting my hand on hers.
“Don’t worry too much about it. I think I’ve figured out the reason this is happening. And now that I know where it’s coming from, I’ll be better prepared.”
I speak confidently, but she doesn’t relax. If anything, she looks angrier.
“Violet, they fucking hit you.”
“With an orange. From like ten feet away. It’s not like they outright punched me.”
“It’s still physical assault.”
“Please, Mia. Those bitches are scared of me. I’m five-foot-six-inches of pure terror. They wouldn’t dare mess with me directly.”
She snorts, rolling her eyes at me. But she drops the topic for now. I can tell she’s not done stewing over it, but she trusts me.
We eat in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts.
If the cheerleaders are targeting me for spending time with Cameron, they’re in for a rude awakening when they find out he’s tutoring me.
I’m not going to request a new tutor just because some prissy assholes are jealous that I’m spending time with him. I’m doing nothing wrong. They can deal with it.
Now, if he turns out to be the worst tutor in the world, I’ll drop him like hotcakes. But I haven’t really given him the chance to prove himself, and I intend to at least let him try.
If I’m being honest with myself, I wasn’t really trying to learn from him at our last session. I was too distracted. It didn’t help that I was caught off-guard by him being there. But tomorrow, I’ll be more prepared.
I smile inwardly as I think of the little slip of paper that was stuck in the crease when I opened my book to the current lesson.
Cameron-Tutor and his phone number were written neatly across it.
Mia snorts, pulling me out of my thoughts. Her grin is mischievous, and when she tells me about the idea she just had for her burlesque job, I full on belly laugh.
This day has been turned around after all.
I keep vigilant for the rest of the day, only relaxing when I’m back in my room getting ready for bed.