Page 54 of The Hallows Queen

“Hello?” I snap, trying to stay quiet. “Anyone in there?”

“Don’t freak out.”

That’s all he says, and then his hands travel up his torso and grab two thick straps that are around his shoulders.

My brows pull down as I try to understand the situation, and it feels like everything is moving in slow motion around me until it finally comes together and clicks.

“Oh no,” I whisper, dread making my blood run cold.

It’s a backpack.

I can only imagine what my face looks like, because he takes a small step toward me and whispers under his breath. “Don’t freak out.”

“Oh my god,” I say, unable to stop myself. “Oh mygod.”

“You’re freaking out,” he says, and I see red.

“Hayden,” I whisper, my fingers touching my mouth. “Don’t tell me you’re in high school.”

“Listen…” He reaches for me, and I step back.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I say under my breath. “Don’t you dare fucking touch me right now.”

“Penelope.” His eyes are big and sad as he looks into mine. I want to claw them from his skull. Who is he to be sad right now?

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” I say, taking a breath to calm the fire burning inside of me. “You aren’t going to talk to me. You aren’t going tofucking come near me.You’re going to pretend like you’ve never met me before, do you understand? Do not fucking come anywhere near me ever again.”

“P…” he says, hands squeezing the straps to his backpack so tight that his fingers are turning white.

“This is mylife, Hayden. You do not get to ruin this,” I snap, looking around again, just in case someone is watching us.

This is a disaster. A complete and utterdisaster.

This isn’t how I wanted to start my career. I need to make a name for myself, show my worth, prove the headmistress right. Instead, I’m going to be the gossip in the fucking hallways on day one.

Oh god.

“P?” he says more insistently, pulling my attention. I find his eyes wild, and they make my chest clench painfully.

“What?” I answer, and his gaze moves to my mouth.

“I can’t stop thinking about you.” His voice comes out in a tender whisper, like the information he’s sharing isn’t for anyone else, not even a fly on the wall, like he’s almost trying to hold the words back.

My gut falls, and his gaze finds mine again.

I take a breath through my nose, saying what I wish I didn’t have to. “Pretend we never met.”

“You look good enough to eat in that skirt, how am I going to do that?” he asks, husky and pained.

“You’ll just have to try a bit harder,” I say, clearing my throat and stepping to the side so I can walk past him. “Have a good life, Hayden.”

He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even watch me walk away. He just stares out the window.

* * *

The first fewclasses pass by without a problem. Mrs. Justice doesn’t waste a moment with time fillers, instead just jumping straight into a lecture on the importance of our government. I tuned out after 2ndperiod – because it seems we won’t see eye to eye on a lot of things regarding the U.S. government.

Most of the students seem genuinely engaged. There’re only a few I would classify astroublemakers, and even then, they’re quick to shut up when Mrs. Justice uses her mean voice. It might be because it’s the first day of school, so I guess we’ll see if the students are well-behaved year-round when senioritis starts to kick in.

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