Branded (The Branded Series) (4 page)

Rachel looked
surprised and pleased at the same time, and Noah was definitely content to be
left alone with the new girl.

“You okay?” I
asked when we were in the clear.

“Perfectly
fine,” she lied.

I tried to act
indifferent, but Anna’s new display of jealousy was flattering. I liked it.

Anna dug out
her class
schedule and studied it. “It’s so weird coming
back
to school,” she
said. “I feel like a new kid. What classes do we have together again?”

I pointed to
her schedule. “Homeroom, biology and science.”

“Oh yes, I
remember now.” She slid her schedule back into her pocket. “So how has Mr.
Meade been to you?”

“You mean, Mr.
Mean
?”

Anna giggled.
“He’s not that bad, Jake.”

“To you,
maybe.”

“Has he sent
you to the office yet this year?”

“Twice. Once
for being late and once for interrupting him while he was talking.” I shook my
head.

“Well, I guess
it’s a good thing you only have him for homeroom and math,” she comforted.

“Sure.” I pushed
open the door to homeroom and let Anna walk in first.

Mr. Meade
instantly snapped his head up from his desk, as if sensing my approach. “Mr.
Rovert!” he bellowed. “What a delight.”

I forced my
best smile and found my way to my desk at the back next to Anna’s.

“I don’t think
so, Mr. Rovert. I’ve reserved this seat up here for you.” He patted the desk at
the head of the row, directly in front of his.

“Is that
really necessary?” I asked, feeling my defences rising.

“Better to be
safe than sorry, don’t you think? With Miss Taylor back, I need your full attention.”
He winked and slapped the desk again. “Sit, boy!”

My fingernails
dug deep into my palms as the skin on my knuckles whitened. I fought the urge
to tell him off.
Not today. Not today.

Anna leaned in
and whispered, “Relax and sit down.” Her voice was like a key that immediately
unlocked the tension in my body. I slowly walked up to the desk and smirked at
Mr. Meade. He didn’t like it. It was not the reaction he was looking for.

The door
opened again and in walked the new girl. All conversation ceased as she stood
in the doorway with her high heels and short, yellow sundress. Her long, brown
hair flowed over her shoulders as she took in a visual tour of the classroom.
Then she strutted across the floor and handed Mr. Meade a folded piece of
paper. Every eye in homeroom was on her.

Mr. Meade read
the note, and then said, “Class, this is Rachel Riley. She’s a new student,
having just moved here from California. I’m sure you will all make her feel
very welcome and take the time to show her around.” Mr. Meade peered at us
through his thick, oversized glasses—not so much a suggestion, but an order.

A murmur of
welcomes echoed through the classroom.

“Rachel,” Mr. Meade
said as he walked toward me glaring, “you can take this empty seat next to
Jacob Rovert. If he annoys you too much, I’ll switch you with another student.”

I snickered
and shook my head.
What an idiot.

“Hello again,
Jacob
,”
Rachel mocked.

“My friends
just call me Jake,” I told her politely.

“Does that
mean
I
can call you Jake?” she asked with a presumptuous grin.

“Sure,” I
answered as uninterested as possible. I wondered if Anna could hear our conversation,
or if she even cared at this point. Maybe I was imagining all this chemistry.

“Thank you.”
She winked. I blushed and turned my head.

“Listen up,
everyone!” Mr. Meade shouted over the chatter. “Don’t forget our new principal will
be making rounds to introduce herself over the next couple of days.” He turned
his attention to me and peered over the rim of his glasses. “
Try
to stay
out of her office before that time, Mr. Rovert, and
try
not to embarrass
me.”

“I’ll do my
best, sir.” I nodded with a grin as the class chuckled in response. Truthfully,
I was looking forward to embarrassing him now. My mind ran through some ideas
for payback.

Eventually the
bell rang dismissing us to first period. Before I could stand up, Lexie had
made her way over to introduce herself to Rachel. “Hi, Rachel. I’m Lexie. I can
show you around if you like?”

Rachel looked
back at me and hesitated. I sensed she was waiting for me to offer too. I
caught sight of Anna leaving the classroom so I gathered my books and headed
out after her, leaving Lexie to chaperone Rachel.

“Do you have
any plans yet for this weekend?” I heard Lexie ask Rachel as I rounded the
corner after Anna.

“Wait up!” I
called down the hall, dodging the freshman scurrying to get to first period.

Anna turned,
giving me a warm smile. “Where’s the new girl?” she asked, pretending not to
care.

“Lexie’s her
chaperone. I’m off the hook.” We walked down the staircase to the lower level.

“I think she
likes you,” Anna said.

“Who
wouldn’t?” I teased, hoping to make light of the situation.

Anna laughed.
“You’re so full of yourself.” She nudged me into the railing.

“Watch the
body! You don’t want to go bruising this up before the big party this weekend.”

“So you’re
going then?”

“I don’t know.
You?”

“I don’t know
yet either.” Anna paused by her classroom door. “This is me,” she said, nodding
toward the class.

For some
reason, I was finding it difficult to just walk away. I rechecked my schedule,
hoping it had somehow changed and I was actually in her class after all. Nope—French.

Lexie and
Rachel came down the stairs.

“Jake,” Rachel
called. Anna rolled her eyes but put on a sweet smile. I chuckled. So cute.
“Are you going to the party this weekend?” Rachel asked.

“We haven’t
decided yet,” I answered, giving a quick, apologetic glance in Anna’s direction.

Rachel took a
step back and said, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realize you two were together.” She
looked embarrassed, but probably not as embarrassed as I felt.

“We’re not,” I
answered quickly. “That would be weird.”

“Yeah, weird,”
Anna agreed.

“Hey Anna,” A
sudden, irritating voice cut through the tension in our circle. It was Eric.
“Have you decided about the weekend?” He was looking only at Anna, and I
wondered if he realized that the rest of us were standing there too.

“Actually,
yes,” Anna answered. “I’ll be there.”

What?

“Great!” Eric
said excitedly. “Bring your bikini because there’s a hot tub.”

Of course
there is.

Eric ushered
Anna into class and left Lexie, Rachel and me standing in the hallway.

“So can you
come?” Rachel finally asked, watching my face intently.

“Yeah, sure,
I’ll be there.”

When the bell
rang
announcing the end of a long day, I hopped out of my desk, grabbed my bag and
headed straight for the exit doors. I couldn’t wait to see the sunshine, let it
hit my face and erase the headache from the last forty-five minutes.

“Where you
going?” Noah called from behind as I pushed the doors open.

“Outside,” I
shouted back.

Noah caught up
and slapped me on the back. “So what’s the deal with the new girl? You talk to
her some more?”

“Not really.
She seems nice though.”

“I didn’t see her
at lunch. Where do you think she was?” Noah asked.

“How the hell
should I know?”

“She’s hot
though, right?”

“Sure.”

We sat down on
the bench and waited for the rest of the group to show up and vent about their
days, as per usual.

Rachel and
Lexie came out next. Lexie brought her over to our bench. “And this is where we
hang out.”

Rachel nodded
in approval. “Hi guys,” she said.

The doors
opened again and Anna came out, looking beautiful as always. “Here, take my
seat,” I said to Rachel as I got up to greet Anna.

“Hey there.”
Anna smiled as I approached. “How was your afternoon?”

“I had math,”
I answered solemnly, knowing the “m” word would say much more than I could.

“That bad,
eh?” She tried to look sympathetic, but I saw the corner of her mouth twitching.

“So listen, I
didn’t get to talk to you much at lunch,” I said, looking around to confirm we
were not being overheard. “You told Eric that you would go to Wentworth?”

Anna looked
down at her shoes. “Yeah, I thought it would be fun. Like old times, right?”

“Sure.”

“Are you
coming?” she asked, squinting into the sun. I wished I could translate the look
on her face. Did she want me to come or not?

“Yes,” I
answered, watching her carefully for a positive reaction.

Her shoulders
dropped as she let out a breath of air. “Good,” she exclaimed. Her eyes
wandered past me and toward the bench. Her smile faded and a quizzical look
took over.

“What is it?”
I asked, following her gaze to Rachel.

“I don’t know
what it is, but I feel like she’s fake. Like she’s hiding something or . . .
something.”

“Really? Like
what?” I decided to entertain her thought, although I figured it was just a bit
of jealousy. Anna wasn’t used to having competition. She was the prettiest,
funniest girl I had ever met, so naturally, no one compared.

“I don’t know.
I mean, what does she want with
you
, anyway?”

I forced a
fake cough. “Pardon?”

“I mean,
you’re a good catch and all that stuff, but why would she set her sights on
you? There are lots of hot guys at Bedford High.” She shook her head as she
contemplated her evidence. “And why so soon? I mean, she barely knows you.”

“If it makes
you feel any better, I don’t find her attractive,” I said as innocently as I
could. Not entirely true, but I wasn’t head over heels like the rest of the
guys were, and I definitely wasn’t drawn to her forthright personality.

Anna rolled
her eyes. “Yeah right, Jake. What’s not to like about her? Even
I’m
attracted
to her.”

I paused and
let my mind run wild for a second. “Really?”

A quick jab to
my side indicated she wasn’t in the mood for any more jokes, so I let it go.

“Anyway,” she
said, “maybe I just need to get to know her.”

“Maybe,” I
agreed.

Again, that
feeling of wanting to hold her started to break down my wall of defence so I
pulled my eyes from hers and started walking back to our friends . . . hoping
that she would follow.

Although I
would never have admitted it, I was actually looking forward to Eric’s party
after all.

Thursday morning
brought
promise as the sun penetrated through layers of mist and warmed the ground. The
birds were working away at the wet grass, searching for their breakfast. I
sucked in a deep breath of the cool morning air and told myself it was going to
be a good day, even if it hadn’t started the way I had hoped.

Anna had called,
apologetic, and asked if I’d mind if Lexie took her to school again. Of course
I pretended like it didn’t matter one way or another, but truthfully, every
minute without her bothered me more and more.

School had
already started by the time I drove into the parking lot. I had intentionally
missed homeroom to avoid Mr. Meade. I checked my schedule. First class of the
day—math. Of course it was. Why would I be given any other luck?

Wait, maybe
luck
was
on my side. I walked into the classroom and there was no immediate
sign of Mr. Meade—maybe we’d have a substitute today. But only minutes later,
he entered the room and everyone quickly found their seats, choosing not to
become the object of his wrath. Then, a tall, well-dressed woman appeared in
the doorway. Her sleek, brown hair rested near her cheekbones and created a
frame for her warm smile that instantly brought a feeling of comfort and ease
to the room.

Mr. Meade
looked up from his papers and quickly stood, startled. “Cl-class! I’d like to
in-introduce you to our new principal, Ms. Pe-Pe-Peters!” he stuttered as he
wiped a bead of residue from his brow.

Oh, this was
too good! Mr. Meade was crushing on the new principal! This was my chance. I
could finally bring him to his knees. I stood up and cleared my throat. “It’s a
pleasure to meet you, Ms. Pe-Pe-Peters!” I mimicked.