Page 16 of Fractured Mind
When I step out of the office, the principal’s assistant is waiting for me. “Here is everything you need.” She hands me a stack of papers.
I walk out and find Ashton leaning against the wall, busy on his phone. A slow, sexy smile crawls across his face when he sees me. “How’d it go?”
As I answer, a hand abruptly appears and snatches the top piece of paper from the stack. It has my list of classes on it.
“What do we have here?” Levi asks in a playful tone. He peers at the paper, then back at me, delighted. “Lucky for you, your class is near mine. I’ll walk you there.”
My body stiffens. It’s not that I don’t like him. It’s just that he seems to draw plenty of attention to himself. Ashton shoots him a weary glance, then gazes down at me. “Did you want me to walk you instead?”
“Aww, c’mon. She’s safe with me.” Then Levi chuckles. “As long as she keeps her hands... and lips to herself.”
Levi’s looking at Ashton, making me think it’s banter between them. “It’s okay. Levi can walk me,” I answer Ashton, even though I’m not quite convinced it’s the smartest decision.
Ashton pauses, searching my eyes, then nods stiffly. “I’ll catch you at lunch.”
My gaze follows Ashton as he walks away in the other direction. When I look back at Levi, there’s a devilish gleam in his eyes that makes my cheeks burn.
Levi wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side. “Things just got more interesting around here.” He leads me through the busy corridor as we walk to class. “Here’s your room.” He pokes his head inside and turns back to me and laughs. “Oh, have fun with that. She’s a bitch!” His voice is loud and carries across the hall, and from the laughing inside the room, I know everyone heard it too.
The teacher is glowering at us, which makes my stomach drop. She’s an older willowy woman with gray hair and glasses. I glare at Levi. I can’t believe he actually did that to me in my first class.
“I mean, she’s all rainbows and sunshine,” he jokes, and the class snickers again. Levi takes his arm from my shoulders and waves at her. “Good morning, Matilda.”
“It’s Mrs. McDonald to you. Get to class, Levi!” the teacher shrieks.
He turns to me and taunts, “See you at lunch, kitten.”
My face is on fire as I take cautious steps into the classroom.
“Mia Monroe, is it?”
“Yes,” I reply weakly, dying of embarrassment.
“Take a seat. If you have questions, see me after class.”
I bow my head, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, and for the remainder of class, I don’t hear a word the teacher says.
When the bell rings, I grab my laptop, book, and paperwork and start walking out of class. I peer down the hall. “Is my next class that way?” I mumble to myself.
Roman makes his way over to me. “You’re in the same class as me now.”
Having the guys escort me around has helped calm my nerves.
“How was your first class?” he asks, genuinely interested and not just making small talk.
Before I can answer, someone yells “My man!” across the hall. It’s a tall, athletic-looking guy, surrounded by others who are built the same. Roman casually waves and smiles at them.
On route to class, we end up stopping again when three of the girls Ruby was with this morning stand in front of him. “Hey, ladies.” His tone is raspy, and they give him blinding smiles.
The middle girl tugs on Roman’s shirt, pulling him closer to her. “I’ve missed you,” she pouts.
When I see the one on the left rubbing her hand up and down his bicep, I try to tune out their conversation.
As he continues to chat with them, he expertly maneuvers out of their hold, taking a step back toward me. “We’ve got class now. I’ll talk to you girls later.”
Their eyes cut to me, scanning me from head to toe. From their scrunched-up faces, I gather they’re not impressed.
After we enter the classroom, we sit in the back row, and I watch as the girls sit up straighter in their seats. One winks, and a few others give Roman their best flirty smile.