Chapter 9 ACCIDENT

MICHELLE's P O V

I was helpless to do anything but look in disbelief as the object ricocheted off of Prof. Roberts forehead, and fell pitifully to the newly polished hardwood flooring below. After pausing in the middle of his sentence, he froze at the front of the room, blinking in uncertainty as the class room fell into an eerie silence.

I could feel the blood leaving my face before the nerves kicked in again, and a blush returned with a fury. The other students abruptly turned their attention toward me and stared at me in shock.

My stomach dropped to the floor, and I heard a single snort, followed by muffled laughter coming from the back of the room. This caused Prof. Roberts to throw them deadly glares before he focused his stare to me, which caused me to leap out of my seat as my skin electrified.

‘‘I… I’m so sorry!’’ I stuttered, pressing a palm over my chest, trying to stop the rapid beating of my heart. Oh God, what have I done? ‘‘I didn’t… I honestly didn’t mean to do it, Sir! I’m really sorry…’’

The teacher did not shift from his stance, and the only time he looked away from me was to blink down at the pen before peering back up at me with increasingly menacing eyes.

I hurriedly made my way up the aisle with wobbly legs, the heat on my face was intense enough to cause it to catch fire as I hastily picked my pen off the floor in front of his motionless body

‘‘I’m so sorry, Sir…’’ I mumbled again, standing back up. My stomach began to twist into knots, and I spotted a red spot on his forehead, as well as a furious red line forming on it, just near to a vein that was beating rapidly. ‘‘I promise, I won’t do it again, it’s just…’’

‘‘Detention after school!’’ he announced, and my eyes widened in shock, and the other boys started murmuring amongst themselves. ‘‘Quiet down! And you, back to your seat. I’ll see you later!’’

I sucked in my lips, rubbing at my chest as my heart raced at a rate that was dangerously close to do damage. This would be the very first time I would experience detention in all of the years that I had been attending school, and that was because of my stupidity.

But it was an accident…

I quickly turned on my heels and dashed back to my seat, lowering my head in order to avoid the stares of the other students. As I sat down, there was another round of laughter, and I felt someone lightly tap my shoulder as if to reassure me that everything is going to be fine.

I didn't need to check and see who it was because the contact of his skin with my covered one caused it to burn constantly. I let out a sigh while flashing him a forced smile.

When I turned around to face the front of the room, I was taken aback to see Prof. Roberts gathering the books from the surface of his desk. ‘‘Where are you going, Sir?’’ a dark-haired boy sitting in the front row asked as our teacher headed for the door.

‘‘You can have a free period…’’ he called over his shoulder without slowing down. He stormed through the doorway, pausing briefly to look at us with eyes so cold that hell itself could have been frozen over. ‘‘I’m putting in my notice for my break. They do not compensate me enough for having to deal with you all…’’

I could hear Devon's chuckle next to me as Prof. Roberts walked out the door, and I instinctively sank my flushed forehead to the cool wood of the desk. When Devon said, ‘‘I didn't picture you as a trouble maker, Mike...'' he was obviously making light of the situation, and there was no way to ignore the taunting in his tone.

‘‘What? I'm not!’’ I defended myself, raising my head so that I could look him in the eye. It was a soothing salve to the tensions that were pinballing around in my stomach when I saw those blue eyes dancing with mirth. My shoulders deflated. ‘‘I have no idea what just took place. It just… slipped?''

Devon gave me a sympathetic smile and shook his head in amusement while he slammed his notebook shut with a soft thud. He seemed to be looking forward for the vacant period. ‘‘Well, I guess we’re free to leave. How about we go get you some real food? And also, my friends have a free period now, and they might still be at the cafeteria…’’

I gave a cautious nod while simultaneously trying to cool off my flushed cheeks by subtly patting them both.

Meeting his friends? Okay, sure. I could handle that. I’d just need to make a better performance.

But the detention later made my hands tremble as I packed up and followed Devon out the door, letting out a long, slow breath.

Even if I didn't do very well in Chemistry, at least my confidence that no one would find out my secret is still intact.

The walk to the cafeteria was a quick one, and there was a refreshing breeze the whole way. The campus was peaceful because most of the students were in class, but once we arrived at the location, I noticed that there were a few boys dispersed around the tables.

Devon found his friends seated at a table that was hidden away in a corner with a view of the courtyard, and I dutifully followed him.

The table was littered with partially consumed snacks, such as cookies, chips, waffles, and popcorns. There were also some fruits, such as apple, strawberries, and blueberries, in a bowl, but they appeared to be untouched.

As I looked around at the other tables, I noticed that each one had a bowl of fruit on it. My previous school was completely different from Goldstein. There was no free food, and the vending machines were often broken because certain kids were always caught striking them to make the contents drop.

‘‘Hey, guys…’’ When we finally made it up to the group, Devon gave a quick nod before sliding onto one of the benches. ‘‘This is Mike, my roommate…’’

I willed my eyes to stay open and concentrate on Devon's pals. My lips curled into a warm smile as my eyes darted on the man who was swiping through a sleek black phone while drinking from a red soda can. He looked so damn familiar but I couldn’t remember where and when did I see him.

‘‘Mike, these are my friends, Colter…’’ Devon gestured toward a boy who was picking up a piece of blueberry and popping it in his mouth before nodding at me, and I responded to his motion by giving a short wave while tinkering with the straps on my bag. ‘‘And this is Gian...’’

Gian? Gian Lawrence?

The man looked up from his phone, and my presumption was confirmed when I saw his grey eyes which immediately turned darker when he saw me, before he cut a look towards Devon. ‘‘We aren’t here to make friends…’’

I got a firmer hold on the straps and strengthened my grip. What was that supposed to mean? Didn’t everyone in school want friends?

It's possible that he didn't want to be friends with me, and I was beginning to feel the same way about him. ‘‘It's okay. I can leave…'' I suggested it while taking a step back and attempting to muster up a polite grin.

‘‘Don’t mind him…’’ Devon said, rolling his beautiful blue eyes. ‘‘Gian hasn’t had his baby milk today…’’

Colter broke out laughing, playfully raising up his blazer and tried to feed Gian a breast milk, and as a result, he earned a harsh smack on the nape, before Gian continued to stare pointedly at Devon with a raised brow until his piercing grey eyes switched back to me.

The corners of Gian's mouth turned upward, and I moved my foot back another step. ‘‘Either go out of here or take a seat. It’s creepy having you just hover there…’’

‘‘Sit, Mike. Please…’’ Devon murmured something under his breath while smiling and gesturing at the table.

Even though I wanted to sit next to my roommate, there wasn't enough space between him and Gian for me to sit between them, so I took the empty seat next to Colter.

‘‘You all transferred here this year...’’ he stated, and I attempted to hide my amazement at hearing that. They became friends so quickly? And as if Devon could read the question that was going through my mind, he answered, ‘‘Gian became my opponent last year, but he lost…’’

‘‘While I am a big fan of them…’’ Colter said proudly, patting his chest a few times.

Yeah, I remember him now. I’ve watched the fight between Gian and Devon from the previous year in the internet, and I can say with confidence that Gian was no match for my roommate. But I couldn't help but marvel how it was that they got along so well. After both of them had injured the other by striking each other in the face, Gian decided to transfer to this school and become friends with him?

I had no idea what the real story was, but there seems to be something fishy going on here.

My heart dropped a little as I remembered what Gian had said a while ago, that they weren't looking for friends, but I just counted myself lucky that Devon invited me in the first place.

I tried to think of something to say, since I was obviously the odd one out, when I heard Gian talk again. ‘‘So, you decided to stay rather than leave?’’

Devon displayed a frown, though there wasn’t any heat behind it. He gave Gian a nudge in the shoulder that was strong enough to actually appear a little painful, and I winced; yet, Gian didn't seem to be disturbed by it.

‘‘He’s my friend, and he can sit with us whenever he wants!’’ Devon stated, earning a deathly glare from Gian.