“Uh, what?” I say.
“You said you were gonna give me an Easy A, right?” Ren’s tone is unmistakably suggestive.
My brows furrow in confusion. Is this the same guy who has been tormenting me all day?
Ren turns to Teagan, “Sorry to break it to you, but she’s my puppy now.”
Teagan looks between Ren and me. I swear that I feel just as confused as she looks.
“Since when do you two know each other?” Teagan asks. She knows that I’ve had a crush on Ren for years now. It's definitely something I would have mentioned regardless of feeling replaced by Brianna.
Ren moves his arm so that it's no longer slung over my shoulders. He reaches up and runs a finger along my jawline.
Ren then turns back to Teagan, “What's it to ya?”
Ren grabs my wrist and then pulls me behind him to the table at the back of the class. I have no choice but to follow after him. He lets go of my wrist whenever we reach the table. He sits down. I hesitate. My eyes go back to Teagan and it's only after I see that she's still looking at us that I decide to sit down.
The tardy bell rings.
Ms. Ramirez begins class at the board. She introduces herself as well as her expectations for us this year. She also writes the class code for the class group chat on the board, prompting us to download the app and join. Next, she goes to each table and hands us our syllabus for the year. Ms. Ramirez gives me a look of surprise which I can tell is due to the seating arrangement. Teagan and I were inseparable last year. I try to give her a reassuring smile as I take the paper from her hand.
“So what's the deal with you and her?” Ren asks as soon as Ms. Ramirez is out of earshot.
“What’s it to you?” I grumble as I pick up the syllabus to cover my mouth.
I can feel Ren turn and look at me, “Not cute.”
I sigh, “We’ve been best friends since Freshman year but she ghosted me over the summer.”
“Is that why you were crying this morning?”
My cheeks grow warm, “I was not crying.”
Ren scoffs, “So, she ghosted you, made you cry, and you still tried to beg her to be your friend again?”
I don’t respond.
“If you need to be someone’s puppy so bad, you can be mine.”
I turn to look at him, “I’m not her puppy and I never was. I was her friend, or at least I thought I was. Friends are supposed to do everything together.”
Ren only raises his perfect eyebrows at me.
I look away from him and focus on the syllabus instead.
“Well, my offer still stands.”
“I think I’ll decline.”
“Suit yourself. We’ll see how long it takes for you to change your mind.”
His tone causes me to look over at him. Ren’s smirking to himself as if he knows something I don’t.
Ren doesn't say anything else for the rest of the class. When the bell rings, he gathers his stuff and leaves the classroom without a word. I watch him leave. Once he crosses the threshold, I turn back to my desk. I tuck the day’s handouts into my science folder. I’m relieved to know that I only have two class periods left. I’m ready to go home. Today has been equal parts draining and confusing.
As I’m putting my folder into my backpack, Ms. Ramirez walks up to me. I look up and meet her eyes.
“Hey, Tavia. I was just making sure everything was okay over here. You know I don’t usually change the seating chart after the first day, right?” Her tone is even enough but there’s a question in her eyes.
I nod, “I know. It’s okay.”
“Did something happen between you and Teagan?”
I look up to make sure that Teagan’s already gone before I answer, “She decided that I’m too poor to be her friend. Or maybe I should say that her cousin made that decision for her.”
“Brianna? She’s in one of my morning classes.”
I nod.
Ms. Ramirez makes a sympathetic face. “I’m sorry about that. I wouldn’t take it personally if I were you. I’m sure Teagan just feels as if she is in an awkward position. Her cousin seemed…” She trails off.
“Yeah, I don’t think it was entirely Teagan’s decision either. Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do about it. Teagan’s made it very clear that our friendship is over.”
Ms. Ramirez nods, “I saw you two talking.” She pauses as if considering whether or not she should say something.
In the end, she goes for it, “I also saw Ren walk up to you two. Are you two a thing now?”
I want to laugh, but I’m able to hold it in. “No. I think he just thinks he’ll get a good grade if he’s my lab partner.”
Ms. Ramirez looks almost relieved, “Great, because you're too good for a guy like him.”
I try to hide my look of surprise, “What kind of guy is he?”
This could be my one chance to learn something about Ren.
Ms. Ramirez looks around the classroom and sees that it's empty.
“I can’t get into the specifics but just trust me when I say that I don’t think you should get too involved with him.”
I nod and give her a smile, “Thanks for letting me know.”
She returns my smile, “Okay. You should probably go before you're late to your next class.”
I wave goodbye and leave her classroom but I can’t stop thinking about what she said.
The rest of the day passes by in a blur. Statistics is simple. The teacher just hands us a syllabus and gives us a refresher. I can tell that she intends on jumping right into things tomorrow. My last period of the day is Library Aide. Since it's the first day of school, there’s really not much to do. Mrs. Song and I mostly sit and chat. I tell her about the events of my Human Bio class and she confirms my suspicion that Ren probably just wants to earn an easy A.
I stay in the library after the bell rings, signaling the day's end. Jaden hasn’t texted me yet, so really there’s no reason to go anywhere.
Jaden’s text comes thirty minutes after the end of classes. I say a quick goodbye to Mrs. Song and then leave, heading towards the parking lot. Jaden’s car is one of the few left in the parking lot. I stand leaning against it waiting for him to come out when I notice that there are students on the field. They must be trying out for some sport. I see a lone figure standing away from the field but turned towards them, as if he is watching tryouts. There’s a tendril of smoke rising above his head and I realize then that the guy is smoking a cigarette.
Just from looking at his back, I can tell that it’s Ren Takeshima. As if he can feel the heat of my gaze, he turns around and makes eye contact with me. We stare at each other for a minute. Neither one of us waves or otherwise acknowledges the other.
My trance is broken by the slap of a hand against the metal top of Jaden’s car. I jump. I turn and see Jaden standing there, a smile on his face.
“Ready to go?”
I nod. I open the still-creaking car door and slide into the passenger seat. I throw my backpack in the backseat and then pull on my seatbelt. When I look out of the window, I see that Ren is still watching me.
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