Witness: A Bad-Boy Romance

First Class

I was still entranced by Blake by the time the principal finally spoke. He seemed as if he was too busy for this, and that he wanted to get it out of the way so we would leave.

“If you all open your folders to the first page you will find your personal timetables for the semester. Please check the timetable now and confirm the subjects you are enrolled for are all correct.”

I opened my folder and looked at the timetable.

World history, English literature, gym, math (algebra), theater, and computer science/programming.

I was not thrilled.

History and English were things I had always loved and enjoyed, and I knew gym would be necessary, but the other subjects were really not things I would have chosen for myself. I was good at humanities, not sciences or things like drama and art. I was going to seriously struggle with algebra and computer science.

I wanted to tell the principal there had been a mistake and ask to switch classes, but the others were sat silently and I wasn’t brave enough to speak up. Besides, the last thing I wanted was to go home and find there were some official people there telling me I had messed everything up by taking the same subjects as I had done in Boston.

I looked at my timetable for the rest of the day as I waited for the principal to continue. I had algebra first thing on a Monday, after that would be computer science, then finally after lunch was gym class. I was definitely not going to enjoy coming to school on Mondays.

A bell rang out marking the end of the first period, and the principal waited for the noise to die down before he continued.

“If you have no further questions, I think you should get to your next classes.”

I tentatively raised my hand and the principal looked at me disapprovingly.

“I don’t know how to get to my class.”

The principal sighed wearily and looked down at his own notes.

“I suggest you buddy up with Blake for the day, luckily you two have most of the same classes. I’m sure he can show you where to go.”

My heart raced and I smiled across at Blake, but he didn’t smile back.

His stare was icy and it actually made me shudder, but he shrugged acceptance to the principal and picked his bag up.

I followed closely behind him as Jake and Evie went to their classes, but when I tried to walk beside him he sped up so I fell behind.

There was no one else around now that the others were gone and everyone else was in class already, but Blake was obviously not interested in slowing down so I could catch up.

He was moving so quickly that as I struggled to catch up with him again I ended up tripping and dropping the huge handbag I was still not totally used to yet and sending its contents spilling across the floor.

“Blake, wait,” I called out after him as he continued walking swiftly away from me.

I fell to my knees and started picking up the scattered pens, my purse, and my phone.

I noticed that Blake had finally stopped walking and turned back, and he was coming over to me.

He was walking slowly, and deliberately. I had inconvenienced him by dropping my things.

He stopped in front of me and I looked up at him - his piercing blue eyes were fixed on mine and he smiled at me, at last.

“You forgot your notebook.”

He pointed down to a little mint green notebook with an inspirational quote across the front in silver, and I blushed as I reached for it.

As my fingertips reached the notebook it skidded away from me as Blake kicked it casually towards the wall and then turned and walked away from me.

I was furious.

Why the hell had he done that? He could just have stood there and waited for me, he didn’t have to make this any harder for me than it already was.

I picked the notebook up and shoved it into my bag before I stood up again and dusted myself off.

I ran to catch up with Blake, but he had already rounded a corner and by the time I reached the end of the hallway he was nowhere to be seen.

I had no idea where I was, or where my class was, and there was no one around to ask.

I was just going to have to wander around looking for the classroom alone.

As if things weren’t bad enough already.

When I noticed that I was shaking slightly I followed a sign to the girl’s toilets to try and calm down. I stood in front of the mirror looking at Victoria, and wondering what it was about her that had apparently made her so easy a target for a bully like Blake even before we had said a word to each other.

I pulled out my phone to check the time - I was now twenty minutes late for the class. I had been longer than I thought. I couldn’t skip the class completely, Brooke would find out.

I neatened my hair, put on my most convincing fake smile, and left the bathroom to try and find where my computer science class was.

After another ten minutes of wandering around the huge building, I finally managed to find the classroom - or at least a classroom with people sat at computers.

I peered cautiously through the door.

Blake was sat at the back of the class, and he smirked when he saw me.

I was definitely in the right place, then.

I knocked quietly on the door frame and waited for the teacher to respond.

He remained with his back turned to me, droning on about something I was never going to understand.

I knocked for a second time, and he spun around and stared at me.

He was about forty and he had thinning hair, huge thick-rimmed glasses, and a stuffy old suit. Exactly what I would have guessed a computer science teacher would look like.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m Victoria Cooper. One of the new kids?”

Why the hell had I said that as if it was a question? I was panicking, and everyone was staring at me, and I swear they were giggling, and…

“Well, come on then Miss. Cooper. You better sit down and log in so you can get to work.”

He wasn’t mad at me. At least that was a relief.

I looked around the room for somewhere to sit and then swallowed hard when my eyes fixed on the only free seat in the classroom.

Of course, I would have to sit next to Blake Quinn.