Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 151765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 759(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 506(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151765 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 759(@200wpm)___ 607(@250wpm)___ 506(@300wpm)
“Yes. Ramsay Williams.”
“No papers?” She pursed her lips together, looking me over before making a clicking sound in her throat and going back to her computer screen.
I frowned. “I didn’t know I was supposed to bring papers. What papers?”
She was paused in her typing and leaned closer to her screen. “Nope. You’re good. You were registered last week.” Those very no-nonsense eyes pinned me in place. “What are you in here for?”
I shifted on my feet. This lady was unnerving. I adjusted my bag over my shoulder. “I was told to stop in for my locker and class schedule. That stuff.”
“Gotcha.” She went back to typing, and a curse left her before the printer started up behind her. Wheeling back, she grabbed the paper, scribbled something on the back, and handed it over. She pointed to the top corner. “Locker number. Code is here. And your schedule. We’re not doing student IDs this morning, but stop in anytime this afternoon and we’ll get that settled for you as well. Now, you’ll need an ID for lunch. You got money on you? Know anyone here?”
Fud-ruckers. I did, but I’d been hoping to keep my connection to my cousins on the down-low. They were the opposite of blending in.
“Uh . . .”
“I’ll spot you.” The tattoo guy stood, giving me the head jerk. It was something cool people gave other cool people, so I guessed I was officially part of that group.
Just then, an older guy wearing a tie, dress shirt, and slacks came out from a back hallway and stopped, looking over the waiting room.
“Macon?” He made a motion to follow him. “Why are you already in my office?” he added with a sigh. “School hasn’t even started.”
The guy smirked, grabbing his backpack and circling around me. “Macon Rice,” he said under his breath as he passed. “Find me at lunch.” He gave me a once-over before whistling to himself. “No problem at all.”
Maybe I needed to rethink my outfit choices? The once-over was too in-my-face. I didn’t like it.
“Thanks, but I know people.” My tone was cool, the chilly kind this time.
He paused and assessed me again. Then he tipped his head. “See you around.”
I was a dick.
I’d thrown back his invite, and he’d noted it, and I knew—I was overthinking this. I just hoped he wasn’t some school dictator because those did exist.
The receptionist cleared her throat, and I looked back to find her giving me a suspicious look. “Come this afternoon for your ID. Do you, in fact, actually know people here?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“Good, and word of advice”—she gestured down the hallway where Macon Rice and the older man had gone—“stay away from that one.” Then she pasted on a smile. “Have a nice day, dear.” She leaned to the side. “Next!”
On my way out the door, a girl came up beside me. “Hi.”
She had blonde hair pulled back into a low bun, and her face was covered in freckles. She beamed at me. “I’m Gem, and I overheard everything. I’ve decided that you and I are going to be friends.”
I raised an eyebrow. “We are?”
Her head bobbed up and down. “Oh yeah. Anyone who can give Macon Rice the toss is already a goddess in my mind.”
Oh great. “Is he a big deal around here?”
She shrugged, then nodded to my paper. “I’ll tell you on the way to your locker. What’s your number?” I told her, and we headed down a hallway. “He’s not a nobody, if that’s what you mean. He goes through girls, like, one a week. It’s kinda gross, when you think about it, but all the girls know. They still end up in his bed, and then they fight about it when the next girl is chosen. He got two girls pregnant last year, so it’s a good sign that you read him right and didn’t take him up on his offer. You’d be labeled as the first-week girl, and I don’t think that’s what you want. Also, don’t get freaked about the security guards. They’re only here on certain days.” She veered through a group of people, nodding to a locker. “Here’s yours. Mine’s over there.” She pointed across the hallway. “Give me two seconds. I’ll grab my stuff and be back to show you to your first class.”
It took two tries before I got my code to work.
I had my bag in and was pulling out my phone when it buzzed.
Alex: Hey!! You here? Where are you?
Crap.
Me: Here, but you guys are supposed to act like you don’t know me.
Gem was heading back, a notebook and laptop in hand, when I felt the mood in the hallway shift.
The crowds parted, and a group of guys sauntered down the hallway.
Gem sighed, falling against my neighbor’s locker, and jerked her chin toward the group. “Wanna know who are at the top? Those guys are.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or most of them are there. But, see those triplets?”