Counting Down with You(10)

It’s a miracle I don’t jolt at the sound of my name.

“Alistair Clyde,” I say. “What are you doing here?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Don’t we have a study session?”

I blink at him. “You’re here to study? After you tossed my study guide in the recycling bin?” Immediately, I bite my lip, the weight of dead butterflies heavy in my stomach. I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t have the energy to argue with Ace Clyde over a study guide. “Never mind. Forget it.”

One corner of his mouth turns up, but I wouldn’t call it a smile. “No one calls me Alistair.”

“Miss Cannon does,” I say mildly, still reeling from this turn of events.

He tilts his head in consideration. “So she does.”

A moment passes before Ace saunters around the table and sits across from me, sprawling on the chair. “So, Ahmed. You didn’t tell Miss Cannon I bailed yesterday. Why?”

I gape at him. Why does it matter? Why is he here?

“I have no interest in landing you in unnecessary trouble,” I say after a few seconds.

Ace hums and pops his lollipop back into his mouth. I avert my gaze, looking down at the Italian project.

“Karina, I found the—” Nandini says and falters, staring at me and then Ace with wide eyes. “Oh. Hi.”

Ace leans back in his seat and salutes her with two fingers.

Nandini gives me a wide-eyed look. “Are you two...studying?”

I shake my head, opening my mouth to express my own confusion, when Ace places his hand on top of my homework, his rings clacking against the table. “Yes, we are.”

“We are?” I repeat.

If he’s actually here to study, one would think he’d show a little more effort than manspreading in a chair while sucking on candy.

Cora comes around the corner then, carrying a stack of textbooks. “I think we can divide the work by—” Her mouth snaps shut. Nandini reaches out and steadies the tower of books before they can fall over. “What’s going on?”

I grimace, knowing Cora is about to have a field day. I turn back to Ace, smoothing my expression out before he can read my irritation. “You actually want to study?”

Ace meets my gaze evenly. “Why else would I be here?”

“Right.” I look at Cora and Nandini, hoping it’s clear from my expression I am begging them not to leave me alone with this dude.

Cora grins brightly. “You know what? I just remembered my mom wants me home early for dinner. She’s making sesame chicken today.”

Nandini stifles a giggle. “You should definitely head out then.” She takes a step back, wiggling her fingers in farewell. “I also just remembered I have to work on my Comic-Con costume.”

I gape at them. I know Nandini saved up to buy tickets to San Diego Comic-Con, but that’s in July. It’s March. And last I heard, Cora’s mom is out of town for some kind of financial conference.

“Wait, but what about—”

“No, it’s fine, Karina!” Cora says cheerfully, already moving to the table to start packing up her things. “We wouldn’t want to distract you guys.”

Nandini nods, shoving her notebook into her Captain America tote bag. “Yeah. We’ll see you during first period tomorrow.”

Before I can protest anymore, they both press a kiss to the top of my head and disappear behind the tall shelves, laughing among themselves.

Wow. My friends are the worst.

I painstakingly look back at Ace. He’s watching me with arched brows, his lollipop spinning between his fingers. I sigh, pushing away my resentment for the time being.

He’s still a dickhead for not showing up yesterday, and he’s an even bigger dickhead for showing up today without an apology.

But fine.

If he wants to study, we’ll study. I’m not going to hold a grudge over the study guide. He is here, after all. I don’t have to let Miss Cannon down.

I take out the rumpled study guide and place it on the table between us. Something flashes across his face—regret, maybe?—but it passes too quickly for me to decipher.

I purse my lips. “I thought we could start with the texts we’re learning in class, and closer to the Regents we could focus on individual parts of the exam. Is that okay with you?”

“Whatever you think works best,” he says, reaching for the study guide. He flips through it idly, but as his eyes flicker over the text, his eyebrows rise. I wince, remembering my irritation when I was making it.

“Ignore that,” I say, reaching over to take it back. He lets me without protest but as he reclines, he watches me with a different look in his eye. He bites his lollipop, and I hear the sharp crunch of candy.

I tuck the study guide into my binder. Ace keeps watching me as he sets the leftover stick on the table. Even though it’s so unhygienic, I restrain my urge to throw the stick away. I don’t know if Ace would still be here when I got back.

“Okay, do you want to start with The Great Gatsby, The Merchant of Venice, or The Scarlet Letter?”

“Never heard of any of those,” he says, reaching forward to steal my pencil.

I stare at him, wondering if he’s being serious. There’s no way he doesn’t know those titles. I have to believe he’s joking for my own sanity.