Shattered Ties(4)

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean. My mom would never let me associate with someone like him.”

“Because he isn’t rich?” Lucy asked sarcastically.

“Because he isn’t rich.”

“Your mom is a bitch.”

“And so is yours. They both run in the same circles, you know.”

She sighed. “Don’t remind me. I swear our mothers run some supersecret organization of stuck-up bitches.”

I laughed even though it wasn’t really funny. While my mom was far worse than Lucy’s, they were both rather...selective of who they associated with. At least Lucy had her dad around to keep her mom straight.

We walked the rest of the way to our first class in silence, both of our minds on the new boy, Jesse. I loved that name. I found it sexy, but I knew my mother wouldn’t agree. She would think it was too common, too plain. Everything had to be the best when it came to her. While my first name was fairly common, instead of having a normal middle name like most people, she’d given me her maiden name. It was always the best for us.

When we finally arrived to our first class, trigonometry, all of the seats were taken with the exception of a few in the front. I hated sitting in the front of the classroom, but it didn’t look like I had any other options unless I wanted to sit on someone’s lap.

I sat in an empty seat next to the door, and Lucy sat down beside me. It looked like we were the last two to enter since Mr. Kester walked to the door and shut it seconds after we had taken our seats.

“Good morning, students. I hope you’re as excited as I am to start a brand new school year,” he said happily as he walked to his desk and sat down.

That was doubtful. I hadn’t made it an entire day yet, and I already missed summer vacation. Hopefully, this year would pass by quickly, or I might lose my mind. It wasn’t that I hated school. I just hated playing into the popularity games that were played here.

Sure, I was on the cheer squad and right at the center of the popular crowd, but that didn’t mean that I always liked it. It was great to have so many friends until you realized that most of them were fake and just using you for your popularity. I didn’t trust any of them with the exception of Lucy. I knew that she was my best friend because she wanted to be, not because I could get her more friends.

Lucy and I had met in elementary school, and we had bonded instantly. Since our mothers were together so much, they had often brought us along, and we’d played together constantly. I might not like my mother or the games she played with the power players in this town, but I appreciated the fact that if it weren’t for her, Lucy and I might not have ended up as best friends.

Mr. Kester was taking attendance when the door swung open, and Jesse walked in. He scanned the room before walking to the teacher’s desk and handing him a piece of paper.

“I’m Jesse Daniels.”

“So glad that you could join us, Mr. Daniels. Why don’t you take a seat over there by Emma?” Mr. Kester said pleasantly.

My eyes snapped to Lucy just as she looked at me and grinned. This class just got a whole lot more interesting.

Jesse glanced around the room. His eyes stopped on the empty seat beside me, and he smiled. I held my breath as he crossed the room and sat down beside me.

“So, we meet again,” he said as he settled into his seat.

I couldn’t hide the grin that was plastered on my face. “I guess so.”

I fidgeted for the rest of class, trying to keep my eyes glued to the board in front of me. Instead, they kept glancing over at Jesse of their own accord. He really was something else to look at, even from the side. I couldn’t help but stare as he seemed oblivious to my constant scrutiny.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. What am I doing? According to Lucy, this guy was here on a scholarship, and his piece of crap car all but confirmed that he wasn’t up to my mother’s standards. He wasn’t someone who I needed to involve myself with. My mother would never allow us to be friends, and she would absolutely kill me if she knew I was crushing on someone like him.

I glanced over at him one more time, determined to push him out of my thoughts. That was a bad idea. How the hell am I supposed to stay away from someone who looks like him?

“I think I’ve covered everything we need to today. If you want to talk among yourselves for the last fifteen minutes of class, feel free,” Mr. Kester said.

Mr. Kester was one of only two math teachers at our school. I’d had him my freshman year, so I knew that he would usually let us hang out during the last few minutes of class. For teaching one of the worst subjects, he was pretty cool.

I turned to Lucy, determined to ignore Jesse, so he wouldn’t try to talk to me.

Lucy raised an eyebrow as she noticed my obvious attempt to ignore

Jesse. “What are you doing?”

She’d whispered the words, but I tensed, afraid that Jesse had heard her. While I was ignoring him, I didn’t want him to realize that I was doing it on purpose. I didn’t want to look like a stuck-up bitch even though I knew I was being one.

“Nothing,” I whispered back.

She rolled her eyes but said nothing. We just sat there and stared at each other, both of us unable to think of anything else to say.

“Hey, Emma?” Jesse said from behind me.

I closed my eyes and mentally groaned before turning to face him. “Yes?”