“You’re certainly a cutie,” she says with a giggle. “Oh—you must be the scholarship kid.”
“Yeah,” I say, too surprised to hide the emotion as the realization of what’s happening dawns on me. She’s not angry … because she’s flirting with me.
“I’m Olive,” she tells me, finally dropping her hand from my chin.
“Alex.”
“Alex,” she repeats warmly. The girls behind her turn to look at me again, their attention having been momentarily drawn towards the crowd of well-tailored uniforms behind me. “You don’t know who I am, either then, do you?”
I feel heat rising in my face. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening.
Of all the things I expected, all the things I was prepared for … this wasn’t one of them.
“Um—no. Sorry.” I just want to get out of here, but she’s got an iron grip on my arm. She’s almost as strong as Jasper.
Though it could just be her nails.
“Shame.” Her smile widens, but it doesn’t reach her dark blue eyes. “Every boy here should know who I am. Even you.”
“Well, uh. Now I do.”
Her lips pucker. “But not really.”
“Uh—”
“Olive!” says Jasper, appearing over my shoulder. This might be the first time I’m actually glad to see him. “What are you doing here?”
And just like that, Olive’s hand disappears from my arm and she turns to Jasper with an excited shuffle of her feet.
“Jas!” she cries happily. “I came to see you, silly!” She throws herself into his arms for a hug, and I watch as he purposefully places his hand just above her ass. His hand quivers a bit, as if he’s having to hold back from letting his touch drift southward.
Olive breaks the hug a moment too soon. “I was just meeting the new guy,” she continues, and turns back to me.
Jasper’s smile immediately dissolves into a scowl. “Oh. You’re still here?
“Um—”
That seems to be the only sound I’m capable of making anymore.
“Aw, Jas, don’t be mean. He’s so cute, isn’t he?” Olive says, saving me with a bright smile. And from the look on Jasper’s face, damning me at the same time. “He doesn’t have your dashing good looks, of course … but there’s something so … je ne sais quoi about him, you know?”
Jasper just growls, his scowl deepening as he brushes a lock of hair from Olive’s shoulder to capture her attention again. “Won’t you get in trouble for being here?” he asks.
She shrugs. “Dean Robin doesn’t really care where we go, as long as we’re back before lights out.”
Dean Robin. The name rings a bell. Of course—the head of the all-girls school.
I take another look at the three girls. They
must be students there.
I feel the slightest twinge of jealousy. None of them has to pretend to be someone they aren’t. They just get to … live.
I, meanwhile, am just trying to figure out how to get away.
I wait a moment until no one seems to be paying attention to me and try to slink off, but Olive catches my sleeve again.
“Oh, leaving so soon?” she asks, pouting. Over her shoulder, Jasper glares daggers at me. His hands clench into fists at his sides.