Like I said, recipe for disaster.
THE NEXT MORNING, I get to school and head into the teacher’s lounge. Trent is already there, going over lesson plans while he drinks his coffee. I pour my own cup before going over to join him.
“Hey, Asher,” he greets me. “How’d your first day go yesterday?”
I shrug. “It wasn’t the worst thing in the world.”
“No one gave you a hard time? Sometimes these kids try to see how far they can push the newbies, learn what they can and can’t get away with.”
“Eh, nothing too bad. I think it helps that I coach the football team, so all the players know not to mess around.”
He nods. “That’s a good advantage to have. You should’ve seen the seniors from last year.”
“That bad?” I ask, taking a sip of the brightest part of my morning.
“One of them, the captain, was the one I told you about. He was the son of the district attorney. Therefore, he thought he was invincible. He and his friends always came to class late and didn’t even care that they were being disruptive.”
Sounds like how I was in high school. “You didn’t discipline them?”
“I couldn’t,” he sighs. “Carter’s dad had Hyland in his back pocket. It was stupid to even attempt to stand against those kids. They even managed to corrupt my favorite student, Delaney Callahan. Though, she still managed to graduate valedictorian, so maybe there’s hope for her after all.”
The name catches my attention. “Callahan? As in Tessa Callahan?”
Trent looks up and cringes. “Ah, so you’re the sad soul that ended up with Tessa in your class.”
“She’s in my first period.”
He nods. “Well, yeah. Tessa is Delaney’s twin sister. She should have graduated last year as well, but she skipped too many days and ended up needing to repeat part of her senior year.”
Twins. So, that would explain the girl she was at the club with—the one who looked just like her, only not as confident and daring. It also explains why she’s turning nineteen in a few months and still in high school. Okay, at least I know she wasn’t lying about her age, again.
“What’s her deal?” I inquire, trying to get some more information on her, even though I know I shouldn’t. “What makes her so bad?”
Tapping his pen against the table, he leans back in his chair and locks his gaze with mine. “Tessa Callahan is like a forest fire—reckless, unpredictable, and nearly impossible to manage.”
7
TESSA
“Oh, come on. You have to come. It’s like a senior’s rite of passage. We get the best seats this year,” Lennon argues.
I shut my locker and roll my eyes. “You’re forgetting, I’ve already done the whole senior year thing.”
“No, you skipped the whole senior year thing, hence being here again and not at college.”
My brows furrow. “Remind me again why I’m friends with you.”
She grins sweetly. “Because I’m amazing and you love me.”
I snort and go to walk away, but she moves with me.
“Please? I really want you to come with me.”
“I don’t know, Len.”
As we stop outside our first period classroom, I can see the moment it clicks for Lennon. She peeks in and spots Asher sitting at his desk, then turns back to me.
“You know, Mr. Hawthorne is the football coach this year.”