7
Harper
People fillthe hallways and I linger in front of the door. I’m not sure if it’s better to be waiting alone in the hall or be the first one in class alone with the teacher.
A pair of girls in black pants and white button up shirts glance at me, then turn to giggle before going into the room. I frown. Honestly, I don’t give a shit what they are laughing about. Even if it’s me. What I want to know is how they got pants when all that’s in my wardrobe are these little skirts.
Another pair of students files into the room and I figure there’s no use in putting it off any longer. Remembering Sadie’s advice, I go to the back of the class and grab an empty desk. Hopefully there aren’t any assigned seats. Nobody says a word to me when I sit so I think I’m okay.
At the front of the room, an older woman in jeans and a faded Metallica tee shirt is setting up something on the teacher’s desk. She pushes her long gray hair away from her eyes as she works, completely absorbed in whatever she’s doing.
It’s an odd set up. A series of glass tubes and colored liquids. It looks like something that belongs in a mad scientist’s lab. I unfold the schedule I slid into my pocket – that’s the one saving grace of these skirts, they have pockets – and read the class title again.Spells and Curses. That sounds lovely.
The door opens and more students walk in. The seats around me fill as people in matching uniforms slide behind their desks. I try not to stare as these strangers, who are my new classmates, walk through the door. Most of them look at me for a moment, but I know I stand out as the new kid.
The door opens again and I look out the corner of my eye to see who the newest addition is and I can’t help but turn toward the door to get a better look. My heart races and a rush of flutters fill my chest as an incredibly handsome man stands in the threshold. What the hell is with the sexy men in this place?
So far, the guys I’ve interacted with have been smoking hot, but also assholes. I can’t tear my eyes away from the newcomer even though I have a feeling he’s just like the others I’ve met.
To my surprise, an exact copy of him steps up next to him. The flutters return and I can’t help but stare at their matching, way-too-sexy for real life faces. Both of them have sandy blonde hair with streaks of sunshine yellow. As if they spend a lot of time in the sun. Their stormy gray eyes are locked on me and I shudder.
The first twin grins, showing straight white teeth. His mirror image is smirking at me and I squeeze my thighs together involuntary. I’m pretty sure he gets away with whatever he wants when he uses that smirk.
Guys like this are trouble. And even when I tell myself I’m going to stop getting involved with trouble, I keep running toward it.
The people in the room seem to hold their breath as the twins walk past them. The closer they get to me, the harder my heart beats. One of them stops in front of the student at the desk next to mine and stares down at him.
Without a word, the desk’s occupant gets up and leaves. The victor claims his new seat and his brother grabs the desk in front of me.
My whole body feels like it’s on fire from their proximity alone. Which I know isn’t possible. I guess it’s been a while since I’ve tumbled between the sheets with anyone and these two make me want to do bad things to them. Both of them.
The twins both stare at me as if they can devour me whole. I find that I want them to.
“Class, eyes forward,” the teacher says.
The twins shift in their desks, surprisingly turning their attention directly to the teacher. My brow furrows as I half watch her and half pay attention to them. They don’t strike me as the type who actually try in school.
“We have a new student,” she says, inclining her head toward me. I straighten and feel my cheeks heat. Now my attention is fully on her.
“Um, hello,” I say.
“Welcome, Ms. Love. I’m Professor Lee,” she says. “I gave you three days in the pool, so this very well might be your only visit to my class. I don’t care how you use your time. Learn something or drool over your classmates. As long as you’re not disruptive, you do you.”
Chuckles spread through the room as the class laughs. My cheeks burn and I keep my eyes glued ahead of me. Was I that obvious when I was checking those guys out?
“Today’s lesson is going to go fast,” she says. “Buckle up, y’all.”
I blink at her, surprised by her words and her tone. I don’t think I’ve ever met a teacher who was so honest and brazen. It was refreshing. I also appreciated the fact that she was wearing normal clothes. It gave me hope that this place wasn’t going to be as repressive as I feared.
Though, the fact that she thought I’d be dead in three days did put a strike against her. I watch as she walks toward her glass contraption and decide I needed to prove her wrong. Obviously, I don’t want to die. I want to do the opposite. I want to earn that pass to get the fuck out of here.
To do that, I need to figure out how this place works. The super hot guy in front of me turns around and I nearly melt just from seeing his eyes again. Ugh. Why is he so handsome?
He holds out a book. “You’ll need this. You can write in it. We have spells to clean up the notes later.”
I take the book from him and set it on my desk. “Thanks. Except, I don’t have a pencil.”
He lifts his hand in front of me, palm down then turns it slowly until he’s holding it palm up. A yellow pencil sits in his hand. It just showed up there, out of thin air.