I turned to my left, looking past Erin and the other students beside her. The one annoying thing about my archery class was that Cerina and Bobbi were also enrolled in it. Fortunately, they always stood at the far left end of the range and never said a word to me or Erin.
“I don’t remember saying that!” Bobbi whined.
“Too bad. It’s your turn.” Mr. McLaren clapped his hands. “Come on! Get out there.”
Bobbi let out a loud, dramatic sigh and trudged onto the range.
Erin nudged me. “I’m going to the bathroom,” she said. “Back in a sec.”
I nodded and pulled my phone out of my pocket so I could browse Reddit while I was alone. A few minutes later, someone else nudged me. I glanced to my right to see Nate staring at me with a dimpled smile. “Break’s over,” he said, motioning toward the targets.
“Oh, is it?” I slid my phone back in my pocket. “I didn’t hear the whistle.”
“Yeah, you were off in your own world,” he said, picking up his bow again.
I looked out at the range. The targets were all empty, and Bobbi was nowhere in sight. “Thanks for telling me,” I said, giving Nate a small smile as I picked up my bow. “I honestly didn’t hear a thing.”
“No problem. By the way, do you mind if I stand here and watch you for a minute?” he asked. “You never miss. I want to see how you do it.”
“Sure.”
I carefully nocked an arrow and shot it at my target. As it hit the center, a shriek pierced the air, and Bobbi ran out from behind the target.
“I’m not done!” she screamed. “I’m still getting all the arrows that fell behind!”
“Oh my god!” Cerina shouted, shaking a finger in my direction. “She just tried to kill Bobbi!”
Mr. McLaren’s whistle blew three times. “What on earth is going on?” he shouted. “Who shot that arrow?”
I weakly raised my left hand. “Um… I did, Mr. McLaren.”
“Why did you do that?” he asked, face reddening with anger as he stormed over to me. “Did you hear the whistle?”
Nate took a step closer. “Mr. McLaren, this is my fault,” he said. “I told Kinsey the break was over. I honestly thought I heard the whistle. She tried to tell me she didn’t hear it, but I told her she was wrong. So I sort of pressured her. Totally my fault.”
Mr. McLaren cleared his throat and took a step back. “Right. Well, I’m sorry for losing my temper with you, Kinsey, but you can’t just start firing arrows all over the place because another student told you the break was over. Our safety protocol is in place for a reason.”
“I know,” I said in a small voice, cheeks flaming. “I’m really sorry.”
Mr. McLaren turned his attention to Nate. “As foryou,” he said, eyes narrowing. “I don’t know if you actually thought you heard the whistle or if this is some sort of sick prank, but if youeverpressure another student into shooting when the whistle hasn’t sounded yet, you won’t just get a detention. I’ll throw you out of my class permanently. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Nate said, looking properly chastised. “It reallywasan accident, I swear.”
Mr. McLaren strode away. I bit my lip and looked down at the ground, face still burning with shame.
Nate took a step closer, palms raised. “That was totally my bad,” he said. “I honestly thought I heard the whistle. Must’ve been my phone. Or maybe I’m just tripping.”
I offered him a weak smile. “At least no one was hurt, I guess.”
“Try telling Bobbi and Cerina that,” he replied, craning his neck to look at the two girls. “I bet those drama queens are already texting everyone about it and calling it an attempted murder.”
I laughed, and some of the tension drained from my shoulders. “No shit. My mugshot will probably be on the Dirt app by lunchtime.”
Nate snorted. “Yeah, I bet,” he said. “Hey, by the way, are you coming to my party on Saturday?”
“Um… I was considering it.”
“Awesome. I really hope I see you there.” He flashed another bright smile at me. “Anyway, I guess we better get back to it.”