I’d be impressed if I wasn’t the object of his ire.
“You are excused from class. I’m calling the headmaster to let him know that you are not welcome in any of your classes today. Not only do you need to write Quinn an apology letter, which I will then read to make sure that it’s up to par, but you also need to finish my accounting project before you step foot back in my classroom on Monday.”
“Are you serious? This project took all week! How am I going to finish it that quickly, and why isn’t he being punished for ruining it? He’s the one who attacked me, not the other way around!” My finger shakes a little when I point it at Quinn, but he just turns so that Professor Thiel can’t see his face and winks at me.
It’s infuriating.
“Do not question me, and do not act like you are anything special at Trinity Prep. You’re nothing at this school until you manage to prove yourself, and you have done no such thing. I suggest that you leave, now, before you make things worse for yourself.”
For a moment, I can’t move. I literally feel rooted to the spot. Quinn has a sick grin on his face and Professor Thiel is behind him, still looking like he’s going to blow at any second. If I leave, Quinn wins. If I stay, Quinn wins.
I don’t know how he’s getting out of this without getting into any trouble, but I don’t think that I have a choice in the matter right now. Grabbing my bag from where I dropped it on the floor, I turn and stalk out of the room.
Professor Thiel yells at my back. “Don’t forget, Abigail, you are not welcome in this class or in any of your other classes until you turn in your project and your apology for Quinn. I’d make good use of your time and also make sure that this doesn’t occur again!”
The halls are filling up as I walk away from class. Madeline runs up to me, surprise on her face. “Where are you going, Abby? We’ve got to get to class or Professor Thiel is going to kill us.”
I pause, considering telling her what’s going on, but she’s bound to hear it soon enough. There’s no way that Quinn will let this one slide without telling everyone what I’ve done and how he managed to have me punished.
“See you at lunch?” My voice sounds dull and flat, and Madeline’s eyes widen.
“Okay. Be good. Be safe.”
I nod at her and continue down the hall, keeping my head down so that I don’t have to look anyone in the eye. Nobody knows what’s happened yet, but that’s not going to last for long.
By the time I make it up into my room, I’m ready to rage. I toss my laptop and bag onto the bathroom floor and throw myself onto my bed. My accounting project is going to be a nightmare, but I’ll get through it. The thing that I’m actually dreading more is the apology letter to Quinn.
If I don’t get it right then I know that Professor Thiel won’t accept it and I’ll have to do it all over again.
But really all I want to do right now is tell them both to go to hell.
Chapter Ten
“I finished the apology letter.” Holding up the folded piece of paper, I show it to Professor Thiel, but I keep it out of his reach. Honestly, the last thing I want right now is for him to read it.
I put a lot of emotion and passion into it, but I’m not entirely sure that he’d approve everything I said. He nods at me and I slip the letter into my backpack.
“Hold on, Abigail.” His voice sounds like he’s thinking about something, and I pause, my fingers still touching the corner of the paper.
“Is something wrong?” I want to get this over with. Quinn will be in class before I know it, and I’ll be able to drop the letter on his desk and then get back to my life. Maybe then I can put this all behind me and pretend that it never happened.
“After you left in such a huff last Friday Quinn and I had a moment to talk. We agreed that, rather than just handing him the note, which is very impersonal, it will make a much better impact on everyone if you read it to him.”
My stomach drops. Students are starting to file into the room, but I don’t see Quinn right away. “I’m sorry, you want me to read him my apology letter? Don’t you think that writing it was enough?”
In response, Professor Thiel steeples his fingers and looks at me. “I’m really not sure, Abigail. I need you to understand just how seriously we take behaviour like yours at Trinity Prep, and if that means that you need to read him the apology letter, then we better get down to it.”
Just as he finishes speaking, Quinn walks into the room. He sees the two of us talking and strolls over to us, a sly grin on his face. “Good morning, professor.” Giving Thiel a nod, he then turns to me and raises an eyebrow. “I think that you have something for me, am I right?”
Oh, he’s right. I’d love to tell him off, right here and now, and then hit him to let him know just how pissed I am, but that will never fly and I’ll kiss my chances of the internship goodbye in a moment. He knows it, I know it.
“I have an apology letter for you.” Scrambling, I pull it back out of my backpack, but I don’t hand it to him. Quinn reaches for it, but then he drops his hand back to his side.
“I can’t wait
