Mr. Harlixton jabbed his finger into the packet. “Read the attendance policy in your syllabus to know many times you can ‘not show up’ and still pass. If you have questions, come talk to me after class or take advantage of my office hours listed in the syllabus. Did I mention you need to read the syllabus?” He glared at the front row. My spot looked better and better. Dad would love this guy. Great minds and all, he’d say.
Faint giggles erupted around the room, and Mr. Harlixton's face softened. “Now, let’s start with the origins of the three societies.”
He perched on the desk and crossed his legs. Could I clap now? What a brilliant performance, if you wanted to scare off slackers. No way was this teacher as scary as he pretended.
Mr. Harlixton launched into a story about and how there was once only one secret society. They had a falling out after the Flood and split off into three secret societies. Funny, my parents never told me that. With this teacher, it wasn’t just about names and dates. He made the story come alive. Except this guy kept citing different passages in the book of Genesis. Kind of odd, considering the Bible wasn’t listed as a book needed for class. Maybe I should dust off the Bible my grandma gave me in first grade and bring it to the next class.
Before I knew it, the bell rang and storytime, aka class, ended. Backpack zippers swished and papers shuffled as everyone left the classroom.
I jogged up the stairs and parted my way through the Red Sea before Kevin even moved. I flung open the side door, running smack dab into some guy’s broad shoulder. His backpack hit the marble with a clank.
“Sorry, about that.” I glanced up, right into familiar gray eyes that matched his shirt today. My nerves kicked into hyper-drive, like a hamster spinning its wheel in my stomach. I fidgeted with my bag strap, unable to look him in the eye again. “Hey, Will.”
Will swiped his bag off the floor and swung it over his shoulder in one fluid motion. Then he smiled at me. The real kind, not like Kevin’s fake one. “Hey, I’m still in one piece. What class are you coming from?”
“I just had Origins of the Three Societies.” The hamster wheel churned in my gut, but my gaze flew back to his face like a magnet.
“With Mr. Carter or Harlixton?” His words jumbled together. Was he nervous, too? Good.
“I have Harlixton. Why, is he bad?” I gazed up at him, chewing my lip the whole time.
“No, Harlixton’s great. You’ll love him.” A light turned on in that sea of silver. “If you had Carter, I’d have to pray for you. Really pray.”
“That bad, huh?” How sweet was that? I fought the urge to melt into a puddle at his feet.
His eyes sparked when he laughed. “One day in Carter’s class I raised my hand to tell him to shut up and stop repeating himself, but my friend stopped me. I ended up banging my head on the desk just to keep myself awake.”
“Wow, that’s bad. I mean, you seem like a pretty sane guy.” I gnawed on my bottom lip to keep any more obvious compliment from spilling out.
Kevin picked that moment to burst into the hall. “Get a load of this guy, giving us an assignment the first day of class.”
“Reading a syllabus doesn’t really count as an assignment.” No way could I juggle two Nexis guys at once, especially one my roomie was into. I waved and headed for the door, but they both followed me like puppies.
“Hilarious. You’re one of those girls, aren’t you?” Kevin brushed my arm.
I flicked off Kevin’s hand. “That’s what my parents are paying for.”
“Let’s hope they get their money’s worth.” Kevin stepped toward me, but Will edged closer, almost protectively. “Me, I just want to get by and have fun. I’ve been waiting for an easy teacher.”
“Shoulda gone with Carter.” I got him good. Before he could fight back, I pushed open the front door, shielding my eyes from the sun. From up here, the quad looked peaceful. I booked it down the steps, ready to inhale the sweet smell of freedom.
“Burn!” Kevin gasped behind me, his long legs matching me stride for stride. So much for freedom. This guy couldn’t take a hint. “Have you heard Will’s story about how boring Carter is?”
I turned on my heel to channel all my annoyance into one laser glare. “You walked in on the middle of it, right?”
“What’s up now? This girl’s got game.” Kevin stumbled into Will, whose eyes raked over me, same as Kevin. Guess players ran in packs.
“Now you have to make it up to me and my poor bruised ego.” Kevin’s lip lowered into what must be his most charming poor-me face.
Wouldn’t work on this girl. I busted out laughing. “Yeah, right.”
“I’ll show you around the city. What’s the harm in that?” He nodded at Will, who couldn’t stop staring at me.
I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes at Kevin. His hang loose expression didn’t waver. “Doesn’t sound so innocent to me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll chaperone. How’s Friday?” Will had HOPE scrawled across his face in giant letters. So adorable, especially after he showed his guy colors only seconds ago. How could I say no to that gorgeous, chiseled face?
I chewed my lip for the fiftieth time this morning. No way could I hang out with two Nexis guys by myself. But what if they knew something about James? They were both Nexis leaders, right? Will said James was his mentor, and Kevin would let something slip at some point. It was now or never. I had to take a chance. I shifted my bag
