Chapter 13

"I was seriously hoping not to see you on that seat for at least fifteen more minutes." Mr. Morris sighed. "What did you do this time, Amelia?"

"You hurt me, Mr. Morris. Why would you think I've done something in order to come visit you? Don't you know just how much I've missed you?" I pouted, blinking rapidly and innocently. He gave me a pointed look and I chuckled, leaning back on the chair. "Oh, come on, live a little. You will die faster if you act like a grumpy old man."

He sighed and shook his head when a knock on the door was heard. The principal authorized whoever was at the door to come in, and I turned my gaze towards it. A girl I recognized from my class with Orwell strode in, holding a paper in her hands.

"Cindy, good morning. I'm guessing the paper you're holding in your hands is the report from David Orwell, yes?" he asked the girl as he motioned for her to give him the paper. 

She nodded with a small smile and glanced at me. I raised my eyebrow at her in an intimidating way and she quickly looked away, placing the paper down on Mr. Morris' desk. "Yes, e-excuse me," she stuttered then scurried out of the office, shutting the door behind her and making me laugh.

"There's no need to scare my students away, Amelia." He sighed and glanced at the paper on his desk. He put his glasses on and read the paper carefully, his brows furrowing together in thought. 

I raised my eyebrow at this and leaned forward in my seat, trying to read what was on it like the nosy person I was. When my attempt failed, I snatched the paper from his hands and turned it toward myself as Mr. Morris took his glasses off.

"Let's see what that teacher made up this time," I said in amusement. As I went to read the paper, he snatched it away from my hands, causing me to whine.

"Since you think that his class is not 'challenging' enough, he is demanding for a change to your schedule. David certainly doesn't want you in his class anymore," he explained. He then folded the paper and put it aside, picking up some other files.

"Who will be my new victim now, then?" I asked with a smirk.

"As much as David hates to admit, he does recognize that your knowledge in mathematics is quite exquisite. Considering you solved ten problems in less than ten minutes with the correct process," he said.

"Mr. Orwell praising my genius mind? What a rare gem." I chuckled pridefully.

"I suggest you erase that smirk from your face," he warned. "Apart from your change in schedule, there is another thing he requested."

"What? Detention? We all know that doesn't work for me. It wouldn't be the first one I escaped from—nor the last." I chuckled. 

He gave me a pointed look and I raised my hands in mock surrender. By his expression, I could tell that it certainly wasn't detention. 

"Alright, alright. What is it this time? Another suspension?"

"You are to take Advanced Calculus."

* * *

At lunch, I sat with Kenneth and Danielle, both of them sitting in front of me. They just heard the news of my change of schedule and were staring at me with their mouths hung open. 

Apparently, it was surprising that a girl like me had to take a single class with the nerds. 

I held my new schedule in my hands and scanned the contents. The change was not much, now that I took history as my first period and math at the second one.

"You really got on his nerves," Kenneth commented as I stuffed the new schedule in my bag.

"When don't I?" I chuckled. 

Danielle's phone beeped, and she glanced at it. Not long after, her gaze shifted to the cafeteria doors. Her eyes sparked up as she nudged Kenneth on the ribs and kicked my shin from under the table. This earned a hiss from both of us, but she paid us no mind.

"Look! It's the new girl that just transferred," Danielle gushed, and I turned my attention to the cafeteria doors. Whispers were heard around the cafeteria as the new girl strode in with a timid smile. Her straight, blonde hair fell around her shoulders as she stepped in line to get her food. Every single eye in this cafeteria followed her, and she blushed at the obvious attention. Her eyes wandered around, probably looking for someone. When they landed on someone behind me, she smiled and waved excitedly.

Curious, I looked over my shoulder and saw who she was waving to. To my surprise, my eyes landed on a pale Chase, who was clearly uncomfortable with all the attention. 

The couple in front of me also seemed to notice this, watching the exchange of the new girl and him. He—oblivious to our stares—walked toward her timidly, and she smiled up at him. 

I raised my eyebrow at this, and Kenneth chuckled. "Looks like the nerd actually has friends."

"Friend? She's all over him! Do you think they have a thing going on?" Danielle asked, her gossip-mode on. 

I chuckled and watched as the new girl chatted animatedly with the nerd. I didn't want to admit it, but I also—kind of—wanted to know. Kenneth looked at me as I stood up from my chair, draping my bag over my shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Well, my friend, I'm going to find out for you." I smirked at them and Danielle narrowed her eyes at me.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked. I didn't miss the hint of amusement behind her tone.

"You'll see," I said with a wink and headed toward the line. I strode toward Chase and the new girl, noticing how people's gazes burned holes through the back of my head. I stopped behind Chase, who was talking to the girl, and draped my arm over his shoulder. Due to my shorter height, this made him crouch down a little as both of their eyes met mine. He appeared startled as he spilled some of the drink he had on his hand, and I smirked. 

"Cheating on me now, are you Chase?"

"W-What? Cheating?" he stuttered then looked at the girl in alarm. "N-No! What are you doing here?"

"I'm kidding, nerd." I laughed. 

He looked like he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. 

I ruffled his hair with the hand that was over his shoulder, making fun of him. "What, are you too scared of my presence?"

"That's not—!"

"Relax, relax." I chuckled then turned to the girl who was watching our exchange with curious eyes. "Won't you introduce me to your new girlfriend?"

At this, he choked on his drink and started coughing—the girl immediately going for his aid. I watched with fake innocence as his whole face turned red. I dropped my arm back to my side, and in a few seconds, his coughing fit seemed to seize. I waited patiently for him to speak, fighting back a smirk as he glared at me. The boy was finally growing a backbone.

"She's not my girlfriend," he hissed under his breath, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "She's my step-sister."

My eyebrows rose at this new-found information, and the girl giggled as she ruffled his hair. He huffed and slapped her hand away, eyes looking everywhere but me. I chuckled at this, finally turning my attention to the girl. She smiled at me, and something in her look shifted, as if she recognized me. 

Did she?

"Hi, my name is Izzy. You must be Amelia Clark," she said, offering her hand for me to shake. 

I looked into her green eyes and raised an eyebrow. "You barely step foot inside this school and you already know who I am? I should feel honored," I joked and shook her hand. 

She giggled, and the bell rang, everyone scurrying out of the cafeteria. Izzy looked around alarmed, her lips tugging down in a frown since she didn't get to eat anything. I rolled my eyes and reached inside my pocket, taking out a twenty-dollar bill and handing it to her. She furrowed her brows, reluctantly accepting the money.

"What is this for?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"The food is on me. Use it to buy yourself something to eat once you're out of this hellhole. Wouldn't want you to show any more bones than you already are." I chuckled and walked away from them, probably already late for my English class. 

Kenneth and Danielle were quick on my side, hand in hand. As we walked, Danielle noted things down a little too excitedly.

Izzy, Chase's stepsister. Her height was above average, around 5'8 (173cm). She was fairly thin; I wouldn't be surprised if she weighed less than 120 pounds. The reason for her transferring kept being unknown. 

Why would someone change schools in their senior year?

We reached my locker, and I opened it to exchange books. The couple decided to part ways and waved goodbye at me, heading over to their class. The second bell rang, and I closed the locker door then made my way to the classroom. I was about to enter it when I saw Izzy in the middle of the corridor, looking lost. I rolled my eyes and walked lazily toward her, raising my eyebrow as she scratched her head.

"What? Did your precious step-brother ditch you when he heard the bell?" I asked, and her head whipped to the side. 

Her whole face brightened up and she hurried toward me, smiling in relief. "Amelia! Thank God, I found someone," she said breathily, then chuckled. "Yeah, that was pretty much the situation."

"Figured much." I chuckled. "Where should you be going now?"

She fiddled with her schedule, reading the contents. I, being my impatient self, snatched it from her hands and searched for myself. It turned out that she was headed to English. 

It seemed like I was bound to share a class with the new girl.

"Today's your lucky day, newbie. Follow me," I told her and threw her schedule back. "You will be taking English with me."

"Oh," was all she said as I started walking ahead. She fumbled with the schedule in her hands and hurried over to my side. It didn't take her long, thanks to her long legs. I glanced up at her sideways, cursing her tall figure. I sighed and hurried my steps, not wanting to feel like the small one while walking beside the new girl.

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[Edited: August 25th, 2020 by michh_44]

Oh my, the new girl has made an appearance. Looks like we've got another shy person on the group of friends. She is quite a tall specimen. It makes me feel tinier than I actually am. Also, Amelia taking an Advance class? Whew, that's some info to take in. Tell me, do you agree with the principal's and Mr. Morris' decision? That's up to you to decide, then. Great day to everyone! xx