Chapter 46

By the end of the first week, Xander had nearly figured out the landscape of his new school. Like at West Fork, certain girls stood out, but this time there were five times as many. Three were outstanding and rivaled Smoke Show, whom he’d been messaging repeatedly. The three of them were best friends and inseparable.

The leader seemed to be an obnoxious bitch, Addison ‘Addie’ Harris, the head cheerleader with a body to match. Emily Baker, whose father was a doctor, was her sidekick. They lived in the same subdivision that Xander did. He was interested in the third girl, Olivia Bynum, who was very tall—at least five-nine or ten—and slim, with long black hair and a beautiful smile. Unlike the other girls, she wasn’t a stuck-up bitch, but the group made sure she only associated with them.

Xander had said ‘hi’ to her between classes when she was momentarily alone. Before she could respond, Emily and Addie appeared and glared at him.

’Message received!’

The guys in their group were the usual assortment. Landon Phillips was the current starting tailback on the football team. Aiden Webb was Fayetteville High’s latest Rizzmaster, if the rumors were true. He had a reputation for playing the field and got bored after bedding his conquests. Noah Simpson, whose family was loaded—word was that Noah’s mother was a Walmart heiress.

Xander was zoned out and accidentally eavesdropping on them at lunch when he realized they were talking about him. That turned their conversation from background noise to something that caught his full attention.

“Did you see the pictures of the new guy?” Addie asked.

Word had gotten out about his morning swims, and random girls now showed up and waited for him to get out of the pool. Izzy found the pictures and tormented him with them at dinner. At least he hadn’t been in Speedos to add to the drama.

His mom was no help. She’d said they might use one of the pictures on this year’s Christmas card.

Xander had to admit that if it wasn’t him in the picture, he would’ve thought it was of a model they’d gotten wet for some men’s cologne advert.

“Who are you talking about?” Aiden asked.

“Xander Thornwood.”

“Let me see,” Aiden said.

Landon scrunched his nose and said, “The rumor is that his body’s fake; he’s got to be ‘roided up. My dad’s going to demand he get tested before he can go out for football.”

“Are you worried he’ll take your spot on the team?” Noah asked.

“No, he’s just a small-school wannabe,” Landon said.

“I don’t care if his bod is made with chemical help; I think he looks hot,” Emily said.

“You do know that if a guy’s on ‘roids, his balls shrink, and he’ll have bad back acne, along with other things,” Aiden said.

Xander started to dislike this guy. As he got up from his seat, Olivia spotted him and sucked in her breath to alert the others that he was coming over.

“If your daddy has me tested, you better get one, too,” Xander joked. Then he said as he walked away, “Sorry to have interrupted; I’ll let you all get back to maligning my character. Have a nice day.”

Everyone but Landon and Olivia laughed. Landon looked furious at being caught, while Olivia seemed embarrassed.

“Fucker,” Landon said under his breath as Xander left the lunchroom.

Football would be so much fun if he and Landon were at odds.

After lunch, Xander had biology, where they would next begin dissecting frogs. The three hot girls had it, too, and usually sat together in the back corner, while Xander made a point of sitting up front. Each table sat two, and since he was the new kid, no one sat next to him.

When class started, their teacher said, “Olivia, please move up front and partner with Xander.”

“The three of us can partner,” Addie said.

“And I’m fine doing this myself,” Xander added.

“Olivia.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Olivia said, then packed her stuff and sat beside Xander.

“Before we get started, I want to talk about safety...” their teacher began and droned on.

“Sorry, I tried,” Xander said under his breath.

“It’s probably for the best. I need a good grade in this class, so if you want to kick back and let me do the labs, maybe you can type them up.”

“Are you sure you trust me to type?” Xander asked.

Olivia gave him a sideways glance.

“I would’ve had to do everything if I sat with Addie and Emily. I was hoping you could find it in your heart to be useful since I don’t have time after school.”

“Why’s that?” Xander asked.

“Why would I have to do it all, or why don’t I have time?”

“The time thing.”

“Well, I don’t have the luxury of just breezing through school and barely squeaking into a university,” Olivia said. “My mom is raising my little brothers and me alone, and she has to work nights, so I have to take care of them. She barely makes enough to keep the debt collectors from coming to the door every month, so I’ll need to earn an academic scholarship to go to college. If you could help me out, that would be great.”