Fearless The King Series Book One - By Tawdra Kandle Page 0,58
. .thing.” I tried to keep my tone vague.
“Well, that’s good. I guess I’ll see you in French?”
“Sure, see you there,” I answered, and Cara turned to walk away.
Michael reached out to tuck a curl behind my ear. “She seems nice. I’m glad she was there to help you yesterday.”
“Yeah, me too. She was cool about it, didn’t make a huge deal. And she talked to me, which is more than I can say for most of the people here.” I gave him a half smile. “Present company excluded, of course.”
Michael returned the smile absently, his mind obviously elsewhere. “It would be good for you to have a friend to watch your back when I can’t be there. I don’t know much about her, except that she moved here last year. Her dad is the pastor at that new church right outside of town.”
I frowned. “Really? She’s a pastor’s kid? Huh. I wouldn’t have guessed.”
We had walked to Michael’s locker, and I leaned back against the wall as he sorted through his books. He poked his head out to look at me quizzically. “Do you have something against pastors’ kids?”
“No, not exactly. I’ve known a few—went to school with them, I mean—and usually what’s inside their head doesn’t match up with what’s outside.”
“That’s a very cynical attitude.”
I shrugged. “I don’t like hypocrisy. And I’m in the unenviable position of knowing more about it than most people. I always know when people’s real motives don’t match their actions. We went to churches sometimes when I was younger, and it was usually the most pious people who had the most wicked thoughts.” I looked down at my watch. “I’ve got to get to French. That’s one teacher who really likes me, so I don’t want to ruin her impression of me. See you at lunch?” I still asked the question every day, not quite believing that I never had to eat lunch alone again.
“I’ll be there. Hey.” He grabbed me by my backpack and pulled me back toward him. His face was very close to mine, and all I could see were his eyes. He moved his hand from my bag to my neck, stroking lightly, and then used his other hand to gently brush my hair away from my face. “Have a good morning. Be careful. Stay conscious. And give Nell lots of room, okay?”
I could hardly breathe for his nearness, but I managed a brief nod before he released me with a smile. I tossed him a brilliant grin in return and headed to French.
Cara had an empty seat next to her when I entered the classroom, and I hesitated, wondering if it would be pushy to choose to sit there. Before I could decide, Cara saw me and smiled, gesturing to the desk beside her. Gladly I slid into the seat just as the teacher turned to begin class.
Today we were working on written translations as a group. We took turns doing sentences, each one going up to the board in turn to write the English equivalent of the French words. When Cara went up for her turn, I contemplated her thoughtfully. I wouldn’t have pegged her as the daughter of a minister. She was pretty in a way, with her dark blonde hair worn in a short bob. Her eyes were brown, and her features were not remarkable. I realized it was the gentle twinkle in her eye that made her look likable. She was dressed like the rest of the girls, in jeans and a short-sleeved shirt. I tried to remember if I had seen her hanging out with any particular crowd, but I couldn’t recall.
We finished the translations, and Madame assigned our homework. She called a student to her desk to go over some missed work, allowing us to talk quietly among ourselves.
Cara turned to me, smiling. “Are you adjusting to life in Florida yet?”
I smiled, too, ruefully. “Well, it’s different. But I think I’m settling in, thanks.”
She raised her eyebrows at me significantly. “Maybe with a little help from a certain senior?”
I flushed. I had seen looks from some girls, both seniors and juniors, who seemed to resent my relationship with Michael. I remembered Anne telling me that Michael had been the object of much unrequited love. And I knew that those girls were wondering what I had done to ensnare him. It would be impossible to explain that I hadn’t pursued him at all, and I doubted any of them would believe it.