She didn’t look amused. Her eyes grew flat, but her smile didn’t slip a notch. “I was hoping to ask about the Honors Study Group. I heard you were leading it this year?”
“Oh.” His eyes shifted to me, then back to her. “You know that’s only open to students in the top two percent of their classes. You…” He faltered, letting out a small sigh. His hand curled around his bag strap. “You know you’re not in that two percent.”
She stepped back as if he’d hit her. Her sultry smile disappeared. I expected her to snap, but all she did was murmur, “Oh, okay.” She hung her head and pulled her hands away from the table. “I’ll just have to get there then.”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice cheery. He cleared his throat, glancing to me again. “We can see where you are after midterms. We add new students mid-semester anyway.”
“Okay.” She peeked back at him, a glimmer of a new smile wafting over her face. “Thank you, Jeremy.”
“Uh, sure.” He moved back from the table, holding his bag in front of him like a shield. “If you don’t mind, Sarah…” He nodded in my direction. “I need to talk to the new transfer.”
She looked at me, and the transformation was remarkable. Her eyes chilled. Her smile remained, but it became menacing. And I swear the room grew cold. A shiver moved up my arms, but I refused to cross them over my chest. I lifted my chin as she continued to look at me.
Her eyes narrowed.
So did mine.
Jeremy cleared his throat again. “Sarah, if you can go ahead? I’m going to lock the room behind me.”
“Yeah. Sure.” She cast one more glance over her shoulder before accepting defeat. She readjusted her backpack, gripping the strap where it lay over her shoulder, and scurried out the door. I stepped out behind her, with Jeremy bringing up the rear. I was cautious as I moved into the hallway. If she could’ve slung her bag to hit me, I think she would have, but she didn’t.
My stomach relaxed as I saw her hurry down the hallway to the main entryway.
“Sorry about that.” Jeremy closed the door and locked it. He stepped around me with a smile and extended his arm to lead the way. “Professor Gayle lets me use her office in between classes. We can go there.”
I followed as he went to the back hallway where professors had their offices. He paused in front of the last one.
“Am I in trouble?” I asked.
He opened the door, but looked back, surprised. “Why would you be?”
“Because I was late.”
“Oh.” He laughed. “No, not at all. I want to talk to you about what that other student asked about.”
I tilted my head. “The Honors thingy?”
He laughed a second time as he placed his bag on the cluttered desk and sat down in the chair. He motioned to the door. “If you don’t mind, do you want to close that?” As I did, he pointed to the empty chair across from him. “You can take a seat.”
Once I sat down, he leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. “We tell students that the Honors Study Group is only for those in the top two percent, but that’s not entirely true. It’s for whomever we choose. But more than likely the top two percent are among them. The group consists of the best students in the nursing program. We get together every other Thursday evening to do…” He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. “Just about anything. We study together, give each other pointers, help with papers and study guides, or just hang out. The last time we went bowling, and the time before that, one of the girls had us over to her house.” He paused, a secretive smile on his face. “That was an interesting night indeed.”
I felt like I was going to be inducted into a secret society of nerds—the kind who were entitled, self-righteous pricks who got off on how smart they were. If Claire were sitting where I was, she would be drooling at the exclusiveness. This guy was either going to invite me in or tell me how to apply. I bit my lip. I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with this, whatever it was, but a voice in my head kept me from outright saying no. It reminded me that sometimes it pays to put up, shut up, and see if there are benefits