Surge - Maya Nicole Page 0,8

the gates leading into school and spotted the Tritons and their crew near the entrance.

"Is that why you sucked face with-" Ivy smacked Aiden in the arm and he clamped his mouth shut. "I mean, you're right, Riley. Men are nothing but trouble." He laughed. "Trouble I wouldn't mind getting involved in, if you know what I'm saying."

As we passed the group gathered near the gates, I kept my eyes in front of me. It was mortifying to make out with a guy and have him ghost you. Had I been that bad?

"You know what I heard? Her pussy reeks of dead fish." I glanced in the direction of the nasally voice and almost stumbled over my feet.

The group of four girls was staring right at me. They were the popular girls, and not the ones that were nice. They were the ones that used every opportunity to remind others that they were nothing more than a waste of space. I was glad none of them were ever in my classes.

I increased my pace through the outdoor halls toward the corridor of lockers mine was in. Ivy split from us with a quick wave, and Aiden leaned against the locker next to mine as I unloaded supplies.

I hoped that it had just been a coincidence they were talking about dead fish and looking at me. Who was I kidding? They were, and now it was going to bother me the rest of the day.

I headed toward homeroom with Aiden. Most of our classes were the same, with a few exceptions.

"Stop worrying. We've got your back." Aiden looped his arm through mine and we walked into Advanced English.

We were a few of the first to class, so we chose seats in the back. I might have been a top student, but I liked seeing the entire room.

I was getting my notebook and pen out when I heard Aiden gasp, and I turned my head toward him. "What?"

"Blake Huron just walked in and is headed straight for the seat next to you," he said under his breath.

Blake had never been in any of our classes. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of handling honors and AP classes, but he was rumored to pay other students to do his work for him.

I sat back in my chair and our eyes met as he walked down the row. He had a cocky grin on his face and his dark brown eyes sparkled. Out of the three Tritons, he was the most approachable.

He dropped the blue binder he had picked out at the office supply store on the desk and slid into the seat next to me. He moved it over so his knee touched mine. I scrunched my nose and moved my desk an inch.

He laughed. "Imagine my surprise seeing we have English together." He angled his body toward mine and I sat up straighter. I didn't know what the hell was going on.

If my stomach kept seizing up like it was, I was going to end up with an ulcer. Why were they all of a sudden taking interest in me? It couldn't be a coincidence that first Jax had approached me and now Blake.

Was it because of my father? Were they curious to get firsthand information from his daughter? They had to know I had nothing to do with him.

"Back off, Huron." Aiden leaned forward and pinned him with a glare. "Our kind don't put up with your bullshit in our classes."

"Your kind?" He flinched. "You of all people should know the harm of those words."

Aiden flinched. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant in advanced classes we are focused and drama free."

Blake moved his desk a few inches from mine. "We'll see about that. It seems you don't know your classmates very well."

Class started, and all I felt was Blake's eyes burning into the side of my head. I tried to concentrate on the expectations for the semester, but it was nearly impossible with his proximity and gaze.

Why wasn't the teacher asking him to move his desk back to the row?

"Since this is your senior year and most of you will be attending college next fall, we will start to focus on some of the skills you will need to successfully make the transition. Starting with a study group." I was a few sentences behind processing what she was saying. "You will be placed in small groups and meet two times a month to work on your assignments and get