Blind Spot - Katana Collins Page 0,17

my brows. “I think I would have preferred jail.” I groaned into my hands.

“You’re new,” A small voice in front of me said and I slowly looked up to find a little girl—probably one of the younger ones—smiling back at me. She must have been around ten, maybe eleven. I don’t know…I wasn’t exactly good at pinpointing the age of kids.

“Uh…yeah,” I said, shifting my eyes around and leaning my elbows onto my knees. “Just started today.”

“I don’t have a mentor yet,” she blurted out.

I sucked my cheek. “Right. Well, I’m sure they’ll be assigning you to someone soon.”

She sat down next to me and pulled out a few books from a backpack that looked damn near as heavy as her. “I’m Sophia.” She gave me a sideways glance, tucking her black hair behind one ear, and I nodded back.

“I’m Tate. What you got there?” I angled my chin toward one of the books in hand.

She groaned, her lip curling back around slightly crooked teeth. “Math. I hate math.”

“Yeah, me too.” I leaned back and tipped the chair onto two legs. “And don’t believe what they say. You don’t use half of it in the real world.”

Her eyes widened, and she slammed the book down onto the table. “I knew it.”

I shrugged. “It’s the truth. Unfortunately, you still need to learn it and get good grades.”

She clicked her tongue and gave me a doubtful look. “Why?”

“You want to go to college, right?”

She looked down at the books, keeping busy with flipping the pages. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Aw, come on. Of course you do. College is awesome. Trust me.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her. “You want to go to college.”

Her ears turned a pinkish color, and her chin dipped. “It’s too expensive.”

Something tightened in my throat. She probably couldn’t afford it. And I knew nothing about this girl. I had no idea if she was smart or hard working, or if she was good at sports or anything else to get her into a school somewhere.

“That’s what scholarships are for, right?” A familiar voice crooned behind me, and I knew that voice. Immediately.

Shelby.

Slowly, I twisted around in my chair and caught her glare, focused directly on the back of my head. I raised one eyebrow in response and allowed a lazy grin to spread across my face. Maybe this whole community service thing wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Six

TATE

“That’s absolutely what scholarships are for,” I answered Sophia.

“You have to be, like, really smart for scholarships, though.”

Shelby sank to a crouch in front of the little girl and put a hand to her knee. “You are smart. Because smart people know when they need a little help now and then. And you’re a great singer. You could get a scholarship for that someday as well.”

The girl shrugged, her cheeks reddening. Shelby gave a couple of reassuring pats to Sophia’s leg before hoisting herself back onto her feet and bringing her eyes to me once more. “Tate, let’s talk over here.” She gave a little nod and turned toward a private room.

I followed her as she stood in the open doorway, waiting for me. Her mouth was settled into a firm line that pinched at the corners. So different from yesterday when we met in the lobby. She had been giddy, carefree, and fun. Maybe a little nervous at first, but that loosened pretty quickly after I helped her clean up her box. She was like a completely new person since she learned I lived in the building. I dropped into a mismatched chair and propped my feet on the table. Shelby took the seat across from me, looking over some paperwork.

I scanned the room, eyeing the seventies faux wood paneling and the crappy wallpaper that was peeling in the corners. Water stains covered the cheap dropped ceiling, and I shook my head. “Holy hell, this place could use a makeover.”

Shelby snorted. “If we had the budget for that, we wouldn’t be killing ourselves to get every bit of grant money possible,” she mumbled, then set her paperwork down, meeting my eyes.

“So, what are you doing here, Betty? Find yourself in a little trouble, too?” I wiggled my eyebrows and popped a piece of gum into my mouth.

One side of her hair was clipped back and the other cascaded down her face in a curtain of soft waves. “I almost did, thanks to you. But, no. That’s not why I’m here today.” Her answer was curt.

“Thanks to me? What’d I do?”

She