The Secret Girl (Adamson All-Boys Academy #1) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,48

in the security footage. Oh, and the guy isn't near short enough to be Ross.

Damn.

I was sort of hoping I could pin this all on the little weasel.

“Well, shit.” I sit back in the chair with a sigh and rub at my face. We have our culinary club meeting in about half an hour, but frankly, it's sort of the last thing I feel like doing. Spencer's been acting ten times worse since the crotchless panties incident. “So there's some guy out there who knows my secret, who is either the worst sort of misogynist known to man, or just really doesn't like me in particular.”

I put my head down on the desk and try to decide if I should tell Dad or not. Why bother? He'll think I'm making it up again, and it won't get me anymore. Actually, it might even get me further away from that plane ticket to California.

“We really should tell her all about Jenica,” Tobias says, and Micah gives him this awful, awful sort of look when I glance up.

“Why? What would knowing about Jenica do for me now?” I ask, lifting my head up, but Tobias sighs, and then both twins make a zipping motion across their big mouths.

Fine.

I don't even want to know.

Pushing up from the desk, I feel frustration churning in my gut. Two weeks left, just two. And then I'm never coming back here again. So screw it. Guy with a knife can have his way; I don't even care.

I storm out of the room and down the hall toward the kitchen where the rest of the Student Council is already gathered. The home ec teacher (learning how to cook and clean is like, novel and hilarious to these guys) Mr. Johansen is standing in the room chatting with them.

“Oh, and here he is!” Church calls out, smiling big.

I move hesitantly into the room and find myself under Mr. Johansen's intense scrutiny.

“Your friends tell me you’d like to help with the charity baking auction?” he starts, and I just gape at him. Me? Enter a baking auction? That's laughable. I can't bake to save my own life.

“Um, no?” I start, but he's already patting me on the head and smiling. Clearly, Mr. Johansen's hearing aid isn't working at the moment.

“Excellent! We’ll need your entry by eight am tomorrow morning. Normally, we don’t take such late entries, but your friends have adamantly spoken up on your behalf. This auction is a yearly tradition and reflects heavily on the school’s reputation and its students—not to mention the new headmaster.” Mr. Johansen waggles his caterpillar-like gray brows at me, and my stomach drops. “Generous donors bid handsomely on these goods, and all proceeds go to benefit the children’s hospital. Don’t let us down, son.” Mr. Johansen clamps me on the shoulder, and gives it a good squeeze.

He’s out the door before I can even find the right words to respond.

“You dickhead!” I snap, giving Micah and Tobias a pleading look as they move into the room behind me. They know my secret now, so surely …

“We thought you’d like to contribute to charity,” they say together, grinning like maniacs.

“You guys know I can’t bake worth shit!” I’m panicking now. Will Dad let me take his car into Nutmeg, so I can grab an instant cake mix or something? “You’re going to help me, right?”

“Not a chance,” Church purrs, tapping his fingers on the side of his to-go coffee cup. “Have fun, Mr. Carson. The official Culinary Club meeting is cancelled today, so you can have the kitchen all to yourself.” He moves around me, knocking me out of the way as he passes. I scowl at him, giving the twins a serious stare-down as they pass, but they just chuckle like it’s all a big game.

Spencer pauses next to me for a moment before patting me patronizingly on the head.

“Good luck, Chuck,” he says, before sauntering out of the room.

Now it’s just me and Ranger in here.

“If I leave you here, are you going to burn the place down?” he asks me as a bead of sweat trails down the side of my face. Legit. I am sweating bullets right now. I mean, I can get a recipe book and follow instructions, but ... a cake worthy of an auction? This is some cruel punishment right here.

“Maybe,” I say, getting my phone and searching YouTube for how to make an easy cake. If I follow step-by-step instructions in a video, I should be