Unforeseen Attraction (Complete)

Chapter Six

I close my locker and instantly regret taking my coat off. Even in my oversized hoodie I am freezing. I don't think mother nature is going to wait for winter to officially begin before showering us with snow and freezing rain at this rate.

The guys are complaining about returning to school. Four days of unlimited food and football I guess just isn't enough. I, on the other hand, am happy to be back. 

I enter first period and take my seat. Just as the bell rings Mr. Hinsley calls my name.

"Savannah, please pass these out to everyone." He orders.

Why did he have to pick me? It seems like a simple task but I hate being singled out in a group like this. I feel uncomfortable passing the papers out until I am able to sit back down in my seat. The volume of the class starts to go up and when I sit down and read the paper I understand why.

“Quiet down!” Mr. Hinsley commands from the front of the room. “As you have just read, the Senior Trip is coming up. As always it is at the end of the month, over winter break. All the details are on the paper so there is no further reason to discuss it.”

Someone raises their hand.

“You can ask questions later. We still have three weeks until Winter break. I will only be answering questions about the reading, assignments, and the finals that you all have in the meantime.” He announces to the class before starting the lesson.

 When I get to lunch the excitement is thick in the air. Everyone is talking about the senior trip. I sit down and write in my journal. Elliot and Brittany sit down with their food and I shut it, wrapping the leather strap back around, sealing my thoughts inside.

“Savannah, please tell me you are going on the trip!” Brittany grabs my arm and looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

“Yeah, I’m going.” I tell her.

“Yes, we can be roommates! It is going to be so much fun! I’ve never been skiing before.” She says bouncing around in her seat.  

“Yeah you’ll probably kill yourself out on the slopes.” Chase teases as he sits down across from me. 

“It’s ok we will be there to watch.” Elliot comments. 

“I’ll bring the popcorn.” Chase adds.

Brittany laughs at the guys as she flips them off. 

“I’ve never been either so we can help each other learn.” I smile at her.

“At least someone has my back.” she scowls at the guys and they just shrug with mouths full of food. 

“Hunter says it's not too hard to learn but he is also a lot more athletic than me so we will see.” I tell her. 

“Was he home this weekend? I should have come over. Your brother is so hot.” I start to tune Brittany out at this point. 

Her and half of the female population do or have had some sort of crush on my brother. He is smart, athletic, and an all around golden boy. To me he is just Hunter, the older brother that annoys and picks on me one minute and is my protector and confidant the next. 

I lean back and open my copy of Twelfth Night to read until the bell rings. 

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After two days the initial excitement over the senior trip has started to die down. After I finish eating my lunch I open my journal as I enjoy the unusual calm. 

“Savannah?” 

I look up at a girl. She seems nervous. 

“Yes.”

“Ashley wanted me to tell you she won’t be at your tutor session today.” I let her finish explaining why before telling her she should tell Mr. Hinsley, not me.

I can see the fear flash across her face. 

“I was hoping you could tell him.” She timidly says, gripping her books tighter to her chest. 

I don’t recognize her so I think she is an underclassman. I try not to laugh at her fear of him because I know how intimidating he can be. I smile at her and watch the relief wash over her when I agree to tell him. She scurries off and I look at the time. I have enough time to go to his room and tell him. I don’t think he has a class at this time. If he does I will just wait to tell him later because I don’t want to interrupt his class. 

As I approach his door I am relieved to see no one sitting at the desks. But his voice stops me just inside the doorway. He is facing away, looking out the window, on the phone.

“Just leave it! Why do you even care? She…” 

He stops talking. He sees my reflection in the window and turns around to look at me. I am frozen. My chest is heavy. I can’t tell by the look on his face if he is mad at my eavesdropping. 

“I will talk to you later. Goodbye.” He hangs up. 

“I’m sorry Sir, I didn’t mean to interrupt your call. I didn’t hear anything. I should have knocked.”

He cuts off my nervous blabbering.

“Can I help you Miss Thomson?” He simply says as he sits down at his desk. 

“Yes, sorry. I just came to tell you that Ashley won’t be staying after today. She got sick during lunch and they are sending her home.” I repeat to him what the scared underclassman told me.

“Thank you for letting me know ahead of time.” He just nods and I retreat back out to the hall. 

The rest of the day I feel uneasy. I should have made my presence known sooner. I don’t know why I care but I hate how I keep making myself look like a fool in front of him. 

We take the day a little easier since Ashley isn’t there and Becky did so well on her last test. He doesn’t say anything about my overhearing his call and I am relieved but my brain can't just leave it alone.