The Baker Boy (Harry Styles) Book 1

Chapter 3

3 years ago…

“Class, we have a new student today”

I look up from talking with one of my friends and see a girl standing awkwardly beside the teacher. “Her name is…” the teacher trails off looking at the sheet of paper she had been given. It was obvious that she was trying to figure out how to pronounce her name.

“It’s pronounced like Maeve,” the girl says softly.

“Ah yes, Maedbh. She’s moved here from Ireland. Go ahead and take a seat, dear” the teacher says motioning her to an open seat. There were two open seats available for her to take. One was near the front, right under Mrs. Hanson’s nose, which was open for a very obvious reason, and the other was near the back in the corner near where we were sitting. Everyone expected her to take that seat, so when she chose the front row, whispering spread.

“Looks like you’ve got a run for your money for teachers pet there Martin,” my friend Luke calls to another boy in the front row. I see the girl's cheeks flame up and she turns back to face us.

“I just didn’t want to have to see your ugly face all the time” she retorts. A laugh ripples through the class.

“That’s enough,” the teacher says harshly. “Luke, I don’t tolerate talk like that, Detention. And Miss Gallagher, it’s your first day, you don’t want to get on my list,” she warns. Maedbh nods her head meekly before pulling out her notebook. During class, there was more whispering and note passing than normal. Mrs. Hanson had to repeatedly tell us to be quiet. Everyone was trying to figure out just who this girl was. She sat at the front, which meant nerd, and yet she had the nerve to stand up to us. Those were two things that didn’t normally mix. Maybe she didn’t realize who we were? That was highly unlikely though. Everyone knew us and nobody stood up to Luke. That was inconceivable. I could tell already that Luke was peeved. That girl had gotten him a detention. He would not be making life easy for her here. When class was dismissed, we started heading out and Luke made a point to walk past her right when she was starting to stand so she would either run into him, or lose balance and have to sit back down until he passed.

“Careful there love” he says with a wink as she stumbles back into her seat. He continues past and I glance over seeing her roll her eyes. I smirk slightly as I pass her also, following Luke out the door. By lunch time, Maedbh was all anyone was talking about. I wasn’t exactly sure why to be honest. It seemed, besides her event with Luke, nothing exciting happened and it wasn’t like she was going to become a new popular so there was really no reason for everyone to be gossiping about her. She had nerd written all over her; even her look. She wore baggy clothes and kept her hair up in a ponytail. For the first day at a new school, it was obvious she wasn’t trying to make an impression. The rumors going around were that she was some kind of genius who had gone to some prestigious school in Ireland but had to move here when her family died and now she was living with her uncle or something. People were saying they had died in some mysterious fire and the police believe she might be linked to it. I don’t know how much I believe that but it was mad how fast these rumors had spread.

I take my seat at our usual table in between Luke and Hannah. Luke was busy chatting up the cheerleader to his left so I started talking to Hannah. Hannah had had a thing for me as long as I could remember. She was always trying to flirt with me at parties and occasionally we’d have fun but she really wasn’t my type. I look up when a hush falls across most of the cafeteria and see Maedbh standing in the doorway. She looks around as if trying to figure out where to sit before walking to an empty table in the back and sitting down, pulling a book out of her backpack and flipping it open. It’s quiet for a few more seconds before the familiar buzz of voices starts again.