How to Get Away with Lying

Chapter 9

As the first-period warning bell rang, I headed down the bustling halls. I was so mad at myself – how hard could it be to become friends with some guy? It wasn't even like I cared what he thought. I needed him for the plan, and that was that. I just needed us to talk, for him to hang out with me, and for him to maybe introduce me to his friends so that I could maybe talk to Ethan.

I shook my head, wanting to empty my head of all the feelings and thoughts I had about Ethan.

It was never going to happen.

Not then. Not there. Not ever.

I looked up from the dirty school floor to see my new chemistry classroom. I had no clue how to even do chemistry – I always sucked at science, and the only reason I was in this class was because Ivy had stuck me in it.

Damn her and that fake transcript.

I couldn't believe that she actually thought I took chemistry at the start of the year.

I tried to smile. It was my last new class, and I had to think positively – maybe Kyle would be in there, unlike he had been in every other fucking class I entered.

The classroom was decently large compared to all the other classrooms in this school. There were two sections to the room – the desks, which were in rows at the front of the class, and the lab stations, which were set up at the back. The teacher stood at the front of the class near his desk and the SMARTBOARD, eating a container of blueberries and talking with two of the students upfront.

The teacher seemed quite friendly – he had a wide smile on his face, and he was wearing one of those science pun shirts that I couldn't quite understand. After squinting at it for a while, the warning bell rang, and I remembered who I should have been looking for.

I turned to look at the rows of desks, then noticed that only two were empty.

And none were already taken by Kyle Meester.

Discouraged, I grumbled as I walked over to the teacher, who welcomed me to his class. We talked for a few minutes, then he handed me the books that I needed for his class. He said that he'll have office hours soon, so if I needed help catching up, he would be happy to help.

I knew that if I was wanting to pass – or at least not look like an idiot when it came to bonds and atoms – I was going to be taking him up on the offer.

It wasn't like I had Ethan who could tutor me.

The final bell rang, and I sat down at the empty desk in the back of the room. Just as I was taking out a pen from my bag, though, the last student flew into the classroom, grabbing my attention. He stumbled into his seat at the front of the room, and the teacher, Mr. D, smiled, holding back a laugh.

I, however, grinned like a fucking moron. I couldn't care less, though, because that boy was Kyle.

"Mr. Meester, late again?" Mr. D laughed, shaking his bald head.

"I technically entered the classroom before the bell was done ringing," Kyle replied, and everyone in the class burst out laughing. I caught Dylan laughing the hardest from his desk, which was behind Kyle's.

"You're lucky that I like you," Mr. D chuckled as he turned on the SMARTBOARD. "You get away with too much in my class." When he spotted Dylan, who was still laughing, the teacher added, "And so do you!"

"And I appreciate that you let us off the hook," Dylan replied, smirking.

I didn't understand at all how he made it into chemistry class.