Why You Shouldn't Lend A Bad Boy Your Clothes

Chapter 32

Mr. Smith silenced the class and told me to begin.

I took a shaky breath and willed myself to face the students in front of me. My voice sounded thin even to myself when I started. "Index fossils are fossils that can help archaeologist determine the age of other archaeological finds in the same sedimentary layer. Uh..."

I swallowed and looked around for a moment. Everyone was gaping at me with more or less bored faces. Emily and Nate both seemed slightly worried. The only person looking remotely friendly was Hunter. He gave me an encouraging smile and gestured for me to continue.

"Uhm... Common index fossils are ammonites and... and different kinds of corals..."

Whispering arose in the last row, making me look up from my notes.

"Can you understand what he says?"

"Why is he stuttering like that?"

"Am I supposed to take notes of this gibberish?"

My breath quickened, until it came in short pants. The urge to sprint out of the class was overwhelming, but I knew that that would ruin my grade, so I stayed where I was.

"There are also-" I muttered, but before I could finish the sentence, Victoria cut in.

"Hey, I didn't understand anything you just said... Could you repeat it please? And try to talk a little louder."

Approving murmur sounded, so I cleared my throat and tried again: "I said that index fossils a-are..."

"Louder," Victoria demanded again.

I looked over at her smirking face. She didn't seem to notice the dirty looks Hunter sent her. Or maybe she just didn't care.

"Index fossils are-"

"Sweetie, no one can understand you," she said.

For a few seconds, I just stared at her, too perplexed by her audacity to even say anything. Then my gaze dropped to the sheet with notes in my hand. I tried to read the next sentence, but my vision seemed to blur. The letters were nothing but swirls my brain refused to decode. None of it made sense.

My palms were sweating, my heart was racing, my tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of my mouth. More and more people started to grow impatient and whispered loudly, their voices like a swarm of hornets in my ears.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before a single word came out, another voice beat me to it.

"Can you all just shut the fuck up? What the hell is wrong with you that you can't just let him talk?"

Barely suppressing a flinch, I looked over at Hunter. He was still sitting in his seat, but his right hand was balled into a fist, knuckles white where it was resting on the table. Even from where I was standing I could see that his eyes were burning with anger.

"Language, Hunter. Keep it down," Mr. Smith boomed from where he was sitting at his desk, immediately making Hunter's head whip in his direction.

"Oh, really," he ground out, ignoring the look I sent him. He was going to earn himself detention if he kept talking, but he didn't seem to care in the slightest. "You're just sitting there while everyone makes it impossible for Jules to give his presentation but when I say a bad word you suddenly care?"

"He's right," Liam cut in before Mr. Smith could even open his mouth. "What you're doing doesn't make sense. You're witnessing a student getting harassed to the point where he can't complete his task and you don't do anything about it."

A few tables in front of me, Nate nodded in agreement. "Yeah, not to mention the lack of attention you pay to what's going on with the students here in general. I mean, shit, do you have any idea about what's been happening here the past few weeks? Jules and Hunter-"

"Really, Nate?" I slowly turned my head to look at Victoria. "Are you sure that this is the time and place to address that?" Looking at Mr. Smith, she smiled tensely. "I'm sorry that my simple request for Jules to speak louder caused so much unnecessary commotion. Please, let's just forget about this and go on with the class."

"No one fucking believes your act, Vicky," Alexis suddenly snapped, making not only the students, but also Mr. Smith stare at her in shock.

Alex was his favourite student, always polite and eager to learn. It was probably the fact that even she was mad about this that snapped Mr. Smith out of his daze. "Quiet, everyone!" he said, slowly getting to his feet. "What in God's name is going on with you today? Is there anyone else who'd like to further disturb my class and put up a fuss about this?"

"Yeah, actually." I had to fight a smile when Emily suddenly spoke up. "What you're doing isn't fair. Victoria should be the one deserving a reprimand, not Hunter."

"What they said," Adam said, slouching in his chair with apparent disinterest. "If standing up for someone is worse than bullying, I'll gladly show myself to detention."

Quiet fell over the classroom. My heart felt like it was about to burst when I glanced at my friends and then at Mr. Smith, who looked completely taken aback.

"Well," he finally said, awkwardly clearing his throat, "I suppose I owe you an apology then, Julian. As for you, Victoria, I will have to give you detention if this behaviour recurs. Now, Julian, if you could please continue with your presentation?"

I quickly nodded. "Y-yeah, sure. Right, uh... Index fossils are also known as guide fossils, indicator fossils or zone fossils..."

This time, no one uttered a word. The entire room was quiet and listening attentively, which usually would have only made me even more nervous, but the encouraging smiles of my friends and the echo of their words gave me the strength to get through the rest of my presentation without messing up once.

I was done only seconds before the bell rang and everyone started to get up. Mr. Smith beckoned me over to his desk to tell me my grade.

Leaning back in his seat, he said, "Alright, Julian. What you said was great, how you said it needs some improvement, alright? Loosen up, don't be so nervous."

Having heard this dozens of time over the years, I just nodded silently.

"It's a B," Mr. Smith said.

"Thank you," I muttered, exhaling a quiet sigh of relief.

He dismissed my thanks with a wave of his hand. "Don't thank me, that was all you."

Not knowing what to reply I was about to turn around, when he added, "Quite the posse of defenders you've got there. You're lucky to have friends like that."

I couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Yeah, guess I am."

Mr. Smith regarded me for a few more seconds, then he made a shooing motion. "What are you waiting for, get out of here. And work on your delivery! Next time I see you giving a presentation it better be an A."

I didn't hang around to wait what else he had to say but immediately headed towards the door, surprised when I saw Hunter still waiting there.

However, upon reaching him I quickly noticed that Victoria was beside him, clinging to his arm with a dark expression.

I warily looked form her to Hunter and then back. "What do you want, Victoria?"

"I heard that you'll be having a little slumber party tomorrow," she spat. "I just wanted to let you know that Hunter will be going out with me. Oh, and if I were you, I wouldn't wait for him. Might get late."

My good mood vanished immediately, making room for the familiar sense of helplessness as I looked at Hunter.

Victoria dragged him away before I could answer, but she couldn't stop him from brushing a hand over my lower back in passing and softly muttering, "I'll be there afterwards."

Nodding wordlessly, I tried my best to return his strained smile, only for it to shatter the moment he was gone.