new girl meets bad boy

Chapter Four.

College and career readiness was a sorry excuse for an elective. I entered my sixth period, only to see none other than Ethan hanging around a bunch of other guys, including Ashton.

"Hey guys, this is Lola," I heard Ethan say loudly to his group of friends.

"She was captain of the girls' varsity soccer team back in Florida," Ashton contributed to the introduction that I had never asked for. It was sixth period, and I was ready to go home and take a nap. Meeting more people wasn't exactly on my agenda.

I faked a smile. "Hey there," I said as I took a seat.

"She's hot," one of the guys said. "I can't wait to see her on the field, and in my bed," he snickered.

I pretended not to hear.

"Don't objectify her like that." Ethan growled at the guy who made the comment.

"Guys settle down," Ashton interjected before sitting down at the desk next to mine.

"Sorry, the guys on the team tend to be a little inappropriate," Ashton explained.

"I've been around soccer boys my whole life," I shrugged. "I get it."

Ethan took the seat to the right of me, silent, which was unusual for him.

"Class, welcome to college and career readiness. I'm going to help you figure out what you need to do to graduate, what your options for college are, and what you want to major in. We're going to start by having each person introduce themselves and say where they'd like to go, and what their dream career would be. Mr. Adams, let's start with you," Mr. Brewington was a middle-aged man, who seemed way too invested in his class for it being an unnecessary course.

"My name is Jeremy, and I plan on attending the George Washington University on a soccer scholarship," the blonde who had made the comment before introduced himself to the class. "Oh, and get a hot girl to marry me," he added.

"That's enough, Mr. Adams, next!"

A few more students went before he got to my name.

"Lola Cortes?"

I stood up. "I'd like to attend Georgetown University. My goal is to work for the presidential secret service." I sat back down in my seat.

"And what makes you want to do that, Miss Cortes?" Mr. Brewington asked.

I didn't expect to have to answer any further questions. "Um, my dad is in the service, and he enjoys his job, and there's a lot of benefits in working for the government..." I mustered up a response. The truth was, I didn't really have a reason besides wanting to follow in my dad's footsteps. I looked up to him a lot.

"Interesting, okay next!" Mr. Brewington barked.

The rest of the class continued to discuss their goals.

"Mr. Roberts,"

Ethan stood up. "I plan on attending Georgetown and becoming a neurosurgeon," he said smugly.

"Maybe stop skipping class then," Ashton muttered under his breath and I couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh.

"What's so funny?" Ethan asked as he sat down.

"Nothing, just something Ash said," I shrugged.

Ethan didn't say anything else.

The bell sounded, ending the school day. I made it through, without any major issues.

I got swept into the crowd of kids rushing home and made my way to the parking lot. I found a familiar blonde standing beside my car.

"Madeline," I smiled.

"Hey Lola, I wanted to get your number so we can hang out sometime!" she was still bubbly, even after a long day at school.

"That'd be great," I handed her my phone and began to type my number into hers.

"Why does my brother's name have a bunch of hearts by it?" she asked.

"Oh, he did that. I'll have to change it," I laughed, although Madeline didn't seem impressed.

"Whatever," She handed me back my phone. "I'll see you tomorrow!" She chirped and walked away.

I climbed into my car and plugged my address into my GPS. A text message popped up on my screen from my mom.

Hope school was good. At the grocery store, I'll be home soon.

I sent her a quick reply that it was great and I'd see her for dinner before pulling out of the parking lot.

A sleek black Audi pulled out in front of me, and I came to a stop to let the car pass. I caught a glimpse of the driver, and it was none other than Ethan. I rolled my eyes internally and waited for him to move before continuing home.

I got home to an almost empty house.

"Koda!" my little Maltese came barreling down the stairs. "Do you want to go for a walk?" I scooped him up off the floor to give him some love before snapping on his leash. I took him out to the small yard we actually had. Living in a townhouse means limited space, but the yard was a decent size for a small dog.

As we made our way back into the house, a bright pink car drove down the street, stopping in front of my house. The window rolled down, revealing Heather.

"Don't get too close to the road, you might get hurt," she called out before speeding off again.

Shrugging it off, I took Koda back inside. I needed to work on unpacking.

After my mom and I had dinner and I had finished unpacking, my phone went off, signaling a text.

We have to make a cladogram by Friday, when can we do it?

The text was from Ethan.

Are you busy tomorrow after school?

I responded. It was Tuesday, giving us three days to complete the project.

Yes.

He replied, and I frowned. I knew I'd have to do this by myself.

I'm going to this girl Lola's house after school

A second text read. I let out a sigh. Of course.

See you tomorrow

I replied and turned my attention to the obnoxious hearts next to his name. I quickly edited them out.

•••

p.s. meet jeremey - n.r.