His Last Hope | Ream Exclusive

02: I have to piss.

Both of my best friends thought I was crazy — but for two completely different reasons.

Harper considered me mentally unstable for agreeing to Mrs. Lake's proposal. Ella, on the other hand, thought I was insane for not wanting any one-on-one time with the boy she swooned over for the entirety of our high school career. 

Then again, Ella had an unique way of looking at things.

"Why are you making this sound like a chore?" Ella asked, sipping at her coffee. She needed a double-double to keep her functioning throughout the day. "I bet he smells amazing. He just looks like he'd smell like an Abercrombie model, you know?"

"You do realize Devon took a shot at tutoring Lincoln Pierce and still suffers from nightmares, right?" Harper said, ignoring Ella and scooping up a spoonful of rice.

I winced at the reminder, "I know Harper. You only told me ten times in the past forty-five minutes. You're not really giving me much room to forget."

Dissatisfied by their opinions, I stuffed another bite of bagel into my mouth. Maybe if I stopped talking, they would too.

"That's a complete over-exaggeration." Ella said, turning her gaze to Harper across the table. "What could Lincoln have done besides destroy his self-esteem?"

Harper shot our blonde friend a glare. "Would you like me to relay that tid-bit of information to Devon? I'm sure he'd love to hear that after he so graciously agreed to work with you on your Data Management assignment."

Ella parted her glossed lips, her charm bracelets clanking as she flipped her mane. "Well, I wouldn't have needed him to help me if my friend cared the slightest bit about my well-being."

"Guys, please, not now." I said, not in the mood to deal with their daily bickering.

Ella huffed at being indirectly told to shut up, slouching in her seat.

"Getting back to the point," I said, placing the cream cheese smothered bread back on its wrapper. "You two are making it seem like I have a choice in the matter. Do you really think I want to tutor him? No, absolutely not. But if I don't, I can't graduate. Simple as that."

"Isn't there another way?" Harper asked, a mouth full of food.

"I have less than fourteen days, Harper. Maybe if I was notified a little earlier, sure." I explained, still bitter about how this situation unfolded. "But I'm not taking any chances."

"I just hope you know what you're doing. There's a reason why no one wants to tutor him, Cali."

"And why is that?"

She leaned back, her crimson waves sweeping over her shoulders. "The guy's the son of Satan."

I shrugged off the severity of Harper's words. The rumours couldn't have been as bad as she made them seem. Lincoln Pierce was just some guy in his fifth year of high school, not an escaped convict.

It wasn't until I was sat alone in one of the study rooms that her warning played on repeat. The round table was cluttered with old notes. That morning Mrs. Lake had given me a rundown of what courses Lincoln was taking. I had the material to help him. I only hoped I had the courage.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the five-minute transition period between classes. I watched people enter and exit the library. No sign of Lincoln.

Ten minutes ticked by, and I was foolish enough to consider the possibility of him being lost. When twenty minutes came and went, I thought that maybe Mrs. Lake forgot to pass on the memo.