Chapter 4
356 Words
After that, I threw myself into studying even harder.
Every day I pestered him to explain more problems to me.
Ethan noticed something was off. He sent a message.
Ethan: Babe, I'm starting to feel like I've turned into your personal study tool.
I brushed it off:
Stella: That's not it at all. I just want us to end up at the same college.
He replied, and there was a suspicious edge to it.
Ethan: Is that really why? You're not going to dump me after the SATs, are you?
I startled. 'How did he guess exactly what I was thinking?'
Stella: Of course not. How could you even think that?
Stella: You're my absolute favorite person!
Ethan: Good.
I exhaled.
'That had worked.'
The next day, a pretty transfer student arrived in our class.
The teacher gave her the seat next to Ethan.
Since Ethan was class rep, the teacher asked him to look out for her.
Once she found out how well he scored, she started coming to him with questions constantly.
Ethan's brow creased, but he answered her patiently.
Watching them sitting close together, I felt something settle unpleasantly in my chest.
At lunch, I ran into them again.
They were sitting across from each other. She chatted and laughed with him between bites while Ethan answered in short, half-hearted bursts, taking it or leaving it.
They were together all day.
I overheard some classmates nearby.
"They look pretty good together."
"When has the genius ever been that patient with anyone? If you ask me, something's going on there."
After school, the two of them walked out of the classroom side by side.
Something I couldn't name made me follow.
I watched their silhouettes drift closer and pressed my lips together.
Then the girl's hand landed on Ethan's arm.
Ethan's whole body stiffened, reflexively starting to pull back a step.
For some reason, he stopped and stood exactly where he was.
I couldn't hold it back anymore. I charged forward and planted myself right in front of him.
"Hey!" I demanded. "Do you even know what it means to act with some decency?"
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