Page 29 of Shy Girls Can't Date Rockstars
“I take senior English,” I whisper back.
“Gimme a break.” His voice is still quiet but venomous. “You need to leave. Right now.”
“I can’t just—”
“Mr. Hamilton,” Ms. Patterson’s voice cuts through the room. “Is there a problem?”
The classroom falls silent except for the deliberate leaning back of Ryder in his chair. “No, ma’am. Just thought she might be lost. She’s new.”
“I’m aware.” Ms. Patterson’s eyes narrow slightly. “But your concern is unwarranted. Miss Winter is supposed to be in the class.” She clasps her hands and scans the desks with a bright smile. “Now, if we’re all settled, let’s continue.”
But the damage is done. Students are staring now, openly curious, and whispers ripple through the room.
“Why was Ryder talking to her?”
“How does he know her?”
“Seriously, what was that about?”
“Oh, I can tell you exactly what that’s about,” a deeper voice says, and I recognize it immediately.
Brooks.
I open my copy of the novel, hoping that if I dip my head low enough, it might suck me into the pages and I can disappear from reality.
“That’s our manager’s niece,” Brooks says, not bothering to whisper.
“Okay, and?” a girl asks.
My stomach drops, causing me to look up. Ms. Patterson continues writing on the board, her back to the class.
“She’s basically taking over Miranda’s house and crashing into every room like it belongs to her,” Brooks goes on with a chuckle in his voice. “Smacking a phone onto the ground is nothing to her.”
“Yikes,” someone mutters.
“Is she okay?” a girl asks. “She looks like she’s about to cry.”
“That’s just how she is,” Brooks says dismissively. “Jumpy. Clumsy.”
“Alice,” Ryder hisses from behind me, his voice low and urgent. “You need to get this class changed. Go to the office after class and tell them there was a mistake.”
I keep my head down, clutching the pen hard until the cut on my palm burns.
“I’m serious,” Ryder whispers. “Transfer out. It’s better for both of us.”
“Wait, Hamilton,” a guy says, louder now. “If this chick is living at Miranda’s, does that meanyou’reliving together?”
A bone-chilling round ofoohsandahhssurround us.
I can feel Ryder tense up behind me.
“No,” Ryder says carefully. “She’s just—“
“Just what?” another voice presses. “You haven’t taken your eyes off her from the moment she walked in.”
“Yeah, what’s the deal?” someone else chimes in. “You two hooking up in that creepy old house in the mountains?”
There’s a screech behind me from Ryder pushing his chair back. “Look, there’s nothing between me andthat girl. She’s just someone we got stuck with, and she thinks she can steal my manager’s focus when we’re so close to our showcase.”
