Kiss An Alpha novel Chapter 16

I made it at eight, which was pretty early. But, hey, I know what I want.

I quickly got ready for school, skipping a shower and throwing on dark jeans, a white sweater, and brown boots. I had to admit, the outfit was a little too mainstream for my usual taste, but they were the first items I grabbed. I can be basic for a day, sue me.

I quickly brushed my teeth, grabbed my bag, and raced downstairs to the kitchen. The clock there told me that first period started thirty minutes ago, so I skipped a drink and raced to my car and then to the school.

I didn't normally care too much about school. I got good grades, just from being naturally smart, so there wasn't much to worry about. I could skip classes or be late every now and again.

But I'd literally skipped half the school day just earlier this week. Contrary to popular belief, I did want to go to a decent college and get a nice job. Did I need to? Absolutely not; I had everything that I needed. But I was ambitious, and wouldn't settle for being comfortable. I needed to be satisfied, and I wouldn't be until I knew I'd done something with my life.

When I opened the door to my first period, Mrs...Garrison? Garlic? Do I care?

Nah.

She didn't even look up from where she was at her computer, probably taking attendance. She usually spent a solid half of the period taking attendance, so I figured I might not even be counted as tardy if I hurried to my seat. So I did.

I was starting to get used to the feeling of being around Mason. I still didn't like it, but I might as well learn to tolerate it.

"Oh great," Mason said dryly as I sat down. "You're here."

I flashed him a sugary sweet smile. "Oh, but of course! I hope you didn't miss me too much."

Mason scoffed. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that."

The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Everybody was thinking about the same thing, I could tell. Well, except for the one other guy who sat here but never really talked. He just looked down at his art and pretended he wasn't eavesdropping. Yeah, right.

"So," I said, keeping the false niceness in my voice, "how was your date?"

In honesty, I was hoping that Marcella and Mason would share an awkward glance, say it was fine, and then later today Marcella would tell me it was horrible and she couldn't believe she ever liked him.

Instead, the two smiled each other, and Marcella's signature pink blush spread across her cheeks.

"It was great," Mason said. "Awesome movie, awesome food," he looked at Marcella fondly, "Awesome girl."

"I'm so glad to hear that," my voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Does that mean there's going to be more?"

Okay, I knew he was dumb, but...

"No," I deadpanned. "It was a joke."

"Oh," Mason said, turning even redder and looking down. Cella and I exchanged a glance, and I could tell we were both wondering the same thing. Hell, even the other kid at our table was thinking it.

What the hell is up with him?

"Guys!" Marcella exclaimed, tired of our bickering. "Can you guys stop arguing and actually put your energy into something useful? We've been here for an hour, we should be done with this damn project by now!"

Marcella was right. We really only had a small amount left to do. It was more or less just the ending. But, after an hour in her bedroom, we didn't have a single word written down.

It was as if Mason was extra irritated. Everything I said, he disagreed with. He purposely talked over me, and anytime I tried to say something about it he turned it into a full blown argument.

"It's not my fault that this dude doesn't know how to work with other people!" I protested.

Suddenly, Mason was fuming, more than he was before. "I don't know how to work with other people? How dare-are you kidding? You couldn't work with a team if you tried!"