Everyone knew Nolan had a record-he’d hurt someone and been sent to juvenile detention.
He wasn’t just some street punk. He was the kind of person you stayed far away from.
“Elena.” Nolan’s voice was low and rough, like he’d just woken up. “Call me when class ends.”
She caught the exhaustion in his tone. Why’s he asking me?
The rest of the class looked even more uneasy, shooting glances their way.
Zayden sat in front and heard Nolan’s words clearly. A moment later, he stood up from his seat.
Whether it was on purpose or not, the noise of the chair dragging back echoed across the room.
He dragged the chair back and sat down in the same row as Elena.
The air in the room instantly shifted. Something felt off.
The teacher didn’t mess around. They were expected to finish an entire test in two periods, go over the answers, and identify every mistake. Anyone with poor results wasn’t expected to come back next week.
The teacher focused on the students who actually wanted to improve. If you weren’t putting in the effort, the teacher didn’t waste time on you.
Elena didn’t dare slack off. While others found excuses to slack off, she stayed locked in, flipping through problems and working nonstop.
Zayden kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.
He’d thought she would give up on the math competition after what he said-but instead, she seemed even more motivated.
Outside the classroom, Sarah peeked in through the doorway and called softly, “Zayden.”
Even though she barely whispered, everyone inside heard her.
Heads turned toward the back of the room.
The teacher looked up briefly, then glanced back down when he saw it was Sarah.
Sarah’s grades were excellent, and her parents-the Delaney family-had made it very clear to the school that she wasn’t to be enrolled in any prep classes or special tutoring.
They’d said Sarah was going abroad in the future, so things like piano and painting were way more important than test prep.
So even though there were training programs like this one, her family never let her take part.
No one wanted to risk crossing a family like that.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have piano lessons?” Zayden asked. He was supposed to be studying at the International Music Academy next door until 5 p.m.
But it was only 3:30 now.
“I snuck out,” Sarah said with a playful grin. “Piano’s so boring. Come shopping with me, Zayden.”
Her eyes lit up the moment she said it.
The rest of the class turned back to their work, pretending not to notice.
Most of them were gearing up for senior year-crammed schedules, constant pressure. But Sarah? She was still out here goofing off like it was middle school.
Some of the girls gave her a quick side-eye, full of judgment.
Still, none of them said anything out loud. Sarah’s status made her untouchable.
“I’m in the middle of class. I can’t go shopping right now,” Zayden said, clearly frustrated. “You should head back. If Mr. Nathan and Madam Evelyn find out you skipped your lesson again, they’ll be upset.”
Back in freshman year, things were easier. He used to take Sarah out on weekends all the time.
But things were different now. Senior year was right around the corner, and there was no time for distractions.
“Zayden, you’re amazing at math. You’re totally going to win the citywide competition!” Sarah said with pleading eyes. “Just come hang out with me today. Please?”
In the back of the room, Elena cringed at the sound of her voice.
Sarah had always clung to Zayden like that. She never seemed to get it-this isn’t the time.
This competition mattered-a lot.
Zayden’s mom had always expected a lot from him.
He might not always come in first, but he was expected to be in the top three. No excuses.
For something like the citywide competition, where the school’s reputation was on the line, his mom had already made it clear-Zayden had to place high.
If he didn’t, Grace would come down hard on him. Again.
Zayden had grown up under that kind of pressure. For him, it was the kind of thing that left a mark-it was a nightmare he could never shake.
Zayden saw the look on Sarah’s face and hesitated. “Fine,” he said. “But at five, I’m having someone take you home. It’s not safe to be out that late.”
“Thanks, Zayden! I knew you were the sweetest to me!” Sarah lit up, totally ignoring the annoyed looks from the rest of the class.
This was school-not a place to flirt.
Even the normally quiet math teacher finally spoke up, his tone flat. “Zayden, if you’re leaving, go ahead. Just don’t disrupt the class.”
Zayden’s heart sank a little at the teacher’s cold tone.
Sure, the class was optional, and the teacher wasn’t even from their homeroom. But still-he was in charge of coaching them for the math competition. First impressions mattered.
And on the very first day of class, Zayden had already made a scene by walking out.
There was no way the teacher would give him extra attention after this. He could forget about getting any kind of guidance moving forward.
With everyone watching, Zayden still packed up his stuff and left with Sarah.
“You don’t have to worry about him,” Sarah said cheerfully. “It’s not like he’s our regular math teacher. He can’t help you on the SAT anyway.”
She was still basking in the excitement of ditching class to hang out-completely unaware of the hesitation written all over Zayden’s face.
Back inside the classroom, Elena wasn’t the least bit surprised by Zayden’s choice.
In her last life, Zayden had stood out during these prep sessions. The math teacher ended up seeing real potential in him, even going so far as to give him one-on-one tutoring.
And Zayden went on to take first place in the math competition.
But with Sarah dragging him away this time, that probably wasn’t going to happen.
Elena pulled her phone from the desk drawer and recorded a quick video of the classroom.
Then she opened Facebook and typed out a quick status. “Everyone’s working hard in prep class-time for me to catch up too!”
She adjusted the privacy settings so only one person could see the post.
That person? Zayden’s mom.
She moved quickly and casually, like it was no big deal. But just as she looked up to get back to work, she realized someone was watching her.
Nolan reached over and plucked the phone out of her hand like it was nothing. “Wow,” he said, his tone flat. “Here I thought you didn’t care about any of this. Turns out you’re just the type to snitch behind people’s backs.”
Elena froze. She hadn’t even noticed Nolan was awake.
And now, realizing he’d seen everything she just did, her stomach dropped. Crap.
“Give it back!” she hissed, reaching for her phone.
But Nolan casually lifted his arm, holding it out of reach.
With the height difference, there was no way she could grab it without standing up.
The teacher was still right in front of them. She couldn’t cause a scene.
“What do you want?” she asked through gritted teeth. “Just say it.”
She already knew Nolan wasn’t the type to play nice. He caught me red-handed. Fine. I’ll deal with it.
Elena braced herself, fully expecting him to blackmail her for something.
But instead, Nolan casually tapped a few random letters into her Facebook search bar, sent himself a friend request, and handed the phone back like it was nothing.
“Find me after school,” he said. Then he laid his head back down like nothing had happened.
Elena blinked, confused. What was he trying to do?What the h*ll was that?Blackmail? Nolan didn’t need money. Mess with me for fun? What was the point?Try to flirt? Seriously? With me? Not a chance.
She glanced over at him warily. Whatever he’s up to, I need to stay far away from it. From now on, I’ll make sure we don’t cross paths unless absolutely necessary.
By evening, when Zayden got home, Grace was waiting with a belt in hand.
The first strike landed hard across his back. His face went pale instantly.
“You told me you were in class today,” Grace snapped, her voice shaking with fury. “So where the h*ll were you?”
Zayden dropped to his knees without thinking, his head down, silent.
“Do you even realize how many people have had their eyes on our money since your dad passed?” Grace’s voice cracked as tears welled up. “I’ve busted my ass raising you on my own. I thought maybe-just maybe-you were finally going to graduate and help take some pressure off me at the company. And what do you do? You skip out on the one thing that actually matters.” Her eyes brimmed with tears as she shook his shoulders, furious. “And this is how you repay me? Skipping class? Wasting time? Talk to me! Who have you been hanging around with? Is it some punk from school? Are you sneaking out behind my back? Is someone dragging you down? You sneaking off with your little girlfriend now? Who is it? Who’s trying to ruin my son after everything I’ve done for you?”
Zayden’s face tightened, his silence speaking louder than anything. When he still didn’t respond, Grace lost it. “Fine. If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out myself. I’ll call your teachers. And when I figure out who pulled you into this, I swear I’ll make sure they never set foot in Westbrook High again.”
“Mom!” Zayden finally shouted. “It was Sarah. Sarah wasn’t feeling well… So I walked her home.”
Grace’s expression turned even colder when she heard Zayden’s answer.
“Sarah? She wasn’t feeling well, so you walked her home?” She repeated, her voice sharp. “Zayden, since when did you start lying to your own mother?”
Zayden pressed his lips together and said nothing.
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