Page 18 of The Darkest Note

We enter and a hush falls on the room. I sweep a bored gaze over the kids in the front row, observing methodically until I get to the back.

That’s when I spot her.

New Girl.

I recognize her face from the few, grainy photos I managed to dig up on social media, but the chick in front of me looks way more appealing in real life than she did on a screen.

Pale skin, lean waist, nice rack. She’s got that fresh-faced beauty thing going with her big, innocent eyes and round face. The skirt she’s wearing is a little too short for her long legs and her chest is straining against her top.

The tight clothes don’t seem to be for attention. She hunches over in her chair and doesn’t make eye contact with anyone as if she wants to blend into the background. It’s a weird contrast of innocent and sexy. Cold and hot. Alluring and stand-offish.

I hate that I notice.

I hate that my pants are starting to tighten.

It only gets worse when I spot her mouth.

Those pouty lips are luscious. The bottom is way bigger than the top. Plump. Pink. Made for sin.

Exactly like the redhead.

Damn.

Am I so obsessed with the mystery girl that every girl is starting to look like her?

“Alright, boys,” our algebra teacher enters the room, “if you’d kindly find your seats. Class is about to begin.”

I startle a little and stalk to a desk in the middle of the classroom.

Finn and Zane are right behind me.

“What are you staring at?” Finn asks quietly.

I twist around in my seat and jut my chin at New Girl. “Her.”

New Girl glances up and catches the three of us staring. A red flush spreads across her face and she instantly stiffens. Turning away as if we’re Medusa, she covers her face with a hand and sinks behind her textbook.

Zane twists around too, his chair creaking with the movement. “A transfer? I’ve never seen her before.”

“What do you think about her?” I ask.

“Beautiful but insecure. Strange combination.”

“Must be a virgin,” Finn adds thoughtfully.

Zane looks impressed. “You on the hunt for a virgin, Dutch?”

I grind my teeth together. “That’s not it.”

My eyes drag to New Girl again.

Jinx called her fragile and I think that’s a good description. Delicate. Dainty. Dangerous. There’s something about her lean body in the Redwood Prep uniform that screams ‘easily broken’, but Jinx made a point to caution me against underestimating her.

Finn gives me a questioning stare. “Who is she?”

“I’ll tell you in the practice room,” I say, scowling at New Girl who’s still ducking behind her textbook.

After class, she’s the first one out the door with a swish of her too-short skirt and scuffed tennis shoes.