Chapter 45
“Are you… seriously still staring at me?”
Andrew felt his nerves getting tighter by the second. He was pretty sure she wasn’t even looking at his face. Was she…
He glanced down at his chest.
Okay, he had to admit, he did look good. Girls liked that, even if they pretended not to. You could always tell by the way they looked at you.
Yesterday, she’d barely given him the time of day. Had it only taken one day for her to drop the whole cold act?
Finally, Charlotte’s eyes drifted up from the name tag on his chest. She flashed a tiny, mysterious smile, then just turned and walked to her seat without saying a word.
That smile hit Andrew out of nowhere. For a second, it felt like someone had tapped his heart with a hammer, sending a strange tingle through him.
What was that smile supposed to mean?
Parrish strolled over, caught a look at Andrew’s face, and his eyes went wide. “Dude, are you blushing?”
Andrew snapped out of it, his hand flying to his warm cheeks. He felt like some awkward kid who just got called out for having a crush. “Shut up. It’s just hot in here.”
“Sure,” Parrish drawled, grinning as he watched Charlotte. “You know, the new girl’s not just cute, she’s got something about her. If you’re really not interested, then maybe I’ll—”
“You’ll what? Take a hike.” Andrew shot him a cold glare. He didn’t say another word, but there was no mistaking the warning in his eyes.
Parrish just laughed, totally seeing through Andrew, but smart enough not to say anything else.
“Anyway, I heard Charlotte’s a problem student,” Parrish said, lowering his voice.
“A problem student?” Andrew gave him a look. “Just spit it out.”
“I heard she just came back from some tiny village out in the sticks,” Parrish explained, like he was sharing top-secret gossip. “Supposedly she always had bad grades, got into trouble all the time Nobody knows who she bribed to get into Vanguard High.”
Troublemaker? Andrew looked over at Charlotte.
She was sitting all the way in the back, holding a pastry that was nearly as big as her face, eating like she hadn’t had food in days. Honestly, there was something kind of cute and fierce about her.
With her skinny arms and quiet vibe, what kind of trouble could she even cause?
Rumors about Charlotte being a problem student had exploded online, thanks to some post on the school forum. Everyone was shocked that someone like her managed to get into Vanguard High.
Pretty girls always seemed to draw the wildest gossip.
Then someone else posted that Charlotte’s dad was the president of the Main Group.
Olivia was basically famous at Vanguard High—and even in the city. She was the classic golden girl, smart, talented, and beloved by everyone. Everyone knew Steven Main only had one daughter, and that was Olivia.
Now people were whispering that Charlotte might actually be connected to the Main family.
Some even said she was the Main family’s secret daughter, one they kept hidden away.
A secret daughter from the countryside? Suddenly, everything made sense. Compared to someone like Olivia, Charlotte was nothing. How could she not feel embarrassed standing next to a sister like that?
All morning, the other students kept sneaking glances at Charlotte. She spaced out during class, took naps during breaks, and didn’t talk to a single person She didn’t even try to act like she belonged. And to think she’d actually wanted to get into Class A… No wonder Mr. Baldwin had stormed out earlier.
With her bad reputation and the way she’d managed to annoy half of Class A already, no one thought she’d last long at Vanguard High.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, the classroom filled with noise as everyone rushed out. Nobody invited Charlotte to join them. It was obvious she was completely on her own.
Unbothered, Charlotte closed her book, picked up her phone, and headed straight for the school gate.
She hadn’t even made it far when she noticed a crowd by the cafeteria entrance Looking up, she spotted Olivia in the middle of it all, arms full of books, surrounded by students who wer all smiles, showering her
with compliments and envy. Olivia just stood there, soaking it all in with that picture-perfect smile.