Chapter 35 Trying
952words
"I'm Poppy," she straightened up, throwing her pack over her shoulder. "What do you go by as?"
"Carly."
"You don't look local."
"That's because I'm not," I admitted. "From the US."
"Oh, wow," she breathed. "That's a long way away. How have you found Scotland so far?"
"It seems pretty good so far," I lied. "The people are nice."
Poppy snorted. "Now I know you're lying. The locals are nice once you get to know them, but people are close-knit and not very welcoming to strangers. Though I've been here my whole life and people still treat me like rubbish."
"I'm sorry."
She shrugged. "I'm content with my own company."
"Poppeee!"
We both turned to find a girl our age rushing toward us with thick, luscious blonde curls and a pink, feathery coat.
I had no idea how she pulled that off in this heat, but I guessed everyone handled the heat differently.
"That is Ella," Poppy sighed and then added, "Don't worry, she's one of the nice ones. So you know, she likes to talk. A lot."
"Here you are," Ella exclaimed, throwing a few locks back over her shoulder. "Did you know Oliver and Katri—" She paused mid-sentence when her gray eyes found me standing next to Poppy. "Hey, who's this?"
"New girl," Poppy answered. "All the way from the US."
"Oooh," Ella stuck out a hand. "I'm Ella. Welcome to Scotland. It's nice around here. Weird weather, but nice."
Poppy rolled her eyes. "Says you who want nothing more than to leave this—wait, what did you call this place the other day? Gloomsville?"
Ella grimaced, glancing at Poppy. "I was kidding. It's not that bad."
"Whatever," Poppy snorted, glancing at me. "Let's get you to the office and find out how you roll."
Ella and I had the same class schedule. Poppy had most classes with us, except for Maths, History, and English, with different teachers.
When I entered class, knowing I had someone there with me made it a lot easier for me to adapt instead of sitting alone in a corner.
Everyone was still staring, but at least I had someone to talk me through.
Poppy was right. Ella talked. A lot.
Luck was on my side when Ella waved at the only open seat in class next to her. It wasn't until I placed down my backpack that I noticed Kayn grinning from the seat behind me.
You've got to be kidding me.
I rolled my eyes in response, sinking into my seat.
Ella noticed the exchange and almost miss-sat her chair. She gasped, grabbing the edges of her desk to straighten herself up.
Not a minute passed before she leaned over. "He's so checking you out."
"No," I said. "He's contemplating ways of how he can make my life miserable."
Her eyes widened. "You know Kayn? Like, in real life?"
She asked it as if it was a fictional thing to be ever associated with him in any way. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes kept bouncing back to him.
"Unfortunately. We live on the same island," I answered. "He's my neighbor."
Her eyes bulged. "And he talks to you?"
"More than I'd like."
"You are so lucky," she sighed. "I can bet a few girls would offer up a few legs, or all their limbs for that matter, only to get him to glance their way."
I blinked, not sure how to respond to that.
She covered her mouth with her hand, winking. "He's still staring at you, by the way."
I forced a smile, my shoulders tensing. I didn't even want to think of what dastardly things Kayn was concocting in that head of his.
The teacher handed out handbooks, stopping by my table to welcome me, and checked if I needed help with anything.
I immediately liked the guy, considering he was the only one of the teachers who didn't force me to stand in front of the class to introduce myself.
And he taught History, which happened to be one of my favorite subjects.
We were a few minutes into working when the back of my chair got kicked. I released a long sigh, turning around to glance at Kayn. "What do you want?"
A few people, particularly girls, stretched their necks to gape at the exchange.
Could they be more obvious? Jeez.
"How are you feeling today?" It was not what I expected him to ask.
"Like you care all of a sudden?"
"You look much better today."
"You seem disappointed by the revelation," I pointed out. "Hoped I'd be dead by now?"
"No," he replied. "You know it's not like that."
"Yeah?" I asked. "I find that hard to believe."
Kayn's eyes found Ella, who pretended to find the workbook on her desk interesting all of a sudden.
His lips turned up in the corners as he glanced back at me. "You look cute today."
I sputtered a weak retort, my cheeks growing hot, and I turned to face back to the front.
Another kick against the back of my chair.
I groaned, aware that Ella was giggling and pointing behind me. I offered her a weak smile, turning around to glare at Kayn.
"Yes?"
"Sorry about Hector."
I blinked a few times, taken aback by how sincere he sounded. A more significant part of me knew not to fall for it. "You're apologizing for the same behavior you throw at me?"
He appeared conflicted for a moment before a mischievous grin spread across his face.
"Ugh, forget it." I spun around before he had a chance to throw another comment I didn't want at me.
