The classroom was filling up with more people now causing the noise level to rise incrementally.I watched Cassidy Valentine in my peripheral vision and was happy to see she was ignoring my existence entirely to scroll through her phone.
Better than the death glare.Progress.
Harlow, meanwhile, had somehow acquired a small crowd. She was showing them something on her phone, and they were reacting with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for celebrity sightings.
"So what’s the plan of attack?" Felix asked.
"The what?"
"With Cassidy. You can’t just let her hate you forever. She’ll make your life miserable."
"I’ll apologize again. Offer to pay for the cleaning. Move on with my life."
"That’s... surprisingly mature."
"I’m a mature person."
"You once slept through an entire fire drill."
"That was tactical. I knew it was a drill."
"You snore."
"I was breathing loudly with my eyes closed. Different thing."
Felix opened his mouth to respond. Then his expression froze.
"Uh. Isaiah?"
"What?"
"She’s coming over here."
I looked up.
Cassidy Valentine was walking toward us. No, walking wasn’t the right word. She was stalking. Each step deliberate. Her purple eyes locked onto me like targeting systems.
Oh good.Death has arrived early today.
Felix immediately pretended to be very interested in his desk. Traitor.
She stopped in front of my desk. Crossed her arms. The coffee stain on her blazer was still visible, a small brown badge of my crimes.
"You."
"Me."
"You’re in my homeroom."
"Seems that way."
"And you sit behind me."
I looked at her seat. Then at mine. She was technically diagonal to me, but close enough that "behind" wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
"The seating arrangement wasn’t my choice."
"I don’t care."
"Okay."
She leaned forward. Her eyes were very purple this close. Very angry. Very beautiful, if I was being honest, which I usually tried not to be before noon.
"Listen closely scholarship boy. People in my world don’t associate with people from yours. We’re not friends. We’re not even classmates. We’re just sharing the same air, and frankly, I’d prefer if you didn’t."
She taps a perfectly manicured nail on the coffee stain. "This was a mistake. Don’t make another one."
Felix made a small noise. Somewhere between a squeak and a whimper.
I considered my options.
The smart play was to apologize. Grovel a little. Defuse the situation. Let her win this round and move on with minimal damage.
But something about the way she said "scholarship boy" made that difficult.
"Sure."
She blinked. "Sure?"
"Sure. I got it. You’ve made your position clear. Threatening message received and acknowledged." I met her eyes. Didn’t look away. "Feel better now?"
Her jaw tightened. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
"It means you walked all the way over here to intimidate me for an accident that happened twenty minutes ago. If yelling at me made you feel better, great. Mission accomplished. If you need more, I’ve got about forty seconds before the teacher shows up, so make it quick."
Silence.
Felix had stopped breathing.
Cassidy Valentine stared at me. I stared back.
The classroom had gone quiet. I was distantly aware that people were watching us. The other students. Harlow Valentine, who had paused mid-conversation to look our way with an expression of open curiosity.
Should probably care about that.Don’t have the energy.
Something shifted in Cassidy’s expression. The anger was still there, but something else too. Surprise, maybe. Or confusion.
Like she’d expected me to crumble, and I hadn’t.
"You’re either very brave or very stupid."
"I’m very tired. But I appreciate you narrowing it down."
She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"Cassidy!"
We both turned.
Harlow Valentine had appeared beside her sister. Up close, she was even more radiant. Same face as Cassidy, but softer somehow. Warmer. Like looking at the same painting in different lighting.
"Class is about to start!" She smiled at her sister. Then at me. Then back at her sister. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." Cassidy’s voice was flat. "Just having a conversation with my new friend here."
"Oh! You made a friend! That’s great!" Harlow turned to me, genuine enthusiasm radiating from every pore. "Hi! I’m Harlow Valentine! Cassidy’s sister! Well, one of them. There are four of us. It’s confusing for some people but we’re used to it! What’s your name?"
"Isaiah Angelo."
"Isaiah! That’s such a nice name! Are you new here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before, but I’m terrible with faces, especially because everyone thinks I should be better at it since, you know, I have three sisters with my face, but honestly it just makes it harder because I’m always looking for differences and—"
"Harlow." Cassidy’s voice was strained. "Stop."
"Stop what?"
"Being... you. At him."
"I’m just being friendly!"
"It’s aggressive."
"How is being friendly aggressive?"
"It just IS."
I watched this exchange with the distant fascination of a nature documentary viewer. Two identical creatures. Completely different species.
Harlow turned back to me, undeterred. "I’m sorry about her. She’s grumpy in the mornings. Well, she’s grumpy most of the time, but especially in the mornings. Did something happen between you two?"
"I spilled coffee on her shirt."
"Oh no!"
"It was an accident."
"Of COURSE it was an accident! I’m sure you didn’t mean it!" She patted my shoulder like I was a sad puppy. "Don’t worry about Cassidy. She acts tough but she’s actually really—"
"Harlow, I swear to God—"
"—sweet once you get to know her!"
"I am NOT sweet."
"You literally check on me every night before bed."
"That’s DIFFERENT."
"How is it different?"
"It just IS."
"You two seem close," I observed.
Both sisters looked at me. Harlow with delight. Cassidy with renewed suspicion.
"We’re sisters!" Harlow announced, as if this wasn’t obvious. "We share everything! Well, not EVERYTHING, but most things. Except clothes because Cass always stretches out my sweaters—"
"ONE TIME."
"—and except food because she steals my snacks—"
"You leave them in the COMMON AREA."
"—but besides that, we’re totally close!"
Cassidy looked like she was contemplating several felonies.
The classroom door opened and a middle-aged woman in a gray suit walked in, carrying a stack of papers.
"Everyone take your seats. Homeroom is starting."
Harlow grabbed Cassidy’s arm. "Come on! We’re gonna be late!"
"We’re already IN the classroom."
"Late to sitting down! That’s still a thing!"
She dragged her sister back toward the front. Cassidy shot me one last glare over her shoulder.
"This isn’t over, scholarship boy."
Probably not.But at least I got forty seconds of entertainment out of it.