Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
But I worry that’s all he sees me as…another little sister. The thought alone devastates me because for as long as I can remember, I’ve been in love with Sam Harris.
“So,” Farisha starts, closing her locker at the end of the day. “What do you think? Does it feel good to be a high schooler now or what?”
I shove my English book into my locker, messing up my neat stack of school supplies already.
“It’s not that bad,” I say with a half-smile. And really, the rest of the day wasn’t, thanks to Sam sitting with me at lunch. It brightened my whole mood, reminding me that I don’t have to conform like everyone else in order to have friends. Closing my locker, I swing my backpack up on one shoulder. “You really think you can get your lunch switched?”
Farisha nods. “All I have to do is tell Mom I was feeling a little shaky and she’ll freak out and insist I need to eat a whole thirty minutes earlier.”
“It’s nice to have your mom be the school nurse,” I say, though we joked that Mrs. Kapoor only got a job as the school nurse so she could keep an eye on Farisha’s diabetes. After one incident last year where her blood sugar dropped so low she fainted, Farisha’s mom has been way overbearing.
“Or I could have you moved to mine,” she tests, trying not to smile.
“How would that make sense?” I play dumb to her hidden question. “You’re trying to eat earlier because of low blood sugar.”
“I can make it work. You wouldn’t care, would you?” We start walking down the hall.
“No,” I say with a straight face, unable to look her in the eyes. “As long as we’re together.”
“Really? You’re sure you don’t want to give up being able to look at—”
“Sam!” I interrupt, seeing him turn down the hall. I elbow Farisha in a not-so-obvious move meant to shut her up. She knows about my massive crush on Sam Harris, though could you blame me?
He’s tall, somehow always tan, and muscular. The blue shirt he’s wearing matches his dark blue eyes, reminding me of the lake at night. They’re eyes you can drown in, and when I look at Sam, I’ll gladly let him pull me under. Pair them with his sharp jaw, full lips, and perpetually messy yet sexy dark hair, and it’s no secret why every girl in Silver Ridge has eyes for Sam.
“Chloe,” he says back, smiling. “How’d your first day go?”
“Cood,” I say and then close my eyes, willing my face not to flush.
“Cool and good?” Sam questions, smirk on his lips.
“Yeah.” I flick my eyes to him and then back to the floor. “I was going to say cool and then realized that’s not an answer to how my day was.”
Sam chuckles. “Are you headed home? I can drive you if you want.”
My mouth goes dry, and I look at Farisha. We were going to walk home together and I’m not blowing her off.
“Mom wants to drive me home today,” she says without missing a beat. “I’ve got to go hang out in the nurse’s office for a bit now. I’ll talk to you later,” she tells me, and I do my best to nonverbally thank her. “Bye, Sam.”
“See ya,” he tells her, and as soon as she’s a few paces away, I get nervous. I’ve always been myself around Sam, but now that we’re in school together, I’m aware of everything. Of the way everyone looks at him. How well-liked he is by the students and the teachers. He’s an all-around good guy, even if he does go through girlfriends faster than I can binge read the Harry Potter series on a rainy weekend.
“I have to pick up Jacob and Mason,” he tells me as we walk out into the parking lot. It’s mid-August and still super hot outside. “So we have like twenty minutes to kill before going to the middle school. We can go by the lake.”
“Sure,” I say, ready to agree with just about anything Sam suggests. His birthday was only two weeks ago, and I know he rushed out and got his license as soon as possible. I’m not positive he’s supposed to be driving me, or even his siblings for that matter, but I’m sure as hell not going to question it.
I relax as soon as I’m in his Jeep. The top is off but when the door shuts, it’s like I’m shutting out school and I can be myself again. I tip my head up, feeling the wind in my hair as Sam speeds out of the school parking lot, heading to the lake Silver Ridge was built around. Neither of us talk as we get out, climbing down a rocky hill to the shore. We only have about seven minutes until we need to go and pick up Sam’s brothers, but I’ll take whatever I can get.