Page 21 of Play The Game

When the assembly finally finishes, we leave for our morning classes together and I try not to panic too much about how overwhelming my list really is. And of course, I’m then reminded of yet another pain in my ass as one of the girls in the group in front of us glances over her shoulder, careful enough with her gaze not to look at either of the Beaumonts or Blaise, but she practically sneers at Harley and I. When all I do is stare back at her, zero fucks given, she huffs and turns back to the others, murmuring something to them. I don’t care what any of them have to say about me, but the second I hear Annabelle Summer’s name, my eyes roll so hard they almost come out of my head. The other girls all join in with sneaking glances that are about as subtle as a punch in the face, and I have to remind myself we’re back at school; killing them will be way harder to clean up than back in the Bay.

Doesn’t mean it’s off the table because, apparently, she’s dumb enough to assume that we’re fair game without a legacy backing our names. Too bad she doesn’t know I do have one, and it’s soaked in blood. Just like she will be if she doesn’t quit dragging Harley into Annabelle’s manipulative games.

Turns out Ash isn’t a fan of their shit, either, and he steps in front of me to block the girls from my view. I don’t know what he does and I don’t hear him speak, but they scatter at a pace that really is impressive.

Avery slips her arm into mine, before murmuring quietly into my ear, “I just heard back from the school board. Annabelle is here on the scholarship.”

I cut her a look. A freshman nudges past us and the snarl Blaise throws at him is orgasm-inducing. “Why would they give it to her? She’s barely scraping through her classes.”

Avery snorts. “She wrote to them over the break and made her case. Told them she wanted the right education to resurrect her family business.”

I roll my eyes. “Sure. She’s definitely here for education and not for dick.”

When we arrive to class for the day, having missed the first two sessions for the assembly, Blaise sulks when he finds himself on the other side of the room thanks to the alphabetical seating arrangement.

I’m at the back of our history class with Harley, and the twins are directly in front of us. I don’t know the girl that’s seated with Blaise and that worries me. I make a note to see who the hell she is and find out her grade average. With all of the joint assignments we’re forced to do, I need to know that she’s not going to be a dead-weight.

Harley sees me side-eyeing the life out of her and nudges me gently before handing me the syllabus with a haughty look; Avery must have gotten it early for him. He’s already marked the joint assignments and where we’ll split them. I smile sweetly at him. I’m sure it looks fucking stupid on my face, but he grins back.

“I have plenty of ways to keep you busy this year,” he jokes, and I snort at him like the lady I am not.

He chuckles back at me and says, “If you show me how to teach Morrison, I’ll help keep him on track. We can split the children up, work out study plans, and keep everyone on top. I’ll even do my best not to rip his throat out when he’s a dick to me.”

I roll my eyes at him. “Maybe if you didn’t talk to him like that, he wouldn’t be a dick back.”

Harley shrugs. “He’s always going to be a dick, Mounty; it’s in every fiber of his being.”

I open my mouth to snark back at him in Blaise’s defense, fuck knows why because Harley isn’t exactly wrong, but then the door opens as our new teacher arrives to class and the whole room goes quiet. Christ, give me the fucking strength I need to get through this, because she really does strut around like a bitch in heat. It only takes a quick glance around the room to see I’m not the only one being a judgmental asshole, because most of the girls are pulling faces at her and all of the guys are practically panting.

Well.

Not all the guys.

She smiles coyly at the male students, one by one, like she’s sizing them up. I watch her make note of Blaise’s apathy and Ash’s sneer, but when Ms. Turner gets a look at Harley she zeros in on him, despite the fact he’s not giving her a second of his attention. Avery glances back at me with murder in her eyes and two thoughts pop into my head instantly; I fucking adore that girl, and the new teacher is walking a dangerous line.

“Good morning! You all get the absolute pleasure of being the first students to enjoy me this year.”

Blaise’s snort is so loud we hear it across the room, and Avery giggles at him. Ms. Turner ignores it and starts to write on the board.

“I prefer to be addressed as Ms. Vivienne. Ms. Turner sounds too old and matronly for someone of my charms.”

I share another look with Avery. She really does sound like she’s gagging for it, and it’s fucking gross.

She prattles on about the joys and wonders of history in a breathy tone, and I’m furious that I now have to ace a class while dealing with this nightmare. Zoning her the fuck out, I look over the syllabus instead. I’m still planning which assignment to tackle first when she starts handing out a pop quiz, bending low for each of the guys in the room. Ash snatches the papers out of her hand and sneers at her. When she blinks at him, shocked that he isn’t panting like every other dick in the room, he hands us each a quiz.

Harley cackles, still not even glancing in her direction. “Thanks, man.”

I finish the pop quiz first, which is no surprise, but what is surprising is that Ash finishes before Harley. I raise my brows at him and he smirks back at me. The lying asshole, I knew he was smarter than he ever let on! Harley glares at him, and it dawns on me that this might be a whole new headache for me to deal with this year.

Ms. Vivienne walks around the room to look over the quizzes, one by one, and I’m relieved when she smiles at Blaise and gives him a B. Thank fuck.

When she gets to our desk, she rests her hip on it and crosses her arms under her tits, pushing them up so they’re about to spill out of her shirt and over Harley.

Very rarely am I stunned, but this bitch really takes the cake.

With an apathetic expression of his own, Harley stares ahead like this is all so fucking boring to him, and once I realize she’s nothing but a fucking cradle-snatching predator on the prowl, I do the same. No point giving the bitch the attention she wants. When she walks away with a huff, Harley smirks at me and tucks his hand into mine under the desk. Avery is the only one still watching her, and I know exactly what’s going through her mind.

Assess.