Transcendence Read Online Free PDF Page B

you,” he repeated, standing close
enough to me that I could see the small flecks of gold in his eyes,
made darker by the lackluster lighting in the hall. I waited for
him to say more, but he stared down at me, waiting for a
response.
    “That makes you the only person who does.” I
shrugged, glancing at the ground before looking back up at him.
    “I can help you with French,” he offered,
catching me by surprise. “If you want.”
    I paused, wondering if I heard him
correctly. “Thanks,” I said, playing with the strap of my bag. The
offer was tempting, but Jeremy wouldn’t be happy if he found out I
was spending time with Drew. “But I think I might just switch out
of AP.”
    “Come on.” He leaned in closer, causing that
whole electricity over my skin thing to happen again. “I know
you’re smart. If you practice a little, you’ll blow everyone
away.”
    I tried to focus on the conversation and not
on how there were only inches between us, positive that my heart
was beating loud enough for him to hear. “I’m pretty hopeless in
French,” I said, my voice steadier than I expected. “But if you
want to try helping me, I’ll think about staying in the class.”
    “You’re not hopeless,” he said, his eyes
softening as he spoke. He hadn’t looked at me that way since the
first day of school. “And even though I probably shouldn’t help
you, I will.”
    I looked at him in confusion. “What do you
mean that you shouldn’t ?”
    “Just that Jeremy might not be happy,” he
said with a small smirk. “He seemed threatened when we talked on
the first day of school. Not that I care about that, but I wouldn’t
want to cause problems between the two of you.”
    I couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t see
Jeremy offering to help,” I pointed out, feeling bad about the
words the moment I said them.
    “So,” he said, a mischievous smile forming
on his face as he leaned closer towards me. “When are you up for
the first study session?”
    We were standing so close that I could feel
his breath on my cheek when he spoke, and I ran through my schedule
in my mind. “Jeremy drives me to school on Fridays, so I’ll be in
the back of the library tomorrow until he gets out of soccer
practice,” I said, telling myself that there was nothing wrong with
getting help outside of class. It wasn’t like we were going on a
date. It was just a tutoring session.
    He looked at me quizzically. “You just wait
around for him to drive you home?”
    “Just on the days when he doesn’t have
workouts in the morning,” I said in defense. “It’s a good time to
get homework done. Or to read.”
    “Whatever you say.” The halls started
emptying and he glanced at his watch, which looked more expensive
than anything the other students had at Beech Tree. “I know you
probably want a break from school after what happened in French,
but as much as I’m up for ditching my next class, I’m guessing
that’s not your thing.”
    I jerked my head up in surprise. “How do you
know I wouldn’t be up for ditching?”
    “Just a guess.” He smirked. “If you’re up
for it, my car’s outside.”
    I paused, considering what to do. I’d never
skipped before, but my lab partner in genetics was also in my
French class, and I wasn’t in the mood to further defend my
knowledge of world geography.
    “Actually,” he spoke without waiting for my
response. “Forget I asked. You should go to class.” Without waiting
for me to answer, he started walking down the hall. “But I’ll see
you tomorrow,” he called over his shoulder before turning around
the corner.
     
    * * *
     
    “You’ll never guess what happened in
chemistry,” Chelsea said, dropping her trigonometry book on the
desk next to mine and sitting down. She always came straight to
class to make sure she had enough time before the first bell to
rehash the recent conversations she’d had with Drew. It was hard to
smile and nod as Chelsea talked about him, but at least