As Stella sat in the bustling cafeteria, sipping her drink, Nora leaned in with excitement. "Did you know Ms. Donavan is organizing a play for this year's annual fair?" Nora's voice held the unmistakable enthusiasm of someone with news to share.
Stella raised her eyebrows in mild curiosity. "A play? Who's in the cast?"
Nora beamed, unable to contain her excitement. "Emily, me, Christopher, Christy, Laurence, Liam, and… Simon!" Her voice squeaked slightly as she said his name.
"Simon? As in Simon Winchester?" Stella's tone sharpened with surprise. Simon wasn't the type to get involved in school activities, let alone a play.
Nora nodded eagerly. "Yep! Can you believe it? He's playing the male lead! Though, oddly, there's no female lead in the story. And no one can figure out why he even agreed to be in the play."
As if on cue, two of their friends, Naomi and Milo, joined the table. Naomi slid into the seat beside Nora, instantly engrossed in a conversation about manicures, while Milo took a seat next to Stella. They quickly fell into their own conversation, leaving Nora and Naomi to their beauty talk.
"So, where's your friend?" Milo asked, glancing around. Stella paused her eyebrows furrowing.
"Oh, you mean Mallory? She prefers eating alone," Stella explained casually.
Milo nodded before shifting the conversation. "How are you preparing for the exams?"
Stella groaned in response, running her hand through her hair. "Terribly. I want to study, but I keep putting it off. Yesterday I took my books out and read just 10 sentences. What about you?"
Milo adjusted his glasses, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips. "Bad, very bad. I want to study too, but I keep procrastinating."
Stella playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut up. You top our class! If only I had a brain like yours."
Milo chuckled. "Well, if you want, I can tutor y—"
Before he could finish, a loud thud sounded on the table, followed by the screech of a chair being dragged across the floor. Stella turned her head, startled, only to see Simon Winchester dropping into the seat beside her, his signature smirk firmly in place. His presence seemed to change the air in the cafeteria instantly.
With an air of nonchalance, Simon leaned back, placing his arm behind Stella's chair. "My friends are absent, and I thought, why not spend some time with my juniors?"
The entire table fell into an awkward silence, every conversation dying in the face of Simon's unexpected arrival. Eyes darted around the group, exchanging bewildered looks, unsure of how to act around the school's most feared senior.
"Why aren't you eating? Eat," Simon said, his tone casual but commanding, as if he were royalty, and everyone around the table obeyed without question, reaching for their food with sudden, mechanical enthusiasm.
Stella, however, refused to meet his gaze, even though she could feel the weight of his eyes on her. Instead, she turned to Milo, who gave her a questioning look. She mirrored his confusion with a helpless shrug, as if to say, Don't ask me—I have no idea what's happening either.
As she exchanged silent glances with Milo, she felt her chair abruptly shift beneath her. Startled, she turned to find Simon pulling her chair closer to his. Her wide eyes locked onto his, heart pounding in disbelief.
"Why aren't you eating, Stels? You'll need your energy for tonight," Simon's voice oozed with arrogance.
This cunning— Stella's thoughts cut off as Milo choked on his food, drawing a cough and a few startled glances from the table. Her friends, equally taken aback, shot curious looks at Simon.
"Ready for what?" Naomi asked slowly, her curiosity piqued.
"Our sessions," Simon replied coolly, his eyes never leaving Stella's face. "I train her."
Stella could feel the heat of everyone's stares on her, the tension palpable. Simon leaned in closer, invading her space as his smirk deepened. "Are you glaring at me?"
His face hovered inches from hers, and she immediately straightened, forcing her expression into neutrality. She closed her eyes briefly, mentally pleading for patience. God, give me strength.
Feigning a smile, she met his gaze. "Of course not."
"Eat," he commanded, and the table resumed their nervous meal, the tension not fully dissipating.
Stella, feeling the tightness in her chest growing, leaned slightly toward him, her voice low. "Can you let go of my chair?"
Simon's smirk didn't waver. "No. Now shut up and eat."
Stella stared at Simon, her heart racing as she wrestled with a mix of irritation and something more inexplicable. It was a feeling she was reluctant to acknowledge, especially since Simon Winchester had a knack for pushing her buttons. She felt the familiar urge to resist him, but with Simon, that often backfired, only encouraging him further.
In a moment of frustration, she picked at her food, her mind racing. "I need to get out of here," she thought. Finishing quickly, she announced, "I have to meet Mal. Bye, guys!" Without waiting for a response, she practically bolted from the table, her heart pounding as she hurried to find her friend.
Upon reaching the classroom, she exhaled a sigh of relief. It was familiar territory, and she welcomed the thought of a brief escape from Simon's overbearing presence. As she entered, she spotted her usual seat and made a beeline for it. With half an hour to spare before class, she decided to take a quick nap.
Stella placed her bag on the chair next to her, reserving it for Mallory, then propped her arms behind her head and closed her eyes. She felt the stress of the day begin to fade as she settled into the quiet of the room.
But tranquility was short-lived. "I can tell why your grades are falling back," came Simon's voice, cutting through her moment of peace like a knife. Startled, she shot up, her eyes wide. "Are you following me?" she blurted out, incredulity flooding her voice.
"If you didn't get the notice yet, today the seniors and juniors have the same class," Simon replied, a nonchalant expression spreading across his face as he casually leaned against the desk beside her.
"So you're sitting beside me," Stella clarified, disbelief mingling with annoyance.
"I guess, yes," he shrugged, clearly amused by her discomfort.
"Please, no! My friend—she hates boys," she pleaded, trying to emphasize the urgency of her request.
"Not my problem," he shot back, unfazed. "First think about yourself, then others."
Stella's irritation boiled beneath the surface. Simon had a way of making everything about him, and she couldn't shake the feeling that this was just another one of his games. She sighed, realizing there was no escaping him now.
As the bell rang, signaling the start of class, the atmosphere shifted. Stella and Mallory settled into their seats, ready to focus on the lesson ahead. The teacher, Ms. Thompson, began her lecture on Shakespeare, her voice filling the room with a sense of authority.
Stella scribbled notes furiously, determined to absorb every word. Beside her, Mallory was equally attentive, her brow furrowed in concentration. But just beside her, Simon was a different story. He lounged in his chair, arms crossed behind his head, and his dark hair slightly tousled, as if he had just rolled out of bed.
Ms. Thompson occasionally glanced at Simon, but her gaze quickly flicked away, her indifference to his presence palpable. It was a known fact that Simon often skated by on his charm and reputation, and today was no exception.
As the lesson progressed, Stella couldn't help but steal glances at him. It was both infuriating and fascinating to see him so relaxed while everyone else was engaged in their studies. She wondered how he could be so careless about his education. The thought alone made her grind her teeth in frustration.
But then he topped the whole college, effortlessly acing exams that left others, including Stella, buried under mountains of textbooks and late-night study sessions. His reputation as a brilliant student, despite his laid-back attitude, only deepened her irritation.
The bell finally rang, signaling the end of class, and Stella took a deep breath, gathering her belongings and shaking off the lingering thoughts about Simon. She had her own goals to focus on, and she refused to let him distract her any longer.
As she stood to leave, she glanced back at Simon one last time, only to find him watching her with an amused smirk. It was infuriating, yet somehow, it made her heart race. With a determined shake of her head, Stella turned on her heel and walked out of the classroom, ready to put the day—and Simon—behind her.