Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
I swallow my pride. “Because I’m a dumbass and got scared. You know I’m a scholarship student, right? The shirt you’re wearing is probably more than the rent for my apartment. My mom works a double shift at the washing machine factory and the only really expensive thing we own is my sister’s school uniform. You and I come from different backgrounds. Sometimes those differences are too big to overcome.”
She swings the box back and forth in front of her. “Are you saying that because you had a bad experience with someone else here?”
“As in, did I date someone else at FU High?”
“Or hook up. Or crush on.”
“I don’t do crushes.” The feeling I have toward Melody is more intense than a crush. It’s more like obsession—one that keeps me up at night. One that makes me come to this hellhole of a school even though I hate it more than I like most things.
“That’s not an answer.”
“No. I haven’t dated anyone from FU High. I haven’t hooked up with anyone here. I haven’t crushed on anyone here. I don’t even like ninety-nine point nine percent of the people in this school.”
“That’s a specific number.”
I cock my head and send a wry look in her direction. “I don’t think you need a tutor to figure out the significance of it.” I reach across and tug the cookie box out from under her grip. She lets it go without a fight. Inside are a half dozen different cookies—chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, sugar cookies with frosting. I select the snickerdoodle and shove it into my mouth.
“So you prefer snickerdoodles. Noted,” she says.
I swallow before replying, “I like them all.” Because they’re yours. I’d eat gravel if you gave it to me. I don’t say those words to her, but I feel like she gets it anyway because her cheeks turn pink and she lowers her eyes to the table.
Suddenly, I’m hungry for a lot more than cookies. “Mel—“ I start to say.
“How good of a hacker are you?” she interjects before I can get anything out.
“Um, what?” I reply, not sure of the sudden change in conversation.
“I know you can get into the school here, but is it because you know the system or is it because you’re good with breaking into computers or whatnot?” She waves her hand.
“It’s because I’m good.” My sudden warm feelings turn chilly. She’s here with cookies not because she wants to pull down her jeans and sit on my face but because she needs something from me. At least she’s bribing me with food instead of trying to beat me up in the hallway. There’s that at least. “What do you need?”
“I’ll pay you. That way you don’t have to get in trouble doing the stuff for Mark.”
I hate that she knows I need money. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. “I already did Mark’s thing before Carter came to talk to me.”
“Oh.” She sucks in her lower lip. “That’s good then.”
“What do you need me to do? Hopefully not break into the Pentagon. I haven’t figured that one out—yet.” Someday I’ll break in. It’s every hacker’s dream.
Mel opens the front pocket of her backpack and pulls out a small piece of paper which she slides across the table. “This company is my grandfather’s. He died years ago. My dad’s been in charge—“
“The senator?”
“Right, only my mom thinks that there’s something fishy about who actually owns the shares. She kept babbling this morning about whether I’d signed something for my grandpa.”
“Have you?”
“No. I’ve never signed anything.” She makes a face. “I guess that’s not true. I’ve signed school forms and stuff like that but no legal documents from my grandpa.”
”Did you have a will thing?” I don’t know what it’s called.
“Maybe? I wasn’t there, though. My mom was and whatever was said didn’t trigger any questions back then.”
“What did trigger it?”
“Well...” The blush is back. “I think my mom’s in love with her PI.”
“So she needs money to run away?”
“Or kick the senator out. My dad lives this perfect life other than the fact that he sleeps around but he picks women who keep their mouths shut. I don’t really know how. You’d think one of them would’ve sold him out by now.”
“Maybe he’s paying them.”
“Oh.” She blinks twice. “I hadn’t thought of that. Is that something you could find out?”
“Dunno. I won’t until I take a look.” Despite my irritation that she came to bribe me with baked goods and didn’t have any intention of climbing onto my dick, my mind starts racing. I like a good challenge. I get to my feet. “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Home.”
“But we have two classes left.”
“Do you want answers or do you want to waste two more hours of your precious time in this place?”
She shoves the box in her bag. “Let’s go.”