Chapter 1
There were three important things you needed to know about our lunch table.One: Brooke was incapable of telling a story without using at least seventeen unnecessary hand gestures.Two: Harper had the attention span of a goldfish, unless the conversation involved someone else’s romantic life.And three: Mia was, without a doubt, the most sensible person in our friendship group. Which wasn’t saying much, considering she’d once convinced us that eating an entire packet of sour lollies before maths would improve our concentration.It hadn’t. In fact, I’m fairly certain I failed that test because my tongue had gone numb. But anyway.It was a Tuesday, the sun was shining, and I was sitting at our usual table outside the cafeteria, attempting to eat a sandwich that had been squashed at the bottom of my schoolbag. A pretty glamorous life, really.“Okay, but I’m telling you, he looked directly at me.”Brooke slapped her hand against the table.Harper looked up from her phone. “Who?”“Daniel.”“Which Daniel?”Brooke stared at her. “How many Daniels do we know?”“At least four.”“Okay, well, the good one.”Mia snorted into her drink.I took another bite of my sandwich. “You mean the one who hasn’t spoken to you since September?”“That’s irrelevant.”“It’s November.”“Juliette, please. I’m trying to have a moment.”I swallowed. “Sorry. Continue.”Brooke leaned forward, lowering her voice as if she were about to reveal classified government information.“So, I was walking past the lockers this morning, right? And he was standing there with his friends. And I swear, he looked at me.”Harper blinked. “Maybe you were standing in front of him.”“Why are you always so negative?”“I’m realistic.”“You’re a hater.”“I’m literally just saying.”I looked between them. “Did he smile?”Brooke paused.“Well...”“Did he wave?”“Not exactly.”“Did he say hello?”Brooke picked at the label on her water bottle.I nodded slowly. “So he looked at you.”“YES.”“Groundbreaking.”She threw a grape at me.It bounced off my shoulder and landed somewhere under the table.“You’re all so unsupportive,” she announced.“We’re actually incredibly supportive,” Mia said, opening a packet of crackers. “We supported you through the haircut incident.”Brooke gasped. I immediately started laughing.“Do not bring that up.”Harper finally put her phone down. “What haircut incident?”“Nothing,” Brooke said quickly.“She tried to give herself curtain bangs,” I explained.“They were supposed to be curtain bangs.”“They were two separate curtains.”Mia covered her mouth.Brooke pointed at all three of us. “I hate this table.”“No, you don’t,” I said.Unfortunately, she didn’t. None of us did. Our table was tucked beneath a large tree near the edge of the courtyard, far enough away from the main cafeteria to avoid the worst of the lunchtime chaos, but close enough that we could still hear the occasional argument over who had stolen whose chips. We’d been sitting here for nearly two years. We’d claimed it sometime during our first year of high school, after deciding that the actual cafeteria was too crowded and the tables inside were suspiciously sticky. There was also a water fountain nearby that tasted vaguely like metal. We’d complained about it approximately forty-seven times. Nothing had changed.“Speaking of boys,” Harper said suddenly.I immediately narrowed my eyes. “Why do I feel like I’m about to regret being here?”“Because you’re dramatic.”“Because I know you.”She ignored me and turned to Brooke. “Have you heard about the new guy?”Brooke’s head snapped up.Mia looked interested. I looked at my sandwich. There were only so many times I could get excited about a boy I’d never met.“What new guy?” Brooke asked.“Apparently, someone’s transferring here.”“From where?”“No idea.”“What year?”“Apparently ours.”Brooke’s eyes widened. “Wait. New boy? As in, single new boy?”“Nobody said he was single,” I pointed out.“Nobody said he wasn’t.”“Excellent logic.”Harper shrugged. “I heard it from Sophie in English. Her brother knows someone who’s friends with him.”Mia stared at her. “That’s an impressive number of people between you and the actual information.”“Thank you.”“That wasn’t a compliment.”Brooke was already looking down at her phone.“What are you doing?” I asked.“Research.”“On a boy who might not even exist?”“Exactly.”I shook my head and reached for my drink. Honestly, I wasn’t particularly interested in the new-student situation. New people were fine. Great, even. But they also came with questions, awkward introductions and the possibility of having to explain where everything was. And I was not qualified to be anyone’s personal tour guide. I still got lost trying to find the science block sometimes.“Imagine if he’s really cute,” Brooke said dreamily.“Imagine if he has a personality,” Harper added.“Imagine if he has both,” Mia said.Brooke pressed a hand to her chest. “Don’t get me started.”I laughed. “You three are exhausting.”“And yet you love us.”“Unfortunately.”I leaned back in my chair, stretching my legs out beneath the table. We still had a decent chunk of lunch left, which meant plenty of time for Brooke to bring up Daniel at least six more times. I was just reaching for the last piece of my sandwich when a voice called my name.“Juliette?”I looked up. A woman stood a few feet away, holding a clipboard against her chest. Mrs. Bennett, one of the office administrators.“Yes?”“Could you come to the office for a moment, please?”I blinked. The office? I looked at my friends. Brooke’s eyebrows shot up. Harper slowly lowered her phone. Mia stopped chewing.“What did you do?” Brooke whispered.“Nothing.”“That’s exactly what someone who did something would say.”“I haven’t done anything!”Mrs. Bennett smiled politely, clearly used to students looking mildly terrified whenever someone from the office approached them.“It’s nothing to worry about. Mr. Collins just wants to have a quick chat.”That was somehow worse. Mr. Collins was our vice principal. I had spoken to him approximately twice in my entire school career, and both times involved a missing permission slip. I stood, brushing crumbs off my skirt.“Okay. I’ll be back.”“Good luck,” Harper said solemnly.Mia gave me a sympathetic smile. “We’ll keep your sandwich safe.”“Please don’t eat it.”Brooke leaned closer. “If you get expelled, can I have your locker?”I stared at her.“You’re a terrible friend.”“Love you too!”I shook my head and followed Mrs. Bennett towards the main building. The walk to the office was short, but apparently my brain had decided it was the perfect time to review every questionable decision I’d made in the past six months.Had I forgotten to hand something in? Had I accidentally offended a teacher? Was there some sort of attendance issue? Had someone reported me for the incident with the chemistry goggles? That last one was unlikely. Mostly because it hadn’t technically been my fault. Probably.
Mrs. Bennett opened the office door and gestured towards the chairs outside Mr. Collins’s office.“Just take a seat. He’ll be with you shortly.”I sat. There was a poster on the wall reminding students to be respectful, responsible and ready to learn. I stared at it. I was all three of those things. Most days.A minute later, Mr. Collins appeared in the doorway.“Juliette. Come on in.”I stood and followed him into his office. He gestured towards the chair opposite his desk, and I sat down, placing my hands neatly in my lap.“Everything okay?” I asked.He smiled. “Everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to you about something.”I nodded, trying not to look as nervous as I felt.“You’re one of our senior students now, and you’ve been here for several years. Your teachers have spoken very positively about you, and we think you’d be a good fit for a little responsibility we have coming up.”I blinked. Responsibility? That sounded suspiciously like work.“Okay...”“We have a new student joining us tomorrow. He’s transferring from another school, and we want to make sure he has someone to help him settle in.”I nodded slowly. “Right.”“We’re looking for a student ambassador to show him around, introduce him to the school and help him get comfortable during his first day.”I waited.Mr. Collins smiled.“And we’d like you to do it.”Oh.Oh, no. Me?I was suddenly very aware of the fact that I had absolutely no idea what to do with my hands.“Tomorrow?” I asked.“That’s right. He’ll be arriving just before the first bell. You’ll meet him at reception, show him around and help him find his classes.”I nodded again. This was fine. Completely fine.It wasn’t like I’d never spoken to a new person before. I spoke to new people all the time.Sometimes. When necessary.“And what’s his name?” I asked.“Oliver Reese.”I repeated it silently.Oliver Reese.Okay. Normal name. Nothing particularly intimidating about that.“He’s joining your year group,” Mr. Collins continued. “So hopefully you’ll have a few classes together, which should make things easier.”I managed a smile. “Sure. No problem.”“Excellent. I thought you’d be happy to help.”Happy was perhaps a strong word. But I wasn’t about to tell the vice principal that.Mr. Collins explained where I needed to meet Oliver, handed me a printed copy of his timetable and reminded me to collect him from reception before school.I thanked him, stood up and made my way back towards the courtyard.
By the time I reached our table, Brooke was practically vibrating.“Well?”I dropped into my seat.“Apparently, I’m a very responsible member of the student body.”Harper frowned. “That sounds fake.”“Thanks.”“What did they want?”I placed the timetable on the table.“I’m looking after the new student tomorrow.” For a second, nobody said anything. Then Brooke’s mouth fell open.“THE NEW STUDENT?”“Yes, Brooke. The new student.”Harper leaned across the table. “Wait. The new boy?”“Presumably.”Mia smiled. “That’s actually really nice. They must trust you.”“Or they couldn’t find anyone else.”“Don’t ruin this,” Brooke said.She grabbed the timetable before I could stop her.“Oliver Reese,” she read aloud, dragging out every syllable. “Interesting.”“It’s a name, Brooke.”“A very interesting name.”Harper peered over her shoulder. “Oliver. I like it.”Mia nodded. “Sounds nice.”I stared at all three of them.“You do realise I’m just showing him where the classrooms are, right?”Brooke looked at me as though I’d said something deeply offensive.“Juliette. Please. Let us have this.”I sighed and took my timetable back.Tomorrow was going to be a long day.And I hadn’t even met the boy yet.
Hey if you like the first chapter of my book please reach out at my Youtube channel: @itssamanthabooks
