How Not to Fall In Love

Chapter 7

"What are you going to do?" Sophie asked as we walked to our lockers. 

"I guess be a tutor." I sighed. 

"You do know it will probably be after school, right." 

I let out an exasperated sigh, letting my forehead fall against my locker door. "Great..." 

"I know he's your dad, but you need to get away from him, Rylee. You can't keep letting him treat you the way he does. I'm sorry, but your sister can take care of herself; she doesn't need a babysitter." 

"Rylee doesn't need a lecture right now, Sophie," Cole said, pulling me away from my locker. 

I opened my locker door and swapped out my books while I listened to Sophie and Cole bicker back and forth about how she wasn't lecturing at me. She claimed she wasn't, and Cole said she clearly was lecturing. After a few minutes of listening to them, I finally had to tell them to stop because they weren't helping the situation. I knew exactly what I was about to face at home, and I didn't need them to elaborate on it either. They both apologized and embraced me in a group hug. 

"Well, I need to get to class before I'm late. I'll see you here before English." Cole gave me one last hug, then turned to the right and around the corner. 

"Are you ready to head to Biology?" Sophie asked, wrapping her arm around mine. 

"I guess..." My mind started spinning about what I would tell my dad about being a tutor after school. 

We walked through the crowded hall toward Biology, and I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't care who recognized me or not. I was starting to realize maybe Sophie and Cole were right and that it didn't matter who remembered me because I wasn't that girl anymore. We arrived at Biology right on time because Mr. Crawford wasn't at his desk yet when we walked into the classroom. 

"Everything okay?" Sophie asked as we set our books down on our table. 

"Yeah." I kept my eyes on my book so she wouldn't know I was lying. I didn't want her to start lecturing me here in the classroom while we waited for Mr. Crawford to come in to begin class. I had enough on my mind. 

"Good morning, class. Everyone, take your seat so that we can get started." Mr. Crawford announced, walking over to his desk. He took a drink of his coffee and then placed his cup on the desk. Next, he grabbed the dry-erase marker and told us to take out our notebooks and get ready to take notes for our quiz next week. I was rather glad we would be spending most of the time taking notes; that way, my mind wouldn't have time to wander. 

Cole was waiting outside Biology, leaning up against the wall. "You doing okay, Sunshine?" He asked me, wrapping his arm around the tops of my shoulders. 

I glanced up at him. "I'm okay." I looked away, but I wasn't quick enough. 

"You do know; I can tell when you're lying even if you don't look at me." He squeezed me lightly. 

"I'm not lying." 

"Yeah, and I'm straight." He laughed. "I know you're worried about your dad. But, maybe, just maybe, you are worrying for nothing." 

"It's her dad. Hello..." Sophie said. 

I loved Sophie to death, but she was horrible at this consoling thing. She always had to point out the obvious to everyone instead of trying to look on the bright side of things. Sometimes, it was nice to hear the blunt truth, but right now wasn't one of those times. 

Cole's brow furrowed, and he shot her a look that was basically telling her to stop before she said another word. "As I was saying...Maybe he won't react the way you think he will. Surely, he can see Julia isn't a small child anymore and is quite capable of staying by herself. So he needs to stop trying to turn you into your mom." 

I couldn't argue with anything he'd just said, so I nodded in agreement and kept walking down the hall with him and Sophie. I just wanted this day to hurry up and get over so we could get our coffee. But then, I'd have to face my dad at home and tell him about the tutoring after school, which I wasn't mentally prepared to do yet. 

Sophie told me she'd see me for Math and took off to her next class, while Cole and I took off to English, where I'd have to look at Taylor for the next hour. Unfortunately, this day wasn't getting any better as the minutes ticked by. Finally, we walked into class, and there Taylor sat, surrounded by a few of her friends. Taylor flipped her long, curly hair over her shoulder right as I walked past her, and I knew it was a coincidence, but it was almost as if she was doing it to say she was better than me. 

Cole rolled his eyes and whispered. "She's a bitch. You're better than her." He slid down in his seat. 

Was I better than her? I didn't feel better than her, though. I took out my English book and notebook in case Mrs. Hart came in announcing that we'd be taking notes most of the class today before working in pairs on our assignment. Within a few minutes, Mrs. Hart came in with a cart of books. By the stacks of books, I guessed she'd picked the book the class would be reading for the next few weeks and writing an essay over. She set a stack of books on the first desk and told us to pass them back toward the back of the class. Then, she started writing down the instructions for the essay on the board as to how she wanted the paper written. Finally, she told us to copy down the instructions for the essay; then, we could start reading the book. I just hope I will be able to keep my mind focused long enough to comprehend what I'm reading and remember it for later. 

Luckily, I was able to lose myself in the book, and before I knew it, the bell rang. I quickly gathered up my things and joined Cole, waiting for me over by the door. Then, just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse, I heard my name being called from the middle of the room. I looked over at Mr. Crawford's desk to find it empty; he'd already left the room to go stand guard in the hall. 

"Rylee!" 

I glanced up at Cole, whose warm smile had turned to a scowl. "What the fuck does she want?" 

Cole stepped in a little closer as I turned around to face Taylor and her friends. "Yes?" I replied, watching Taylor make her way over to me, with her friends following close behind her. 

"I just want to make one thing clear, so listen up—Austin's my boyfriend. So, stay away from him! I saw how you two were talking the other day in the cafeteria. So, consider this your warning; you stay away from him or else." She pushed past me and walked out of the room. 

"What the hell was that about?" Cole asked, leaning out into the hall. 

"I don't know," I mumbled, walking out into the hall. 

Author's Notes:

Looks like Rylee is going to have some problems with Taylor. Rylee is having a rough start to school. 

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