Secretly Hidden

Chapter 6

At lunch, I told Amanda about my class changes and she looked at me excitedly. I kept the fact that I had to tutor Matthew as a secret though, as Mrs. Davis had asked me.

    "Welcome to the club! There's only a few students in the advanced classes, so the class times don't vary much. That means we will probably have a lot of classes in common starting tomorrow!" She explained to me. I smiled.

    "That's good to hear, I definitely needed someone to have my back in classes. I had the worst time with Ruby today in class." I said and rolled my eyes.

    "Not surprised. I think she's been in a bad mood lately because Matthew hasn't been giving her much attention. He's been having fun with a foreign exchange student that's here for a couple weeks." She said. I shook my head in disappointment. "That aside, I think there is a new student starting in our classes as well, so tomorrow it won't be just you. Nobody knows much about them though."

    "Wow, for so many people to be transferring in during the middle of spring seems a bit odd. I figured I would be the only one," I replied while sipping my drink. Amanda nodded.

    "No, it is definitely weird. The same families have been attending this school for forever. It is really rare to get new students starting that don't have connections to the school. Especially all at once in the middle of a semester," Amanda confirmed. I continued on and I decided to not give the situation much more thought.

    Suddenly my mind wandered back to the fact that along with classes, I needed to somehow start tutoring Matthew tomorrow. Mrs. Davis said she would be forcing him to show up at the selected location tomorrow right after school. I dropped my head in my hands and wondered how it was going to go.

~~~~~~~

    As I walked down for dinner later that night, I was met with my parents waiting outside the dining room.

    "What's going on? Why are you both waiting out here?" I asked. They turned to look at me.

    "Oh yes, we had forgotten to let you know, but Matthew Davis will be coming over for dinner today," my mother said. "Why don't you hurry back and put on something just a little more appropriate." I gave her a suspicious look as I looked at my sweatpants.

    "Okay, but why did you guys invite him here in the first place," I asked.

    "No real reason, just strengthening our relationship to the Davis family. We wanted to get to know the heir a little better." She continued and gave me a smile that said she didn't want more questions.

    I decided to not push it and immediately ran back to my room to put on an outfit that was better for guests. As I approached the dining room again, I could tell that Matthew had already arrived, as they had entered the dining room and I could hear my parents talking to someone.

    I peeked my head around the corner to see what was going on. As I suspected, Matthew sat with my parents at the table waiting for me. I sighed and mentally prepared myself as I walked in.

    Attention immediately shifted to me, and Matthew gave me a smile as I sat down at the table next to my mother. No way was I going to willingly sit next to Matthew. My mom and dad looked at each other for a second before my dad's secretary burst into the dining room.

    "Excuse me Mr. Carter, there is an urgent call you should take," he said. Immediately he stood up.

    "My wife and I will be right there," he said. He looked at my mom again.

    "Sorry, the two of you go ahead and eat without us," she said and flashed a smile. "Stay as long as you'd like Matthew, there's no need for you to leave right after dinner."

    They both hurried out and I looked after them, knowing exactly what they were up to. I slumped back in my seat shaking my head as I continued to eat without looking up. It was silent until Matthew cleared his throat.

    "So, I haven't seen you in a while, how are things going?" He asked. I glanced up at him, uninterested in making conversation with him and said nothing. Matthew just nodded. "Okay, got it."

    He resumed eating as well. I was slightly surprised he dropped the subject as fast as he did.

    "You're behaving pretty well. What is that about?" I asked. Matthew looked up at me.

    "Have I ever behaved bad around you? I mean, if that's what you're into, I can do that," he said as he smirked. I refused to be the one to break eye contact and smiled.

    "I'd rather you not," I said and stood up. I turned to leave but he spoke again.

    "I'm trying to get along," he said. I turned back to see him with the most serious face I have ever seen him make. There was no hint of a smirk on his face and his tone completely changed and it was more cold. The immature and irresponsible Matthew that I had known until now was gone. I didn't reply so he continued on.

    "It doesn't take a genius to figure out what our parents are trying to do. I am sure you have also noticed," he said. I let out a sigh and sat back down in my seat.

    "You're right, I noticed. They're trying to arrange our marriage," I said and crossed my arms.

    "Exactly. I don't know how it is for you, but if my parents tell me to marry, then I am. That doesn't mean I want to hate my life because of it though," he added. "So I am trying to get along, okay?"

    I sat while thinking of my options. I knew that Matthew obviously had a sense of responsibility to his family, since I also did. However, I knew if I really hated it, my parents would never force me to marry someone. I hadn't considered if it would be the same for him. I sighed as I came to my conclusion.

    "Fine, we can lay it thick around our parents," I said and stood back. Matthew kept a straight face but looked much more relieved. "This doesn't mean we're magically friends outside of that though."

    "I wouldn't expect anything less from the beautiful, controlling Lexi Carter." He said sarcastically. I scoffed, but decided to keep my comments to myself. "Well, dinner was great, right?" Matthew smiled while standing up.

    "Absolutely," I said while smiling back. "Can't wait to do this again."