Chapter 16: I’m stuck with him.

Skye

For several seconds, nobody moves. Tiffany stares at Jace as if she can’t quite believe what just happened. Neither can I.

Jace simply sits beside me, completely calm, like he didn’t just humiliate the most popular girl in school in front of an entire classroom.

I glance at him. He catches me looking. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re staring.”

“I’m trying to understand what just happened.”

A faint smirk pulls at his mouth. “I threw something in a trash can.”

I roll my eyes. “You know exactly what I mean.”

Before he can answer, the classroom door opens. Our English teacher, Mrs. Anderson, walks in carrying a stack of papers.

The room immediately settles. “Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Anderson.”

She places her books on the desk and looks around the room. “I hope everyone completed the reading I assigned.”

A few students groan. Mrs. Anderson raises an eyebrow. “That sounded suspiciously like a no.”

A few people laugh. I force myself to focus.

English is one of the few classes where juniors and seniors occasionally share a lecture. Mrs. Anderson teaches the advanced English course, and because of the mixed-level timetable, Jace, Ethan, Logan, and Mason are in the same class as us on certain days.

Usually, I like it.

Today, I just want to disappear. Mrs. Anderson turns toward the whiteboard and writes:

THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR.

She underlines it twice.

“Today, we’re discussing how authors manipulate readers by giving them narrators who don’t tell the complete truth.”

I open my notebook.

Beside me, Jace does the same.

Mrs. Anderson continues. “An unreliable narrator isn’t necessarily a liar. Sometimes the character genuinely believes their version of events. The important question is this: how do we recognize when the narrator’s understanding of reality differs from reality itself?”

A hand rises near the back.

Mrs. Anderson nods toward Mason.

“An unreliable narrator could leave out important information.”

“Exactly.”

She turns back to the board. “Another clue is contradiction. If a character insists they don’t care about someone, but their actions constantly prove otherwise, we as readers begin to question them.”

My pen freezes.

Slowly, I turn my head. Jace is already looking at me. His gray eyes are filled with amusement. I narrow mine. Don’t. His mouth twitches.

I turn back to the board.

Mrs. Anderson continues discussing examples from the novel we’d been assigned, explaining how the protagonist’s version of events slowly falls apart as the story progresses.

I actually get interested. For the first time since walking into the classroom, I forget about Tiffany.

Until a folded piece of paper lands on my desk.

I stare at it. Then slowly unfold it.

*You should pay attention*

I look at Jace. He is staring straight ahead. I scribble underneath.

*I am*

I push it toward him. A few seconds later, it comes back.

*Then why are you staring at me?*

I immediately write:

*because you are annoying*

He reads it. His shoulders shake with a silent laugh. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from smiling.

That’s when I realize something. I’m smiling. At Jace. I quickly look away. What is happening to me?

“Skye?”

My head snaps up.

Mrs. Anderson is looking directly at me.

“Yes?”

“Since you seem particularly interested in today’s discussion, perhaps you can answer the question.”

My stomach drops. The class turns toward me.

“What makes a narrator unreliable?”

I swallow. “The narrator might not deliberately lie. They could be misunderstanding events because of their emotions, memories, or personal beliefs.”

Mrs. Anderson smiles. “Excellent.”

I exhale quietly.

Then I hear Jace whisper beside me. “Show-off.”

I elbow him lightly. “Shut up.”

He grins. For a few minutes, everything feels almost normal.

Until Mrs. Anderson announces the next assignment.

“Your final project will be completed in pairs. You will analyze the narrator’s reliability throughout the novel and present your findings next Friday.”

Groans immediately fill the room. Mrs. Anderson starts calling out names. I glance at Chloe. Please let us be partners.

“Chloe Carter and Kimberly Evans.”

Kimberly pumps her fist. “Yes!”

I smile. Then Mrs. Anderson continues. “Skye Bennett and…” My stomach tightens. Please. Please don’t. “Jace Knight.”

The classroom explodes. Someone whistles.

Logan practically shouts, “No way!”

Mason starts laughing. Kimberly turns around with her mouth hanging open. Even Ethan looks surprised.

I slowly turn toward Jace. He looks completely unfazed. In fact, he looks amused.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whisper.

He leans closer. “Looks like we’re spending time together, Princess.”

My heart skips. I glare at him. “This is a nightmare.”

“Maybe.” He pauses. “But you seem to have a habit of ending up in my bed.”

My eyes widen. “Jace!”

He chuckles under his breath. I look around frantically. Thankfully, nobody seems to have heard.

Mrs. Anderson claps her hands. “Enough. This is an academic assignment, not an excuse for gossip. You will meet with your partner after class and decide how you intend to approach the project.”

I sink into my chair. Perfect.

As if being Jace Knight’s fake girlfriend wasn’t complicated enough.

Now I have to spend an entire week working with him.