Unfortunate Pair

I scrunched up the letter, throwing it at the far end of my room.

I was up and ready before 7am, not because I was heeding to the Kian's command.

I was simply scared of offending Joey.

Kian was bluffing anyways. I knew there was no way in hell that he'd be taking me in his car to school.

When I stepped out of the mansion, Kian was there, leaning on his car, his face was a study in concentration, as he typed furiously on his phone.

The moment he heard my footsteps, he looked up. That smug look returned.

“Took you long enough.”

I walked past him, heading towards the gates. There was no way I was going to school with him.

Before I could take another step, he grabbed my arm, and pulled me close to him.

My heart rate spiked, the thudding so loud I was certain he could hear it.

“What are you doing?” I managed to let out, keeping my voice as steady as I could.

“Behave. My dad is watching us,” he drawled, looking back to the house. I followed his eyes and truly, Joey stood there, at a balcony, looking at us.

That imperceptible, and expressionless face made the hair at my nape bristle.

Kian went towards the driver's side and got in.

“Get in. I don't have all day.”

I begrudgingly sat in the passenger side.

The drive was quiet.

I kept my eyes glued to the windows. The air was thick with animosity.

Soon, the car stopped.

I looked back at him, and he still had that lazy grin on his face.

“Get down.” He said.

“What? What's going on?” I asked, looking around, wondering what was wrong.

“You're crazy if you think I'm going to drive you all the way to school,” Kian scoffed.

“We are in the middle of nowhere, where do you expect -”

“You can catch the bus if you go straight down. You can do it, princess. Just walk, like you always do.” He chuckled, like he just said the funniest thing known to humanity.

I didn't bother to argue. I went down, slamming the door in his face again.

“Easy. This is a Porsche,” he said and zoomed off, leaving me standing there in the middle of the road.

Asshole.

I stared at the empty road long after his car disappeared. Then I kicked a pebble and immediately regretted it.Pain shot through my toe again

"Fantastic."

The universe clearly had a sense of humor.

After a twenty-minute walk and an overcrowded bus ride, I finally arrived at Bennington.

The moment I stepped through the gates, something felt off.

The energy was almost as hyper as the first day of senior year, but it was mixed with this nervousness.

Students were gathered around the main administration building, whispering and pointing

My stomach tightened.

Not again.

I pushed through the crowd.

A large banner hung across the front steps.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

MANDATORY FOR ALL FINAL YEAR STUDENTS

My shoulders relaxed slightly.

It wasn't as bad as I thought, and people were just overreacting, acting like somebody had died.

A familiar hand grabbed my arm.

"Natalie!"

Allison.

Her curls bounced wildly as she rushed toward me.

"You are never going to believe this." She sounded a bit out of breath, panting and gasping for air. I smiled at her antics again.

"I've had a terrible morning. Try me."

Her eyes widened.

"The Dean just announced the Senior Leadership Program."

"Okay?"

She looked personally offended by my lack of enthusiasm.

"No. Not okay." She sighed and leaned closer.

"The final project is worth forty percent of our graduation assessment."

My stomach dropped.

Forty percent?

That was too much! A single mistake could make you fail the whole of senior year!

"What project?"

"Students will be paired together. One project for the entire semester. Come on, you have to see this!” She grabbed my hand, dragging me to the auditorium which was already packed with students.

Faculty members lined the stage, looking as grim as ever.

There was a huge screen on the podium with the same title as the banner in the hallway.

Soon, the screen lit up and more detail about the project was displayed. The hall fell silent as everyone's attention was on the screen.

Soon enough, a low murmur rippled through the crowd.

I continued reading.

Then I froze.

The project wasn't just academic.

Each pair would be assigned a real-world corporation to investigate and analyze.

The winning team would receive internships, recommendation letters, and direct industry connections.

Now I understood why everyone was losing their minds. This project could literally determine careers.

Hope brimmed in my heart as I thought of the opportunities it could afford me. Beside me, Allison let out a groan.

“This will be torture, I can already tell. It's so unfair!”

A faculty member stepped forward at the stage.

"Students will receive their partners and assigned companies in the next few minutes.”

The crowd erupted.

Associate Dean (the same man from my locker incident) stood beside him.

"Good morning, seniors.”

The response was half-hearted.

"As you know, this year's project focuses on ethics, leadership, and corporate responsibility."

"The pairings were selected carefully, so pay attention.”

That sentence alone made me nervous.

Names began appearing, one pair after another.

Students cheered.

Some complained and argued. Allison coughed in her hand, her eyes not shifting from the screen.

Then my name appeared.

NATALIE MAYERS

My stomach tightened.

The second name appeared beneath it.

KIAN LAWLEY

No way!

The auditorium exploded in cheers and laughter.

Someone even whistled.

Another student shouted, "Good luck!"

I slowly turned my head, my eyes scanning through the crowd until they landed on him.

Several rows away, Kian stared at the screen.

For once, he looked as unhappy as I felt.

Good.

The Dean continued.

"Each team has also been assigned a corporation."

Another sentence appeared beneath our names.

My pulse stopped.

LAW'S PHARMACEUTICAL

The auditorium grew noticeably quieter.

I could hear Allison take a breath.

“Wow, how did that happen? You're so lucky, Natt.”

Oh, if only she knew.

I glanced toward Kian and saw his eyes were already on me.

His brows were furrowed and his jaw had tightened. I'd never seen him this way before.

Then his expression vanished, like he didn't expect me to see him affected by the decision.

My eyes shifted back to the screen.

A final line appeared beneath our assignment.

SPECIAL ACCESS AUTHORIZED

SELECTED INTERNAL COMPANY RECORDS WILL BE PROVIDED

The Dean smiled.

"Due to Mr. Lawley's generous support of this institution, the assigned team will receive unprecedented access to company operations."

Students immediately began murmuring again. I could barely decipher their muffled words.

My mind was racing. I didn't want anyone to figure out my new status as Mr Lawley's step daughter. It could ruin my credibility as a start student.

Did Joey do this on purpose? I remembered his mild interest in the fact that I was a scholarship student.

Beside the stage, two faculty members were speaking quietly. One of them pointed toward the screen and the other shook his head sharply.

Then they noticed people watching.

The conversation ended instantly.

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

I looked back at Kian, he was looking directly at me again, with an unusual expression on his face.

Not annoyed like I expected, not even smug like I thought he'd look.

It was something close to worry.

I flipped him a finger and turned away.

The Dean spoke again.

“Students should meet up with their partners and submit a signed contract, starting from the last two partners.”

“Natalie Mayers and Kian Lawley, you both come to my office now. Good luck students.”