Chapter 4: F+

Freya’s P.O.V

“Freya,” the math teacher, Mr. Agnes, called out to me in his usual strict voice while handing out our test results from last week. “Come up here.”

The instant he told me to ‘come up here’, I knew that I had failed the test. And even though I could conjure up a thousand different excuses for my failure, the truth was, I had never been good at math or science. I don’t even know why and how I ended up in these classes in the first place. With everything going on in my life, I was pretty sure I was just sleep-walking from one day to the other, just waiting for Julian to grow up so this could all be over.

Pulling my hoodie down lower on my face, I got up from my seat and headed straight for the teacher’s desk. He handed me my paper right away, his expression grim. “You’ll need to complete another assignment if you wish to pass high school, Freya.”

F+

Could’ve been a minus, right? At least it’s a plus.

Without saying anything, I nodded my head, letting him know that I understood, since was cheek had started to hurt when I spoke. But it seemed to have enraged him even further.

“You ungrateful little brat!” He threw the papers on his table at my face, making me flinch back. “I’m trying to help you graduate here, but look at your ridiculous behaviour! You don’t even know how to be grateful!”

Immediately, I lowered my head, trying to find my voice as I fumbled with my words. “I’m sorry-thank you-I-I-”

“Enough!” He snapped back at me. “Pick up the papers and get back to your seat! And stay back after class.”

“Yes, sir.” I lowered myself to the floor, scrambling to pick up the rest of the papers. Once I had all of them neatly lined up, I set aside my own paper and placed the rest on the teacher’s desk before turning back towards my seat.

But just as I was heading to the back of the class, someone placed their leg out at the last moment and caused me to trip and fall face first on the floor; causing the entire class to erupt into laughter.

Pain erupted in my entire body as I tried to pick myself back up. Worst, I think I hurt my knee on something when I fell. The laughter all around me sounded deafening, but it was nothing new. At least I tried to remind myself that as tears welled up in my eyes, both from the pain and the embarrassment.

“What’s the matter, F+?” Cameron’s best friend, Derek’s voice sounded right then, as if he was rejoicing in my suffering. “Need a hand or are you gonna start cleaning the floor while you’re down?”

Oh how badly I wanted to punch the crap out of him! To permanently wipe that smile that taunted me even in my dreams. To humiliate him the way he does me. But I couldn't. I'll always be a coward, never strong enough to stand up to him or any other bully. I had enough scars for a lifetime, I didn't need any more. So, timidly I got up from the floor while he and his best friends laughed their asses off, accompanied by their cheerleader groupies.

Reaching my seat, I folded the test paper and put it back inside my bag. There was no point in going through my mistakes anyway, since it was a failed test. Silently, I began taking notes as the teacher wrote down equations on the blackboard.

The bell rang only thirteen minutes later, causing the entire class to sigh in relief. Apparently, a lot of people hated math. But while the others packed up their bags and left, I was stuck in this room for god knows how long, since the teacher had asked me to stay back.

Suddenly, just as the class was almost cleared out, I felt someone’s eyes on me, their gaze intense enough to raise the tiny hair at my nape. Lifting my head just a little, I peaked from under my lashes to find Cameron’s electric blue eyes staring directly at me. I lowered my head instantly.

It was the way he stared at me that had a shiver run down my spine. The intensity of it made me feel like he could see right through to my soul…know all my deepest, darkest secrets. Even though our eyes had met for hardly a fraction of a second, I had felt my heart hammer against my chest, the wretched organ filled with false hope.

Once again, I was struck anew with just how gorgeous he was. Sandy blond hair and blue eyes the same colour as that of the ocean surrounding us; with a face sculpted by an expert Greek sculptor. He was the Football team Captain, so it was obvious that he worked out, but I often kept wondering how a seventeen year old could have that kind of a figure when guys twice his age would have to work countless hours at the gym to get half the number of abs he had.

And no, I wasn’t a stalker who liked to peak in through his bathroom. The entire Football team liked to do stretches in the field quite often…without their shirts on and I, along with the rest of the school, happened to have glimpsed them in their shirtless glory.

In fact, all of Cameron’s friends were the sexy, hunky, kind. And the girls who hung out with them were pretty enough to be models. They also happened to live in the same neighbourhood…a neighbourhood filled with blessed genetics.

That why I could never even dream about standing next to him. I wasn’t worthy.

“Cameron?” Mr. Agnes called out, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Do you have something to say?”

“Yes, sir.” He spoke in his usual husky-rough voice that always made my skin tingle. “I wanted to ask about this question that you marked wrong.”

“Alright, bring it up here.”

Great! The guy was a literal genius. Didn’t he just get an A in his test? I was sure he was now going to get an A+.

I shook my head as Cameron reached the teacher’s desk. Why was I even bothered with how much he got on this test or what that single second’s worth of eye contact even meant?

 He was on a completely different level than me. There was no reason for me to even imagine a comparison between the two of us. Yes, I may or may not have had a crush on his handsome face, but who doesn’t? The entire school had a crush on Cameron MacGyver! But that didn’t mean I was going to act on that crush and make a fool of myself!

Besides, Cameron hated my guts too, just like everyone else in this school. Not that we had many students to begin with; Belfast County was a pretty small area. But that was what made my life even worse. Everybody knew me, the girl without a mother and a gambler dad, who was never present. The pitiful loser.

As Cameron and Mr. Agnes were engaging in their conversation over the exam papers, I tidied up my table and put my books back inside my bag before heading to the teacher’s desk. I stayed behind so as not to interfere with their work. Not long after, Cameron took the papers back with a ‘thank you’ and went out the door without a backward glance.