Wren stood and began pacing. “Suspension on my permanent record and losing my spot at the STEM Academy Camp? No way.”
“So, you’ll agree to help Mr. James?” Coach interjected in a hopeful tone.
“Well, it’s not like I have a choice,” she responded. Her voice was full of anger. She shot me another look that would stop most guys dead in their tracks, her hazel eyes practically launching live grenades at me. I’d never seen her this riled up before, and even though I hated to admit it, she looked kind of hot, in an angry nerd kind of way.
“Thank you, sir,” I said, standing to shake Principal Davis’s and Coach’s hands. “I promise this will never happen again.”
“It had better not,” Coach responded. He straightened the lanyard around his neck with his staff ID card hanging off the bottom.
Wren scowled as the corners of Coach’s lips curled up into a triumphant smile.
The first time I found out Coach was her uncle, I thought I’d heard wrong. What were the odds? Either way, their next family dinner wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience.
Principal Davis checked his watch. “Well, that’s settled. You two can go to the library now. I’ve informed your study hall teacher that you’ll be working together there until further notice.”
Wren gave the principal and Coach a curt nod before storming out of the office.
“Fuller, wait for me outside the office,” Coach said.
“Uh, sure.” Was he going to chew me out in private?
Gathering my backpack, I thanked Mr. Davis and Coach before heading to the hallway.
But before I could get out of the office, I stumbled over an Algebra book in the middle of the floor.
“I’m so sorry, Fuller,” the freshman apologized. He jumped out of his chair and scooped up the book. “Did you get suspended?” His eyes were wide open as he clutched it to his chest.
“What?” I asked, looking toward the door that led to the hallway.
“For the food fight,” the kid said. “We got called down here twenty minutes ago.” He pointed to five other students, all looking nervous.
“Oh, uh, you’ll be fine,” I called over my shoulder as I pushed through the office door.
A moment later, Coach joined me in the vacant hallway. “Fuller, I need you to keep this tutoring deal between you and Wren.”
“What?” My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Not that I planned on telling anyone—it was embarrassing enough as it was—but why was he telling me to keep it a secret?
“Sophomore year, you were out for four games with a sprained ankle, remember? The team completely tanked and we lost our shot at State.”
My gaze fell to the floor. “Yes, sir. I remember.” What I remembered more than missing the game was the reason why… The day before, Hudson had taken a nasty fall during recess and broken his collarbone. My head was all over the place and, at practice the next day, I took a stupid misstep during a shooting drill and twisted my ankle. All I could think about was my little brother, and it all but destroyed the entire team’s season. Without their leading scorer, they didn’t stand a chance.
I tried to take a deep breath but failed. I had so much riding on me, it felt like an elephant sat on my chest and was refusing to budge.
“Well, we can’t have that happen again. If your teammates think there’s even a remote chance that you won’t be playing in the season opener, it will give everyone a complex and could very well cost us the game and the championship. Not to mention the fact that, if we lose a game or two, your chances at a full ride are going to go down significantly. To top it all off, if the UGA coach comes to watch you and you’re riding the bench… Well, you can only imagine how that will look, right?”
“I’ll keep it to myself, sir.” Disappointment seeped into my core. For someone who was used to feeling like the king of the court, I suddenly had plummeted to feeling like the piece of gum stuck to the bottom of someone’s shoe.
“Good. I’ll speak with Wren after school.” Coach placed his hand on my shoulder. “You really need to get it together, Fuller. Your entire future is on the line.”
“Yes, sir.” My chest constricted even more.
“Good. I’ll see you at practice.” He turned around and headed toward the gym, leaving me wincing from the verbal lashing.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I headed toward the library. How could I let this happen? Failing a class? Coach and Principal Davis forcing Wren to tutor me and keep it a secret? I really screwed up…
My eyes landed on her a moment later. She was standing beside the library doors with her back to me, digging through her book bag.
“Hey, Wren,” I shouted, jogging toward her. “Wait up.” Damn, she really fills out those jeans. I’d gone out with a girl on the track team a few times and her ass was nearly perfect. I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but Wren’s butt looked even better. I pictured her in the tiny shorts the track team wore.
Before I could fall any deeper into the world’s most unexpected daydream, Wren spun around. She didn’t say anything, but the way her eyes narrowed in on me, I could tell she was still plenty angry.
I grinned, trying to cover up how embarrassed I felt, and did my best impersonation of Principal Davis. “You were throwing food, too. Were you not?”
Instead of making her laugh, Wren put her hands on her hips. “Can we just get this over with?”
Catching movement out of the corner of my eye, I waited for a freshman to walk by us.
“Hey, u-uh, Fuller,” the kid stammered. “Gonna take us to a state championship again?”
“You know it,” I responded. The confidence in my voice masked the reality of riding the bench for the season. I kept smiling until he turned around and disappeared around a corner.
Even though I felt like a total loser, I had to keep up the charade. I needed to lay it on even thicker. “Come on, Wren. I promise to be a good student. If I’m not, I’ll let you punish me.” I winked at her.
“You’re disgusting.” Wren’s face turned beet red, but not in the same way as the group of junior girls who waited around my locker every morning. Instead of wanting to rip off my clothes like my basketball groupies, she looked like she wanted to sock me in the face.
I had to admit, it was intriguing.
“If you’re going to be my tutor, you might want to consider being a little bit nicer to me.” I caught a whiff of her shampoo. She smelled like some kind of tropical flower. I imagined her prancing across the beach in a bikini, her long legs pumping and her feet flicking up sand. Earth to Fuller. Knock it off!