Something About You

KASON

I checked the newsfeed on my phone, watching the sick videos of Ousterman catching air on the halfpipe. The guy was a douche, but his tricks were fucking dope. Not that I’d ever admit that to anyone. Especially since I’d be up against him in January in the XGames for slopestyle. I’d qualified in Switzerland back in February. But, with no snow in Colorado until October, getting quality time snowboarding before the Games would be difficult.

“Good morning,” Professor Raymond said as he hurried in, running a little late for physics on Wednesday.

It didn’t bother me. I sucked at science. But, if I wanted to graduate next year, I’d have to tackle the beast again—because I already failed it last year.

“I hope you all managed to get those pages read because as promised, you have a quiz.”

Groans erupted around the room. My eyes darted over my shoulder only to see Little One grinning like a fool. Was she seriously excited about a quiz? She was so damn weird. But I’d give her one thing. She hadn’t knocked on Cora’s door since Sunday night. And, despite the dark circles under her eyes behind her glasses, she dealt with the noise.

“Once you open your laptops, you’ll find the link for the quiz in your emails. Close your laptops when you’re finished. You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

Fuuuuck.

I opened the quiz link and inwardly cringed. I hadn’t read the pages nor would the information have made much sense to me if I had. I knew I struggled with reading. It had been a lifelong thing for me. But I knew how to compensate—usually. Sometimes, I’d used the text reader feature, but with science and math, it didn’t help. I stared at my laptop screen, willing the answers to come to me. But after fifteen minutes, I had a feeling I’d need to drop the class. I wanted to be a pro snowboarder. Not a physicist. But if I didn’t want my parents to disown me, I needed to get a degree to fall back on. It was the deal I’d made with them long before I had my sponsorship deal with Slopes snowboarding gear. It’s why they paid for me to snowboard every weekend since I was ten. Why they hired me a coach to work with me on weekends. Why they paid for my travel to competitions before I had Slopes footing those bills.

“Close your laptops,” Professor Raymond said.

I slammed my laptop with a little too much vigor, causing a few students to glance over their shoulders to look at me.

“Now, let’s talk Charles’s law,” Professor Raymond continued. “Who can tell me what it is?”

I glanced around the room, wondering if anyone knew the answer because I sure as hell didn’t. Little One’s hand shot into the air.

Professor Raymond smiled. “Ah, Ms. Miller.”

Ms. Miller? He already knew her name?

“Enlighten us.”

“Charles’s law is the principle that all gases expand equally for the same rise of temperature if they are held at constant pressure.” Professor Raymond opened his mouth to speak, but Little One—Ms. Miller cut him off. “It states that the pressures of all gases increase equally for the same rise of temperature if they are held at constant volume.” Professor Raymond again tried to speak, but Ms. Miller continued. “The law is actually now known to only be true for ideal gases.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Professor Raymond finally said. “Does anyone know where the name stems from?”

Ms. Miller’s hand shot into the air. I glanced around but hers was the only one up.

He smirked. “Ms. Miller?”

“The name honors Jacques Charles who experimented with how the volume of gases depended on temperature. It was unfortunate, really, that he never published the work he did back in the late 1700s because others did.”

My theory that Little One was a geek had been spot on. And, she was a science geek. The best type of geek. At least when I needed help.

SHAY

I scooped up my things and stuffed them into my backpack, knowing I aced the quiz. I heaved my backpack onto my back and headed for the door. Before I could even step into the hallway, my nemesis stood in front of me, blocking my exit with a skateboard in his hand. “Move,” I said.

“No.”

“All I have to do is call for help,” I said.

He glanced to the bustling hallway filled with students coming and going behind him. “And what exactly do you need help with?” he asked, his blue eyes shifting back to me. They were such a stark contrast to the black shirt he wore.

I clenched my teeth. “Getting you out of my way.”

“Do you know how many girls would very much appreciate me in their way?”

I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling. “What do you want?”

“There’re a lot of things I want. World peace. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A gold medal—”

“Seriously?” I huffed, hating him bothering me and making me late for my next class. “Some of us need to get to our next class.”

“Then stop cutting me off. I need something from you.”

I scoffed. “Like a reality check?”

“I’m serious. You seem to get all this physics stuff, and I need to get it.”

My brows squished together. “They have these things called books. Why don’t you open one and read it?”

His features changed and harsh lines tightened around his eyes. “I’m serious, Little One.”

“Don’t call me that,” I snapped.

“I need your help.”

A humorless laugh shot out of me. “You need ~my~ help?”

“Yes,” he deadpanned.

“So, let me get this straight. When I asked you for help lowering the music so I could sleep, you said no and then proceeded to be an even bigger asshole and turn it up.”

His gaze held mine. I could see his bravado wavering as he fought to hold eye contact.

“But now you want me to help ~you~?”

“Yes.”

This guy wasn’t only an asshole, he was an idiot. “No.” I pushed by him and made my way down the hallway and out of the building, not looking back. Why would I? I already knew I bought myself another night of loud music.