CHAPTER 4

The introduction game continued as Connor interrogated everyone in the group.

"Ethan, my boy," Connor exclaimed, "You're the last one, remember to make it interesting!"

His face was relaxed as he greeted everyone with a smile, revealing his dimples. "My name is Ethan, and I'm the school's quarterback."

"That's not a fun fact, we all know you're the captain of the football team," said Conner.

"Okay," Ethan started, "Bubbles is my favorite power puff girl."

His answer made most of the girls in our group melt and giggle. Just when I thought it wasn't possible for him to be any cuter, he always seems to prove me wrong.

Once we finished the introduction game, everyone sat with their friends and talked amongst themselves until the bell rang. I made my way to the last class of the day, sitting down in the last row as always.

There were five minutes left until class started, so I put in my earphones and turned up the volume, trying to avoid the disturbance that the jocks were creating. They were huddled up together, all looking at the same phone.

"God, she's so hot." One says, and they start high-fiving each other.

"I'd tap that."

"Look at that ass!"

"I hope she posts more bikini photos."

I spot Ethan sitting with the group of jock boys, scrolling through his phone and paying no attention to their discussion about hot girls on Instagram. My eyes widened in shock as he looked up, our eyes meeting.

I panicked. What if he thought I was staring at him like a creep?

Well, aren't you?

No, shut up.

Slightly slouching on the chair, he smiled at me. He moves away from the crowd and joins me at the back, sitting on the chair besides me.

"Let me guess. You want to major in Art?"

I stopped drawing and shook my head. "No, I'm not."

Considering that I've never joined an art class or displayed my drawings in school, I didn't know where he got the idea of an art major from.

He let out a chuckle, pressing his lips together in shyness. "Oh, I just assumed because you seem to like doodling so much."

A dazzling smile appears on his lips as I notice that he's referring to the cover of my notebook. It had all sorts of doodles on it, mostly drawn with my black ink pen.

Oh, so that's why he thought it was my major. Whenever I found myself in boredom, I'd sketch whatever came to my head. There was a cupcake, a flower, a clock and some random hearts scattered around the page.

Thank god I didn't write his name with a heart.

I lightly let out a small nervous chuckle at him while he continued to flirt his eyes at me. His eyes were a steel blue color, protected by a dense layer of lashes.

"Well, have you heard of the phrase, don't judge a book by its cover?"

"Touché," he smiled, "what are you majoring in then?"

"English."

His eyes grew wide in surprise at my answer. "I'd never take you as a literature girl."

"Apart from the 99% of the times my face has been buried inside a book?" I joked.

"Touché again, m'lady."

We both laughed at the same time, his face turning a light shade of pink. "So, we're in the same travel group."

"Yeah, we are."

"Well, I'm glad you're in my group, Maya."

Something about the way he says my name makes me grow a sudden liking to it. His voice is so deep and low. We don't say anything else, but his eyes hadn't left mine.

The bell rang, and the teacher told us to take our seats. Ethan breaks the trance as he stood up and walked back to his place in the front right-hand side, and I was able to let out a breath. He's greeted by nobody other than Leighton who happens to be sitting on the desk beside him.

As the polite person he is, he gives her a small smile and nods. She tries to talk to him but her attempt fails as the teacher tells Leighton off for talking while he's explaining.

For most of the class, I tried to keep my eyes on the board, but it was like Ethan had some sort of gravitational pull that always made me look at him. Even though I was only able to see the back of his head, I was mesmerized by the way his defined muscles would tighten whenever he laughed or moved.

I checked the vibration in my pocket and saw that Leah sent me a text.

"Want to go to Rise & Shine after school?" it read.

"Is that even a question?" I typed back and shoved my phone in my pocket before it got confiscated.

The remaining fifteen minutes of the class went by quickly as I continued the battle with my attention as it seems always to be directed towards Ethan.

The moment class ends, the view of Leah's head peeking through the door had me laughing. Wasn't her class on the other side of the school? How could she have possibly gotten here so quick?

Her car was parked right in front of school. It was where all the expensive cars were parked so the guards could keep a closer eye on it.

A small smile crept onto my face. I was actually going to ask her to go there, but she knew me too well. I looked over at Leah, and her forehead crumpled up as she concentrated on driving. She just learned how to drive not so long ago and wasn't that confident in driving. But it was still better than taking the bus.

"Leah, that grandma just walked passed us," I teased.

She exhaled a quiet laugh. I turned on the radio and heard Senorita by Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes playing for the thousandth time. I wasn't even surprised anymore. This song played everywhere I went.

Usually, it only took about an eight-minute car ride to get here. But considering that Leah was driving at walking speed, we finally arrived at Rise & Shine ten minutes later. It was a small but cosy coffee shop with a bunch of warm colors and mostly wooden decor. But it was a great place that's perfect for doing work or reading.

We made our orders and not long after, two cups of caramel macchiato with an additional layer of frothed milk appeared on the other end of the counter. Grabbing our drink, we headed to a table.

"Can you believe that the trip is in two days?" she started, "we just have to get through the weekend."

"Yeah, the one month flew by so quick."

"Our first ever trip together!"

"We aren't in the same group, though." I frowned.

I couldn't imagine myself going anywhere with a bunch of strangers without Leah's support. She was like my backbone.

Her eyes perked up, and she turned to me. "You have a better alternative."

A better alternative?

My whole group was full of jocks, and people I didn't know. How could that possibly be a better alternative to my best friend?

She noticed my confused expression and rolled her eyes. "Ethan Morrison."

I groaned. "We don't even talk."

"You can just stare at him."

"That's just creepy."

"Only if you aren't subtle about it." She joked.

"But we talked today."

She dropped her mouth, and a goofy smirk appeared. "About what?"

"He said I was smart and was glad that we're in the same group."

We giggled at the same time as we continued on talking about the trip. I must admit, never in a million years would I think Ethan Morrison would talk to me, let alone be glad that he was in the same group.