Page 4 of They The Pretty Stars (Court High 1)
Mr. Prinze gave him the floor, nodding like he led the class instead of the teacher. What was laughable was Mr. Pool actually let him do that before going to the board and bullet-pointing todayâs lesson.
I pulled my English book out of my bag. âI just saw that guy,â I whispered, getting Birdieâs attention. Mr. Poolâs back was still to us, and Birdie turned, looking to the back of the room before facing me.
âRoyal?â she asked. âWhat was he doing?â
That guyâs name would be Royal Prinze. His parents were probably pretty damn impressed with themselves too. It all seemed fitting, though, considering the way this boy owned second period English.
Lowering, I explained to Birdie quickly what I saw in the boathouse. Mr. Pool was still busy at the board, and once my story concluded, Birdie did nothing but smirk.
She lowered too. âIâm not surprised, but Iâm sure you know all about that, him.â
âIf youâd all turn to page ninety-seven, and weâll begin our look into the Renaissance period. December, Iâll touch base to see where you are in your studies later, but donât be afraid to let me know while we work today if youâre lost or anything, all right?â
The attention on me, I pulled away from Birdie and what she said. Giving Mr. Pool a wave, I told him I would, and he gratefully moved on but not without me catching the eye of a certain green-eyed blond. He had his legs crossed, thick and muscular, in my direction. Pen to his lips, he flicked at it with a finger, making a silver ring flash on his right hand.
âWhy would I know about him?â I asked, purposely severing his connection with me and talking to Birdie.
She frowned in my direction. âRoyal Prinze?â she questioned, to which I shrugged. She tilted her head. âHeâs only your sisterâs best friend.â
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Checking in
Hey,
I started at Windsor Prep today. First day not bad and Dad sent me off. You mentioned Hubert, but did he take you to school every day? It makes me feel like you were some type of secret Bruce Wayne or something and failed to tell me about it. Speaking of, do you know someone named Royal Prinze? A girl at school told me you were one of his friends, but I find that hard to believe. Heâs nothing like you, extremely cocky, and he walks around the school like he owns the place. I also caught him in your schoolâs boathouse messing around with some girl. Do you know this guy? I was told he was your best friendâ¦
Anyway, I miss you, loser. I get it if you need space, but didnât we always say we can talk to each other? I feel like something more is going on here considering the way you ran off and your text messages at the beginning of the summer. I wish youâd just talk to me. You know Iâm here, right? Iâm not going anywhere, and expect these emails a lot. I wonât stop sending them, and Iâm not leaving this town until you come back. I owe you. I always will.
Em <3
June 10th
5:08 p.m.
December: Why does it feel like youâve been avoiding me?
Paige: Iâve been busy, Em. What do you need?
December: You. Youâve been acting super weird lately. Going MIA. Is it Dad? Whatâs going on?
10:06 p.m.
December: Hello?
Paige: Nothingâs wrong. Iâve just been busy, okay?
December: Okay.
Paige: I need you to not do this. I need space with senior year coming up and everything. Everythingâs cool. Just let me breathe.
Three
The second half of the week at Windsor Prep resembled the first: lots of schoolwork I wasnât academically prepared for in an environment I slowly mucked my way through. The only difference was, I pored over past texts with my sister instead of eating lunch today. I found myself reading even more just to hear her voice in my head.
I need spaceâ¦