Worst Impressions

Chapter Seventeen

I didn't think it was any of William's business if I was talking to anyone, least of all someone on a placement who had authority over him. Even if I did have a bit of a crush on Gideon, it wasn't like I could or would do anything about it. Gideon wasn't that much older than me. He was technically still a student, but it wasn't like he was going to have the slightest interest in someone my age.

Gideon turned and followed my gaze to the pair. 'Afternoon, boys. Are you looking for someone?'

'No,' William retorted in a scathing tone. 'There's no one here we're looking for.'

I didn't know if I was being paranoid, but I could have sworn that William was directing his venom at me. We'd never really gotten along that well so it wouldn't have surprised me. Still, I'd thought he'd been trying harder for Charlie and Jenny's sakes recently. I supposed without my friend around he didn't feel the need to be courteous. He fixed Gideon with a deadly glare, then turned heel and stalked away.

Wow.

Talk about a drama queen.

Most of us had teachers that we disliked but that didn't mean we showed it to their faces. That was a very quick way to get thrown into detention. William's had climbed far up the social ladder up as far as I remembered. Perhaps he didn't think that he could be punished by anyone for being rude, least of all a bright-eyed twenty-something. If that was his line of thinking, then he was sadly mistaken. I knew for a fact that our head teacher's daughter had been punished frequently for her pranks.

If you could call turning the car park into an ice rink during the winter break a prank instead of a total death trap.

I put it out of my mind. A person could go mad trying to fathom what was going on in William's head. Anyway, he wasn't anything to do with me. There were more footsteps, which approached rapidly. Sure enough, Lisa barrelled into me. The girl had no idea how to apply the brakes, and she appeared keen to interrupt whatever Gideon and I were talking about. The younger boys weren't the only ones to suffer her amorous attentions. Handsome students who were unattached were also on the menu.

'Did you forget?' she asked breathlessly. Chrissy staggered along behind her. The girl was holding her side and practically doubled over when she joined us. Jenny and Meg were walking in a far more leisurely fashion in my direction.

It was safe to say that I'd entirely forgotten whatever it was Lisa was talking about. Every sensible thought and important engagement had fluttered out of my head the second that Gideon had whispered in my ear. The only other thing on my mind had been avoiding Wyatt, which was a vital use of my time and energy. Everything else came second to it. I shrugged at the others.

Thankfully, Chrissy was happy to remind me, 'We're going to Jenny's house tonight. Remember? Her Mum said we should celebrate her getting better.'

Ah, that.

It was a Friday night, and the school had permitted it only because Jenny's mother had offered to overlook their lapse in enforcing the school rules that night. Had they paid more attention to their wayward students, then her precious daughter wouldn't have been hospitalised. I wanted to go if only to get away from Wyatt for the night.

'We should go and get ready. Sorry again that I bumped into you, Sir,' I said.

'Call me Gideon. Sir makes me sound old.'

'Do you want to come, too?' Lisa asked. 'It'd be way more fun if you were there.'

'Lis'! You can't invite people to someone else's party,' I hissed.

Jenny smiled politely. 'You'd be welcome if you'd like to come along. It might be good for you to meet some of the parents and things, don't you think?'