Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Why not?” She scrunches up her nose and claps her hands theatrically. “Be aggressive. Be, be aggressive.”
“I wish I could bottle up some of your energy.” I roll my eyes.
“Come on,” she pleads. “What could it hurt to at least try out? We can work on some of the moves over the weekend. Just promise me you’ll think about it.”
My gaze drifts across the field to where the boys are playing lacrosse on the left and soccer on the right. Everybody is busy doing something. And I know from my mother’s incessant nagging that I need something else on my college application, even if it does seem somewhat ridiculous to me. But at least with Sybil at my side, it could be fun.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try,” I concede.
“Yay!” She jumps up and does a few cartwheels while I continue to snap pictures. And then something in the distance catches my attention.
“What the…?” My voice drifts off as I inadvertently zoom in and snap a few photos.
“What?” Sybil asks.
“Is that Mr. Carter coaching the soccer team?”
“Yep.” She squints into the distance, using her hand as a shield against the sun. “He played soccer for the Ivy’s. Won a bunch of awards, or so I’ve heard. I think he was supposed to be drafted into the Major Leagues too.”
“Why wasn’t he?”
“Don’t know.” She shrugs. “But the soccer players here practically bow at his feet like he’s some kind of legend. I know because I dated one of them freshman year.”
“Who haven’t you dated here?” I tease.
She sticks out her tongue and throws a handful of grass at me. “Just wait and see. You’ll have five or six boyfriends soon too. I’ve heard you’re making waves around the school.”
“Yeah, Louisa and her girl gang already threatened me to stay away from Ethan.” I make a slitting action across my throat. “Or else.”
Sybil rolls her eyes. “Louisa is never going to get Ethan. She’s delusional.”
“Like he’s some prize.” I shake my head. “I don’t get what she sees in him anyway. He was waiting for me outside of detention.”
“Who knows.” Sybil agrees. “And that doesn’t surprise me. He’s had eyes on you since you stepped foot on the grounds. Every time you turn him down, he’ll just try harder.”
“Oh, yay.” I groan. “Just what I need.”
“Apart from Ethan’s prowess, how was detention anyway?” she asks.
“It was all right. I didn’t know it was with Mr. Carter.”
“Oops.” She slaps a hand against her forehead. “I should have probably warned you, huh? He always does detention. I think he actually enjoys it, miserable bastard that he is. I still can’t believe how harsh he was with you. I mean, he’s always been a prick, but still, he could have cut you some slack on your first day.”
“Doesn’t seem like that’s his style,” I observe, opting not to tell her about our weird stare down in detention.
“No, it isn’t. Probably best to stay off his radar if you can. It already seems like he has it out for you.”
“That’s my plan.”
“You want to head back to my room and study for a bit?”
For reasons I don’t really know, I snap a few more photos of Mr. Carter, and then Sybil pokes me in the arm.
“Hello, earth to Stella. Are you there?”
“Sorry, got distracted.”
“By all those hunky soccer players?” Her eyes light up.
“Uh-huh.” I lie because I don’t want to admit that I have a weird hate crush on my teacher. “Let’s go study.”
WHILE SYBIL DOES her math homework, I pretend to read on my phone, but really, I’m checking out Mr. Carter’s bio on the school website. I have no idea why, but I can’t seem to keep my mind from drifting back to him. What Sybil told me about his almost career as a soccer player has only managed to spark my curiosity about him.
Unfortunately, other than a small blip about him being the soccer coach, there isn’t much about his past. There’s a mention of his time at Harvard, that he played in the Ivy Leagues, and that with his advanced standing, he graduated with a masters in just four years. It seems insane, but then again, he is insane. I can just imagine him not eating, sleeping, or blinking while he aced every one of his college courses. All to end up here. It’s rather odd. Not that Loyola isn’t prestigious, but teaching doesn’t seem like it would be his career of choice. In fact, I would think it would be the last thing on his list.
“Finally.” Sybil slams her book shut with a yawn. “Got that done. Now I can spend extra time in the studio tomorrow morning.”
As much as Sybil loves to goof off, she never lets anything get in the way of her dedication for dancing, and I admire her for that. I wish I could be as passionate and free spirited as she is. I wish I could go after what I really want without disappointing my father.