He forced the thoughts of Ruby to the back of his mind and kept on walking toward class, stopping to check the chemistry noticeboard to see which group he’d be in for the project. He’d gotten so used to wandering around campus like a ghost, refusing to interact with anyone, that he had no clue what it would be like to be forced to talk with four other people. Four people who probably wanted nothing to do with him. He’d even asked Mrs. Weatherall if he could do the project alone, but she’d just given him that pity-filled stare he was really starting to hate and told him no.
He scanned the list and found his name. Not the only name to stick out in his group.
Ruby Davis.
He’d been assigned to the group that Ruby was in.
Maybe he should ask to be reassigned.
Except he didn’t know if he wanted to be reassigned.
Chapter Four
“I still say let’s look at whether EMF affects plants and bugs,” Brad, one of the guys in Ruby’s science project group, insisted.
The science teacher had made them sit in their groups in the lab and start to brainstorm ideas. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done as Ruby’s group couldn’t agree. Everyone had different ideas. Well, everyone apart from Drew, who slouched behind his desk in stony silence, content to watch them all with those unfathomable green eyes. The rest of the group had tried half-heartedly to include him, but when he’d made it clear he wasn’t going to say anything beyond negative and affirmative grunting, they’d let him be.
Brad continued to argue passionately for his experiment, causing Jess to counter loudly that it would expose them all to microwave radiation, which would give them all cancer, and then Brad would have to pay their medical expenses. Ruby tuned out the drama, mainly because she didn’t need any more in her life. She glanced over at Drew as he pulled the hood of his black sweatshirt over his rumpled dark hair, his lean legs sprawled in front of him. What was it about guys acting like hoodies were some kind of protective armor?
Although for Drew, they probably were, since the hood hid the scars on the left side of his face and neck.
Ruby looked away, checking out the other groups, who all seemed to be getting down to business, judging by the air of quiet concentration that had come over all of them but her group. Then again, they didn’t have Brad, the walking, talking textbook in their group. Despite the fact that Jess was neck and neck with him for valedictorian, Brad still gave off the vibe that he thought he was smarter than them all. He probably was, except for Jess, but that didn’t mean he had to ram it down their throats. Ruby hoped that wherever he went to college, they’d make him take a course in interpersonal skills before he graduated and inflicted himself on the real world. She couldn’t wait for the end of class so she could go to Starbucks.
Starbucks.
She sat upright as an idea popped into her head. “I’ve got it,” she said, a broad smile on her lips. “Caffeine. Let’s look at whether caffeine enhances performance. In sport. In class. Wherever.”
And she was more than happy to be one of the volunteers. Right now.
“No,” Brad said, waving his hand dismissively. “We’re juniors, not in eighth grade.”
Ruby ground her teeth. She might not have his IQ, but there was no need to belittle her ideas. “I hardly think eighth-grade students would do anything with caffeine, since no parent wants to make their middle schooler even more hyper,” Ruby retorted. Normally, she wouldn’t care what they chose for a project, but Brad’s smugness brought out the competitor in her.
“I need a good grade for this project,” Brad said. “Which means doing something with gravitas.” He folded his arms across his chest and had a self-satisfied expression on his face.
“What?” Ruby spluttered. She’d always known Brad was full of himself, but really? “Gravitas. Who talks like that?”
“You know what I mean. We have to do something worthwhile. And there’s nothing worthwhile about testing caffeine.” Brad sneered, his top lip curling up.
Ruby could feel her stupid, sensitive face going up in flames, but she wasn’t going to be walked over. “I don’t agree. Testing the effects of caffeine is useful and worthwhile, considering a sizable portion of the US is probably addicted to it.” She resisted the urge to slam her palm on the desktop for emphasis. This was chemistry, not Law and Order.
“I agree. Let’s do it.”
Drew. That was Drew’s voice. Coming from inside Drew’s hoodie.
All four of them turned and stared at him in stunned silence. Jess’s heart-shaped mouth actually dropped open from the shock.
Ruby was the first to recover. “Thanks.” She grinned at Drew, but her sense of the two of them as co-conspirators disappeared as he quickly averted his eyes. Not stopping to think about why that hurt her feelings a little, she turned to the rest of the group. “Anyone else like the idea?”
“I’m with Drew. Let’s go with Ruby’s idea,” Jess interjected. Even though Ruby knew she probably just wanted to jab at Brad, she couldn’t help but feel grateful that Jess had actually acknowledged Drew’s presence by saying his name. It was more than most of their classmates had done.
Ricky quickly nodded in agreement, and Brad glared at Ruby.
“Majority rules. Sorry, Brad,” Ruby said, trying desperately to hide the smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.
“It better work,” Brad said, just as the bell for the end of school rang. “We’ll meet tomorrow in the study section of the library thirty minutes after school ends and work out what needs to be done.”
Ruby was so high on her triumph over Brad’s ego, she didn’t even care about him trying to save face by ordering them to meet after school instead of asking if everyone could make it. And okay, a little bit of it had to do with the fact that she’d also managed to pull Drew Scott into the light, even if only for a few seconds.
Drew pushed open the door to the library, glad to have an excuse not to go home right away. The previous night, his mom had been really bad, even by her standards. He’d found her fast asleep on the bathroom floor, having fallen off the toilet. She had stunk so bad of vomit that he’d had to hold his breath for the entire time from when he had picked her up off the floor until he reached her bedroom, where he left her lying on her bed. On her side so she wouldn’t choke if she threw up again.
His father was nowhere to be seen, as usual, until he’d staggered in just after ten. Drew guessed that he’d spent the previous few hours in his favorite downtown bar, after getting off of work. If it wasn’t for the fact that his dad worked for himself, he’d have lost his job a long time ago. He owned a well-established and successful insurance brokerage, and Drew suspected that his employees covered for him much of the time so they could keep getting their paychecks.
Drew headed toward the tables in the back, planning to do some of his homework before the others arrived. Just as he turned into the study area, he came to an abrupt halt. He wasn’t the first to arrive. Ruby sat at one of the tables.
He ran his fingers through his hair. What was it with that girl that she always seemed to be wherever he was? It seemed like she had some sort of GPS locator inside her brain and knew exactly where he would be at any given time. It was bad enough that they were going to be working together on this project. He was half an hour early, so there was no reason for her to be around right now.
As he stood there, wondering if he should go study in one of the carrels on the other side of the room, Ruby glanced up.