Free Finding Sky by Joss Stirling Page B

saying.’
    ‘I would’ve thought it a reason for giving it a miss.’
    Zoe giggled. ‘I’m more of an Yves girl myself—those cute little glasses and studious air gets me every time. He’s like a hot Harry Potter.’
    I laughed as Zoe expected, but my mind was working over-time. Was everyone speculating about Zed and me? Why? We were the least likely pairing in the school. Just because he helped me up in front of the year and stared at me for the rest of the afternoon …
    ‘Look who it is!’ crowed Tina, elbowing me in the ribs.
    Enemy at twelve o’clock: Zed was just leaving the lab, in conversation with another boy. I tried my commando camouflage technique, hiding behind Tina.
    ‘Hi, Zed,’ said Zoe in a falsely girly voice.
    I withered with embarrassment. It made us sound like a bunch of groupies.
    ‘Oh, hi.’ Zed’s gaze skimmed us, then scooted back to me, just visible between Tina and the wall. Letting his friend go on ahead, he stopped in front of us. ‘I didn’t get a chance to congratulate you, Sky. You made an awesome save.’
    Damn him—he was laughing at me.
    ‘Yeah, I thought it pretty unbelievable,’ I said ironically.
    ‘I’m telling everyone you got lucky.’ Zed tweaked the strap of my bag back on to my shoulder.
    My stomach did a flip. The gesture felt almost territorial. And what was this? Zed Benedict being nice to me.
    ‘And I say I had a little help.’ I gave him my hardest stare. What was his game? Had he really told me what to do? It was driving me mad not knowing what was real and what I had imagined.
    ‘You’re rumbled, Zed: we all know you didn’t bend the ball like you usually do.’ Tina gave me a worried smile. She hadn’t missed the casual way he’d touched my bag strap.
    Zed held up his hands in surrender. ‘I was just lulling Sky into a false sense of security. Next time I won’t be so easy on her.’
    Zoe hooted, enjoying the flirtatious undercurrents to the conversation even if Tina and I weren’t. ‘No way. Zed Benedict, you built up this image of the meanest guy in the year and now we know you’re a sucker for little blondes looking all dewy-eyed and defenceless.’
    ‘Zoe!’ I protested, her remark too close to the bunny stuff for comfort. ‘Don’t make me out to be dumb.’
    ‘Miss Congeniality shows her temper! I knew you had to have one somewhere,’ said Zoe, fascinated by my prickly response.
    ‘You’d be like that if you had to live with looking like I do. No one takes me seriously.’
    My temper only rose a notch when all three of them snorted with laughter. ‘So I’m a joke, am I?’
    ‘Sorry, Sky.’ Tina held up a hand to prevent me storming off. ‘It’s just that you looked so fierce when you said that … ’
    ‘Yeah, really scary,’ agreed Zoe, struggling not to laugh. ‘Like Bambi with an Uzi.’
    ‘And, just so you’re clear, none of us think you’re dumb,’ said Tina. ‘Do we?’
    ‘Definitely not,’ Zoe chipped in.
    ‘But I have to agree with Zoe,’ Zed said, suppressing a grin. ‘You don’t do mean as well as me. Maybe I should give you lessons. Be careful, won’t you?’ He brushed his hand lightly down my arm and walked off, leaving my insides doing a little tap dance.
    ‘Man, that’s one cute butt,’ sighed Zoe, enjoying the rear view.
    ‘Don’t talk about his butt,’ I said crossly. That set them off again. ‘And stop laughing at me!’ Had he been warning me again?
    ‘We’ll try, but it’s hard when you say things like that.’ Tina nudged me. ‘Tell us it’s your butt to protect, then we’ll stop looking, won’t we, Zoe?’
    ‘Well, I might look but I’ll stop saying stuff.’ Zoe grinned, ignoring the rest of the class filing into the lab. Teasing me was far more enjoyable than anything the Biology teacher could offer.
    ‘It’s not my butt,’ I ground out.
    ‘But I think it could be yours. He’s definitely circling you.’ Zoe shouldered her bag.
    Tina stood back to let Zoe go in,