Free Shh! by Stacey Nash Page B

to face running into as many people who might have heard Ella’s story. The car that crawled past with people whistling from the backseat was bad enough—actual people in front of me would have been worse. I hated that people who looked at me saw that instead of the social club president, the captain of the hockey team, the Law student that I was.
    Two minutes.
    Would Logan even come today? Maybe I’d made things awkward between us, which really sucked, because he seemed to be one of the few genuine friends I had. But was he really a friend? My heart dipped into my stomach. That thought made me feel broken.
    One minute.
    To distract my wandering mind from all its anxious thoughts, I pulled my phone out and checked my inbox. There was all of one email.
    The lecturer tapped his mic and started talking, but my focus was still on my inbox. The sole email was from the academic board, which was weird, because it looked like a personalized message, not one of those emailed-to-every-student ones. The subject line read: Your Student Council Campaign.
Dear Ms Dean,
We regret to inform you that your campaign to run for student body president for the student’s association has been suspended in light of recent allegations.
Keith Ramage
Academic Board
    Blood stilled in my veins. Everything grew sluggish and my future flashed before me.
    Campaign suspended?
    Someone slid into the next seat along.
    Oxley’s social committee wasn’t enough. No council position meant no exceptional extracurricular activities on my resume, and that equalled a mediocre CV. Nothing to set me apart meant no Deakin Parry Associates. I was already behind by not studying at one of the big city universities, so I needed an outstanding record to put me back in the game. No president position was bad. All of this would add up to not following in my father’s footsteps as a renowned attorney. I drew a shaky breath that rattled on the way out.
    I am a failure.
    A hand closed over mine.
    No job meant I was a disappointment. One my parents wouldn’t want around. I’d be nothing but a small-time lawyer, relegated to settling disputes in the family law court. I could feel my future slipping away.
    “Liv.”
    And if that happened, where would I be?
    “Olivia.” Something dug into my side and I flinched, turning to see Logan’s concerned gaze studying mine. “You okay?”
    My thoughts spun. Everything felt too tight inside me, and surely I was going to throw up. I returned my focus to the front of the room. “Yeah.”
    Logan leaned in and whispered, “Follow me.”
    My brow tightened as Logan stood, grabbing my hand in the process. I barely had time to scoop up my tablet and bag before he lead me out of the lecture hall while Professor Monotone drawled on about who knew what.
    “We can’t leave,” I hissed, but Logan kept a firm grip on my hand and ignored me. “We’ll miss the rest of class.”
    “Shut up.” A girl in the back row gave us both a filthy look. “Some of us are actually trying to listen.”
    With his free hand, Logan pushed the huge wooden door open and led me out into the hall. My drunken text was right; his butt did look mighty fine in jeans. Shaking that thought away, I stopped. Everything tumbled out of my bag onto the floor. Damn him for making me look like a klutz again.
    My tablet better not be broken. It had all my lecture notes, favourite eBooks, and a ton of photos. It was precious beyond replacing. Clamping my mouth shut to stop the expletive that sat on the tip of my tongue, I bent at the knees to pick up my things.
    Logan’s head crashed into mine.
    This guy sure made me a walking disaster.
    He chuckled. “I got this, Butterfingers.”
    Everything was already in his hands, so I stood. “We can’t leave.”
    Maybe he didn’t hear me the first time.
    He shot up and held my bag out, his sparkling eyes pinning me to the spot. “Live dangerously. You might find you like it.”
    A wild fluttering tickled my tummy like I was at