Free CinderEli by Rosie Somers Page A

blushing furiously. The poor kid was more embarrassed
than I was. Luckily, the jock on the other side of him chose that
moment to slap the last two syllabi down in front of my new pal.
Hot Embarrassed Guy tossed mine onto the desk like it was on fire.
Or I was.
    “The last page of your syllabus is the
syllabus quiz. It doesn’t count for a grade, but it will be used
for attendance and to show that you understand the syllabus,” Mr.
Carson intoned, now seated behind his desk. I scanned the document
while the teacher continued his instruction. “Everyone with a seat
near the aisle and everyone next to the wall please look to the
student next to you . . .”
    Hot Guy next to me cleared his throat,
drawing my attention. Oh me! I was next to the wall. And
Hottie was next to me.
    Mr. Carson continued, “This person is going
to be your lab partner for the remainder of the semester. If he or
she transfers out of the course, or just doesn’t do the work,
you’ll be responsible for their share. You’re going to be spending
a lot of time working together, both during and outside of class. I
recommend you get to know each other well . . .” He paused to stare
pointedly at me. “Some of you have already started.”
    Yep, it was official. I could die from
mortification now. I could try to transfer into another class, but
that would leave Hot Guy to fend for himself with double the work.
I’d already been enough of a headache for him. The least I could do
was pull my own weight.
    The teacher returned his attention to the
class as a whole. “Get started on the quiz. When you’re finished,
you may have the rest of the period free. Just drop your paper off
on my desk on your way out when the bell rings.”
    I sighed. Apparently, there was no chance of
being able to avoid this boy for the rest of my life. Or the rest
of the semester even.
    I scooted my chair closer to the table and
settled my elbows on top. “I guess we should get started.” I turned
slightly toward my new partner but was careful to keep as much
distance between us as possible. “I’m Katie.”
    “Roman.” He still wouldn’t look at me.
    “Look, I’m really sorry about . . . you know
. . . earlier.” Before I could stop myself, I’d underlined my
breasts with my hands and followed the action up with an awkward
gesture toward his lap. Jeez, get it together, Katie. He
must’ve thought I was a total whack-a-doo.
    The pink of his cheeks deepened to a
strawberry red, but he finally cast his eyes my way. To his credit,
Roman managed to keep his gaze on my face for a full five seconds
before it dropped to my cleavage. He cleared his throat and turned
to the papers in front of him. And he was back to avoiding looking
at me. Lovely.
    “So . . . question number one is about the
grading schedule.” His voice was deep and rich and left me
imagining all the things I’d like to hear him say to me. None of
them included the grading schedule, but I flipped to the last page
of my syllabus anyway. At least he was speaking to me.
    Forty-two awkward minutes passed before the
bell rang. When the period finally ended, I fled my seat like I was
being chased—by something other than my own humiliation. I set my
quiz down on the small stack of papers left by other students and
made for the door. With any luck, I’d make it through the rest of
the semester without humiliating myself any further. But right at
that moment, my only focus was getting through the day, driving to
my house, and burying myself under a pile of blankets so big, no
one would ever find me.
    I was hyper-aware of Roman close behind me,
placing his paper on the stack, keeping up with me stride for
stride out the door and down the hall. When I got to the stairs, I
clung tight to the rail and paid extra attention to each step as I
descended. I didn’t want to add a graceless fall down the steps to
the morning’s list of embarrassments.
    An eternity stretched between the second and
first floors of the