Chapter 4 Luca

“Tell me you did the homework,” Mason said, slinging his backpack over one shoulder as we walked through the crowded hallway.

“I was busy keeping the team from losing during practice yesterday.” I muttered.

“Translation—you forgot again.”

“Pretty much.”

He groaned. “Coach is gonna bench you if your grades fail again.”

I shrugged. “He won’t. I’m the only one who can actually score.”

Mason snorted. “Wow, I see!”

I tsked, ignoring him.

“I’ll see you later,” he announced, heading in the opposite direction.

Pushing open the door to the classroom, I stepped inside. The chatter inside was already loud enough to give me a headache. My classmates were the same as always, laughing, arguing, and pretending to care about grades while secretly planning weekend parties. A couple of girls at the front whispered and glanced my way, winking at me. I winked back and dropped into my usual seat near the back, leaning against the chair like I couldn’t care less.

Then the door opened again and she stepped inside. The new girl who just moved in. She had long brown hair that reached her waist. Her hazel eyes scanned the room, searching for a suitable seat. There was something different about her, though, something that didn’t match the nervous energy of most new students. She wore a baggy t-shirt that said, In my girly era, with a dark blue denim trousers.

A few whispers rippled through the class as she walked past the rows of desks. Avery, the self-proclaimed queen of Silverpine High snickered under her breath to her friends. “Of course, she must be here.”

The new girl didn’t flinch. Her eyes flicked toward Avery for a split second, unreadable, before she moved past her. That alone made me smirk. Most people avoided crossing paths with Avery but this girl didn’t even blink.

“Morning, Hale,” called out Nate, my best friend and teammate. He was leaning back on his chair, spinning a basketball lazily on his finger.

“Put that thing away before Barker loses it,” I said.

Nate grinned. “You love it when he yells. It makes the day less boring.”

Sure enough, Mr. Barker walked in seconds later, coffee in hand and patience already wearing thin. “Mr. Hale. Mr. Parker. Could we go one class without turning my room into a gym?”

“Sorry, sir,” Nate said, not sorry at all.

The basketball slipped from his fingers, rolled across the floor, and stopped by the teacher’s shoes. A few students laughed and Barker’s jaw twitched.

“That’s it. Parker, detention. And you, Hale you can sit up front with Miss Morgan. Maybe if I separate you two, we’ll make it through a lesson.”

Groans and snickers filled the room. I sighed, grabbed my stuff, and stood. “Where?”

He pointed toward an empty seat near the middle, beside the new girl. So, she's the Morgan. I wondered what her first name was.

I dropped into the seat beside her. Our eyes met briefly before she turned away focusing on her notebook. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Barker started writing on the board, talking about the Reconstruction era, but I couldn’t focus. Every time she moved, the faint scent of her shampoo drifted toward me—milk and honey. So familiar in a way that made my wolf twitch beneath my skin.

“So,” I said quietly, still staring at her, “you always this quiet?”

She turned slightly toward me. “You always this infuriating?”

That caught me off guard. Most girls tried too hard to impress me and to get my attention but she didn’t even seem to care who I was. My lips curved, barely. “Guess we’re even then.”

Her pencil scratched against paper as she took notes. She didn’t glance my way again but I still found myself stealing looks every few minutes. The way she was focused, the small furrow in her brow, and the tap of her dark coloured nails against the page.

“Mr. Hale,” Barker said suddenly, voice sharp obviously noticing my lack of concentration.

“Since you seem to already know the lesson,” He said sarcastically, “Why don’t you tell the class the significance of 1865?”

A few students laughed quietly.

I looked up, deadpan. “End of the war?”

“Which war?”

“The one that ended in 1865?”

The class erupted in loud laughters. Barker pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sit down, Mr. Hale.”

Avery turned in her seat just then, her perfect hair falling over her shoulder. “Careful, Luca,” she said sweetly with a fake smile. “You don’t wanna get Aria in trouble.”

Aria. So that was her name. She rolled her eyes at Avery's statement and continued writing. I couldn’t still help myself so I asked, “Where are you from?”

She paused, weighing between replying or ignoring me. Clearly, she didn’t like the disturbance.

“Chicago.” She gritted out, eventually.

I wondered what made her leave home but I wasn’t gonna ask her. It was obvious she didn’t like my presence. When the bell finally rang, Aria stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “You should try not getting in trouble so often,” she said before walking off.

“Who said I was in trouble?” I called after her, but she didn’t turn around.

Nate brushed past me on his way out, looking in Aria’s direction. “I wouldn't bet on that one, Luca. She’ll bore you to death.”

I ignored him. My gaze followed Aria as she disappeared into the hall, her brown hair catching the light. For a reason I couldn’t explain, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about her.

Mason was waiting outside for me. “That’s her, isn’t it? The one from next door.” He asked, when he noticed my gaze.

“Yep.” I replied.

Mason raised his eyebrows and gave me a quizzical look but I said nothing. I could tell he had something in his mind.

“Come on,” I nudged him, “let’s get ready for practice.”

I wasn't even sure why I even cared. All I knew was that the new girl, Aria wasn’t like anyone else in Silverpine. And I had the feeling that whatever Aria Morgan brought to Silverpine, it wasn’t just trouble. It was change. A howl echoed deep in the woods that made us stop in our tracks. I turned to Mason and his expression mirrored mine. Whatever calm I had left was fading and fast.