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WOW, GOD REALLY CAME through this morning. I thought inside my head as I tucked my books away into my bag and pushed in my chair. Not only did I manage to stay awake for two full periods, but I'm also pretty sure I slayed that pop quiz Ms. B dropped on early colonialism in America. Once the bell rang, I walked next door to Calculus and grabbed the handout at the front of the room before heading to the back.

Math wasn't really my strong suit, which is why I opted for a seat in the back of the room. But, evidently, no matter where I sat, Mr. Harris would always ask me to come up to the front of the class and show my work of the Do Now. Not wanting to have a reoccurrence of last week, I prepared myself by double checking my work for any mistakes this time.

"Good morning, class. Hope everyone had a wonderful three-day weekend," Mr. Harris chirped as he fished out the attendance sheet from his folder. "Please take out your homework for me to check as I come around and take attendance," He instructed while we all opened our binders and put Friday's homework on our desks.

Lucky for me, he checked attendance by row, so I was able to work through the last two problems of the worksheet before he reached the end of my row.

"Ms. Kelly, can I see your homework please?" Mr. Harris asked after checking the present box beside my name on the attendance list.

I nodded and handed him the paper. "Sure thing. Here you go, Mr. Harris." I watched him as he checked the front and back for completion before scribbling down something on his clipboard.

"Make sure you check your answers with the solution guide. It's posted for a reason, okay?" was all he said before moving on to the front of the room to check the next person's work.

I watched Mr. Harris like a hawk as he walked up to where Harry was seated and flipped through his homework. I was one hundred percent certain that I was the only student he criticized in this manner but needed proof, so I attempted to eavesdrop on their conversation. What I did not expect was to hear them discussing the Homecoming Game on Friday.

A third of our student body usually showed up to these sporting events in an effort to support the team while the faculty members tended to avoid staying after hours whenever they could, so it weird to see that Mr. Harris was the one gassing Harry up for the big day.

"I'm sure you'll do well, son. Mrs. Garrett and I have faith that you can lead our school to the state championship. Gooo Dolphins!" Mr. H said to Harry who let out a light chuckle in response.

"Thanks Mr. Harris. Your support means a lot," Harry assured him before going back to completing the handout.

I always wondered how Harry was able to cope with the pressure of being captain of the football team so well. He seemed to have a lot riding on his plate with early decision deadlines approaching and being recruited by colleges. It was beyond me how he was still able to maintain an active social life with as much stuff as he had going on.

"Ms. Kelly, are you ready to do the do now?" Mr. Harris snapped me from my thoughts, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Oh, y-yes. One moment, please," I bit my lip nervously while gathering my notes and trodding up to the front of the classroom.

I could feel everyone's eyes glued to my back as I picked up the black expo marker and copied the question onto the dry erase board. Remember, they don't want you to succeed, I reminded myself just in case one of my peers decided to make a crude remark about my job outside of school. After all, it wouldn't be the first time.

I was referred to as "delivery girl" by one of the boys in my gym class last year, and the title sort of just stuck. There was nothing I could do to rid myself of it, so I tried not to let the side comments in the hallway bother me.

The question had asked us to find factors of X that would satisfy the logarithm, so I transferred what was written on my paper onto the board and circled my final answer. "I got that the value of X had to be four," I simply stated to the class, praying that my work could do the rest of the talking.

My eyes aimlessly flickered around the room until they landed on an immaculate pair of green ones in the front row. The intensity of Harry's gaze on my figure abated my confidence and made me shuffle nervously on my feet.

How much longer do I have to wait before I can sit back down?

"Any objections or alternative ways to get the same answer, class?" The math teacher inquired, hoping that the stolid expressions of his students would change. "Mr. Styles, you look like you want to say something. Please, go ahead," he said, giving him the floor.

I felt my throat constrict as I trained my eyes on the paper I was holding, checking it one last time. "I suppose what I have to say s'more of a question. I'm just confused as to why negative two won't work. Can you clarify for me?" His raspy voice spoke softly.

I glanced at my paper, then at Harry, and then back at my paper again before explaining that, "the number inside the parentheses cannot be negative which is why the other solution is extraneous."

"But when I plugged negative two into the logarithm in my calculator, I got a real solution," Harry countered, furrowing his brows in genuine confusion.

"Maybe you entered it wrong in your calculator," I told him before capping the marker closed and going back to my seat.

Mr. Harris decided to go over that one problem since Harry's confusion sparked confusion in other people as well. In the end, I was right about negative two being extraneous and mentally extolled myself for sticking to my answer this time unlike last week.

The rest of the lesson flew by rather quickly as it only consisted of a review of last week's material. Nonetheless, all of this school work made me work up quite the appetite, so once the lunch bell rang, I hastily retrieved my wallet from my locker and waited for Malaysia in the quad.

I was about to send her a text message asking where she was when a loud whistle caught my attention. I looked up with wide eyes to see Harry walking down the school steps with his friends who were headed in my direction.

"Hey delivery girl, I'll take a medium sized pepperoni pie to go and two can of sprites. If you get it to me fast enough, I promise to leave you a very generous tip," Matthew, one of Harry's closest friends, winked at me while sliding a hand down his abdomen and cupping his crotch. The other boys around him erupted in laughter over the salacious gesture except for Harry.

I couldn't understand why someone who looked so ruggedly handsome had to be so incredibly rude.

I felt a frown begin to contort my face as I watched Harry with a hopeful expression to see if he'd say anything to his friend. We held eye contact with each other for two seconds before he shook his head and continued walking past me as if I didn't exist.

Not like he'd ever stand up for you anyway, Florence. There's nothing remotely attractive about being a delivery girl. My subconscious taunted me as I let out a grunt of frustration.

"Hey Flo. I've been looking all over for you! Didn't you get any of my texts?" Malaysia called out as she approached me in the courtyard.

"Funny, I was actually about to text you the same thing before–"

"–Nevermind that. The Shake Shack line is huge, girl. If we don't leave right now, there's no way we'll be able to make it back in time for 5th period," My best friend hurriedly explained before dragging me toward the fast food place, "Move those legs baby girl. Malaysia's got to eat."

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Author's Note:

A huge thank you to achhuu for making the lovely cover for this story. All I need now is trailer, but I'm so excited to post what I have written for this story so far :) Expect updates 1-2 times a week.

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Kaylandia