Private Lessons

RILEY

“For the love of God! Stop screaming!” I groaned with my eyes still shut.

I stretched out my hand, reaching for my stupid phone to shut it off, but it ended up falling on the ground with a loud thud.

“Perfect.”

I threw the sheets away from my body in anger and picked up my phone from the floor to see a small crack on the top left corner, and the name of my best friend blinking on the screen.

“Lucy! It’s Sunday!” I almost yelled at her when I answered her call. I hated it when someone interrupted my sleep, especially on a Sunday.

“Good morning to you too, sunshine!” she replied in a sarcastic tone.

I rolled my eyes. “You better have a good reason for calling me,” I yawned. I fell back on my bed, pushing my chestnut brown hair away from my face.

“School is starting tomorrow, and we are officially seniors now. We need to go shopping, Ri.”

“You mean you need to go shopping,” I replied lazily, trying to get back under the covers.

“Riley Adams, you better get out of bed. I’m going to be there in like, fifteen minutes to drag your lazy ass to the mall.” She cut the call without waiting for my reply.

I loved that girl to bits, but she drove me insane sometimes.

After a lot of pouting, I got out of my tiny bed and took a quick shower.

I pulled on my ripped jeans and my favorite Gryffindor hoodie, then threw my hair up in a bun before heading downstairs to see my dad reading a newspaper on the couch.

“Wow, you’re up early. It is Sunday, right?” he asked in a doubtful tone, adjusting his glasses to check the date on the paper.

“Lucy is making me go shopping with her again,” I whined, grabbing a bowl and a box of cereal from the shelves in the kitchen.

“But that’s great, right? It is about time you bought some new clothes for yourself.” He reached for his wallet to give me some money.

“I am not going to buy anything for myself, Dad. And what’s wrong with my clothes?” I pouted, looking down at my hoodie and jeans.

“Nothing, sweetheart, but if you feel like buying new clothes, I want you to ask me for money. Please, don’t hesitate.” He smiled at me warmly.

I sighed, walking toward him with my bowl of cereal. “I know, Dad, but I’m fine.”

“Alright, then. I’m going to head to the store to pick up a few things for dinner. Lock the door before you go, okay?” He kissed my forehead and got up to leave.

“Okay.”

It was just me and my dad. My mom wasn’t in the picture.

She and my dad had gotten divorced when I was five years old. She left him for another guy. We weren’t in touch with her, and she didn’t try to get in touch with us.

My dad was a carpenter. Even though he was paid decently, it wasn’t always enough, so I had a part-time job at a library near my school.

Dad tried to talk me out of it; he didn’t like me juggling work and studies at the same time, but obviously I’d won in the end.

I could be stubborn as hell sometimes.

For now we were able to pay the bills, but I was worried about college. I was just an average student, and getting a scholarship was totally out of the question.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Coming!” I shouted, placing the half-eaten bowl of cereal on the coffee table and rushing to get the door.

I came face-to-face with my best and only friend in the whole wide world, Lucy Wilson.

She was the exact opposite of me.

Beautiful. Smart. Rich.

Literally, every guy in our school had a huge crush on her. Sometimes, I wondered why she hung out with a loser like me.

She never showed off her wealth, like other rich girls. That was one of the reasons I liked her. We had been friends since the first grade.

“Shall we?” she chirped enthusiastically, dangling her car keys in front of my face.

I shut the door behind me. “Yeah, but give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now?”

“Because you love me, babe.” She winked and got in her car. I climbed into the passenger’s seat.

“I hate you, Wilson. You owe me,” I grumbled, sinking back into the seat. Soon we were on the road.

“Stop whining, Ri. It’s going to be fun.”

“Fun for you. Boring for me.”

“Let’s get you some new clothes, too. Something hot and sexy. It’s senior year, Ri, and you are still a virgin,” she whispered the last part.

I scowled. “Do I look like I care?” I asked with a shrug.

She paid me no mind. “But I do care, and as your best friend, it’s my duty to make sure you get a boyfriend this year. You are ~so~ getting laid before we head off to college.”

Easy for her to say. She was dating Andrew Simmon. He was on the swim team, and he was the perfect guy. They had been dating for almost a year now.

“I have more important things on my plate, Lu,” I said quietly.

She sighed heavily. “I told you, my parents are more than willing to pay for your college, babe. You can pay them back whenever you can.”

I shook my head firmly. “No way! I’ve told you a million times, I’m not okay with it. I can find a way to earn some extra bucks and save up for college.”

I gazed out the window.

“It’s really hard to convince your stubborn ass sometimes,” she muttered under her breath.

But I was already lost in my thoughts.

***

“What about this one?” Lucy asked, coming out of the dressing room in a purple skirt.

“Eww! No way,” I grimaced. She gave me a dirty look.

We’d been at this for hours. Finally, she ended up buying the dress that she’d picked out first.

“Who are you texting?” I asked as we began walking toward McDonald’s. I was starving.

“Andrew. He just got back from his vacation, and I can’t wait to see him,” she sounded excited, and I smiled at her. They were so cute together.

The thought of having a boyfriend did excite me sometimes. I mean, I wasn’t completely boring. I’d been on a date or two, but obviously it hadn’t ended well.

I wasn’t the type that guys usually go for. I was a nerdy girl who wore hoodies and baggy clothes, and honestly, I was more comfortable being that way.

I wanted a guy to like me for who I was; I didn’t want to change myself just to get a boyfriend.

“Yo, Adams! Still can’t afford to buy some decent clothes at the mall?”

I heard a familiar-yet-irritating voice call out from behind me and turned to see the most annoyingly perfect face—one that I absolutely loathed.

Tristan-fucking-Harris!

Captain of the football team.

Popular.

Handsome.

Annoying.

Cocky.

Arrogant as hell.

I hated him to the core. It had started back in the seventh grade, when he’d begun picking on me for no reason at all, and it had only gotten worse from there.

All those popular guys needed targets—to show off their coolness in front of others—and I guessed I was Tristan’s prey.

“Fuck off, Tristan. Leave her alone,” Lucy spat at him. But he just laughed with his friends as they kept walking toward us.

“Always a pleasure, Adams. Can’t wait to make fun of you at school tomorrow.” He smirked, and I flipped him off as he walked past, trailed by his stupid friends.

“God, I hate that stupid jerkface,” I grumbled.

Lucy put an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t mind him, babe. Just one more year.”

“Yeah. Let’s go home. I’ve completely lost my appetite,” I sulked, pulling her toward the exit.