Maya Reed had a list.
It was a carefully curated, color-coded, bullet-pointed list titled "Things That Irritate Me."Item #3: People who chew loudly.Item #2: Group projects.Item #1: Jace Carter.
She spotted him the moment she walked into fourth-period history, lounging in his chair like it was a throne, sneakers kicked onto the desk, grinning at something his friend said. He looked up just as she passed, and of course he had the nerve to wink.
"Morning, Reed, say hi to your dad for me." he drawled.
Maya tightened her grip on her binder. "You're in my way."
"Correction: I'm in my chair. You just happen to be walking past it."
She forced herself into her seat in the front row, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a glare. She knew his game. Jace Carter lived to get under her skin, and she'd spent the past five years perfecting the art of pretending not to care.
But today, Mr. Avery had other plans.
"Class," he announced, clapping his hands for attention. "We'll be starting our semester projects this week. Partners have already been assigned."
Maya sat straighter, already preparing to strategize with whichever responsible person she was paired with. Then she heard it.
"Reed and Carter."
Her stomach dropped. "What?"
"Perfect," Jace said from behind her, voice dripping with fake delight.
Maya spun around. "This is a joke, right? You're joking."
Jace just stretched, looking far too pleased with himself. "Guess you're stuck with me, partner."
The rest of class was a blur of instructions about timelines and rubrics, but all Maya could hear was the ticking clock counting down to disaster.
When the bell rang, she marched straight up to Mr. Avery's desk. "There must be a mistake."
"No mistake," the teacher said, smiling in that maddeningly calm way teachers did when they thought they were being wise. "Sometimes we learn the most when we're pushed outside our comfort zone."
Behind her, Jace leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching her squirm. "Aw, don't pout, Reed. We're gonna make history fun again."
She shot him a look sharp enough to cut glass. "If you ruin my GPA, I'll ruin your life."
Jace only grinned wider. "Can't wait."
And just like that, Maya knew one thing for certain:Her life for the next month was going to be pure torture.