The main office smelled like lemon polish and printer ink. Maya stood awkwardly near the counter while the secretary searched through a stack of folders.
"You're the scholarship student, right? Maya Davis?" the woman asked without looking up.
Maya nodded.
The word scholarship always seemed to ring louder than everything else. She wondered if that would be her name here not Maya, just "the scholarship girl."
The secretary finally handed her a small envelope. "Your class schedule. Your locker is 217. And…" She glanced up, softening just a little. "Good luck, dear."
Maya managed a smile and stepped out.
The hallway had quieted down now, but she could still feel the echo of earlier stares. She tried to focus on her schedule, but her mind kept replaying that moment. Why did he look at her like that? It didn't make sense.
She turned toward her locker, counting the numbers until she reached 217. The metal door screeched a little when she opened it, of course it did. Even the lockers in this school probably had a hierarchy.
She was swapping out her notebooks when someone brushed by her shoulder too close to be accidental. She turned.
A girl stood there, tall, beautiful, the kind of pretty that came with a warning label. Her hair was a glossy caramel wave, her uniform perfectly tailored. Her eyes scanned Maya up and down like she was a riddle she didn't like.
"You're new," the girl said. It wasn't a question.
"Yes," Maya replied. "I'm…"
"The scholarship girl," the girl finished for her, smiling without warmth. "I'm Vanessa. Vice-captain of the cheer team."
Maya sensed the edge underneath the introduction. "Nice to meet you," she said calmly.
Vanessa's smile sharpened. "Let me give you some advice." She leaned closer. "Don't get ideas about people who are… out of your league here."
Maya blinked. "I don't know what you mean."
"Oh, you do." Vanessa's tone dropped. "Liam Kingston. Don't even look his way again."
Maya's breath caught.
So that's what this is about.
"I wasn't…"
"I don't care what you were or weren't doing." Vanessa flipped her hair, perfectly practiced. "Just stay in your lane, okay? It'll make your life easier."
With that, she walked off, heels clicking like punctuation marks on the floor.
Maya stood there for a long moment, anger simmering low in her chest. She closed her locker harder than necessary.
Stay in your lane? Please.
She wasn't planning to go anywhere near Liam Kingston. She didn't want trouble. All she wanted was good grades, a quiet life, and maybe to blend in enough that no one noticed how little she had.
But as she walked into her first class, fate clearly didn't care about her plans.
Because sitting in the back row, long legs stretched out, one arm hanging lazily over the back of his chair…
…was Liam Kingston.
Great.
Just perfect.
His eyes lifted the second she stepped in.
He didn't smirk. He didn't glare.
He just watched her.
Slow, curious, like he was trying to figure something out.
The teacher gestured toward the empty seat, of course it was the one right beside him.
Maya inhaled, then walked toward the desk, aware of every pair of eyes following her.
As she slid into the seat, Liam shifted slightly toward her. His cologne was expensive but subtle, clean, warm, and unfairly distracting.
"New girl," he said quietly, only for her to hear.
Maya kept her attention on her notebook. "Something like that."
Liam let out a soft, amused breath. "What's your name?"
She hesitated for one beat. "Maya."
He repeated it once, as if testing the way it felt in his mouth.
"Maya."
Her heartbeat stuttered. She didn't know why.
Then he leaned in just a little closer, voice dropping low enough to send a shiver across her skin.
"Don't listen to Vanessa."
Maya froze.
How did he…
Why would he…
Before she could ask, the teacher began the lesson, and Liam leaned back in his seat, eyes forward, expression unreadable.
As if he hadn't just messed with her entire nervous system in one sentence.
Maya gripped her pen tighter.
It was only her first day…
and somehow she was already in the middle of something she never asked for.