You’re the Reason, стр. 7

CHAPTER FOUR

I arrived early to History through Film the next morning, taking my seat in the back of the small classroom. Students filled the room over the next five minutes. Chase wasn’t one of them.

I slipped my laptop out as Professor Irons set up a movie clip. He asked us to look for the various instances where art imitated life.

I pulled up a word doc on my computer and began recording my findings as the clip played.

The classroom door creaked open a few minutes into the clip. My focus remained on my computer screen as Chase slipped into the seat beside me. I did my best to ignore him, my eyes jumping between the movie clip and my computer screen.

“What are we doing?” Chase whispered to me.

I glanced over with a raised brow, then turned back to the movie.

“You’re not gonna tell me?”

I typed the words the actor uttered on my computer.

Chase leaned over to see my computer screen. “What does that mean?”

I turned my computer away from his prying eyes.

The girl in the seat in front of him twisted around and gladly offered up the assignment.

His looks are a disguise, sweetheart. The guy’s a total jerk.

Once class ended, I closed my computer and stood up.

“Thanks for nothing,” Chase muttered from his seat.

I gave him a sidelong glance. “Seriously?”

“Someone needs help and your reaction is to ignore them?” he asked.

If he thought he could make me feel bad for my behavior, he had another thing coming. “If memory serves me right, it sounds exactly like what happened outside your frat when you told me to leave.”

He scoffed as he pushed himself to his feet, towering over me by a foot. His blue eyes riveted between mine. “It’s gonna be a long fucking semester.” He walked away, leaving anger clawing at my insides and my pulse thrashing against my skin.

***

“Put those by the far side of the tent,” Chantel called to Valerie and me.

We rolled our eyes at each other as we carried boxes from Chantel’s Mercedes to the huge white function tent in the sorority house’s backyard. Chantel had guilt-tripped me into helping her, since half her sisters were in class until five and her rush event started at seven.

“Is she sure this is okay?” I asked Valerie as we passed by the yellow caution tape wrapped around the front lawn.

Valerie shrugged. “She claims no one said we couldn’t be outside our house.”

“Does it make you uncomfortable being here?” I asked, knowing Sydney Lane’s death was the reason the house was closed for the year.

“A little.” She stepped ahead of me, walking faster. I took that to mean she didn’t want to discuss Sydney.

We walked under the tent weaving around the ten round tables covered with white linen tablecloths. Vases of fresh flowers sat in the center of each table. If I didn’t know this was for a sorority rush event, I would’ve thought it was for a wedding. We put the boxes down on the ground in the corner of the tent.

“Careful with those!” Chantel shouted.

We spun around, thinking we’d done something wrong, but Chantel was yelling at some frat guys who were helping set up the white wooden folding chairs around each table.

I whispered to Valerie. “Is she always this bossy?”

Valerie nodded. “House or no house. She’s not about to let anything ruin her reign as sorority president.”

“Tina!” Chantel shouted to Valerie’s roommate, currently fixing the flowers on the tables. “If any of those vases spill, it’s on you.”

Once Chantel turned back around, Tina mimicked her.

“I’m serious,” Chantel said, her stern tone meaning she meant business. “These girls might not be getting the whole Alpha Phi experience this year, but the Alpha Phis will remain the best sorority this college has ever seen.” Once her Elle Wood’s speech ended, Chantel pulled a long strand of lights out of one of the boxes. “Valerie! Hang these all around the tent.”

Valerie inhaled a long breath in an effort to stay calm then walked over to Chantel, yanking the lights from her hand.

“Watch it, Val,” Chantel said through gritted teeth.

My eyes narrowed as I watched their interaction.

Sensing me watching, Chantel’s eyes flicked to me. Once she noticed she had an audience, she smiled at Valerie and her tone changed. “You wouldn’t want to break any of the bulbs.”

Valerie said nothing to Chantel as she turned and walked away. “Are you sure you don’t want to rush the Alpha Phis, Sophia?” Valerie said as she passed by me with the lights.

It wasn’t a real question. She knew I’d be just fine without “sisters.” Especially, bossy sisters who thought they ruled the world.

***

Chase burst into Friday’s class late again. This time he leaned forward and asked the girl in front of him what our assignment was for the film clip that was playing. She showed him the directions. Not once did he look my way, which was fine by me. So was the fact that I hadn’t found him on my bed or in my room lately.

At the end of class, Professor Irons flipped on the light and handed out papers to the students in the front of each row to pass back. I scanned the paper as he explained our assignment. “By next Friday, view one of the Holocaust films I’ve put on reserve in the media viewing room at the library. Complete the assignment I’ve just distributed and submit it through the university portal.”

“Can we get the films online?” a girl up front asked.

“Sorry, we’re kicking it old-school with VHS tapes,” Professor Irons said with a coy grin. “Can