When Summer Ends (19 page)

Apparently if we did well with this it would actually count
as part of a science project too, so we wouldn’t be getting homework from
science for the week while we were doing this. I sat there in silence, feeling
my heart sink. It didn’t make sense at all, and I had a feeling I would be
calling on Nick a lot over the next week.

I looked at Amy helplessly, but she shook her head
signalling she didn’t get it either. It would be no use us teaming up, because
it would be like the blind leading the blind. I looked to my other side and
cringed.
Erika freaking Dennison. Wow, could life suck any more than this
exact moment?

“You have a couple of lessons to work on it. At the end of
the week I want you to present your findings to the class and how you came to
that equation. We’ll even do practical demonstrations outside,” Will gushed, rubbing
his hands together happily. I groaned out loud this time.
Well, my stupid
ass question as to whether life could get any worse has just been answered, and
the answer is heck yeah it freaking can.

“You and me then, ice princess,” Erika said, sneering at me
hatefully as Amy paired up with Jessica on her other side. That was a nice
pairing for her. Jessica was a bit of a geek, but genuinely nice with it, so
they would at least have fun whilst trying to work this out.

“Awesome, can’t wait,” I lied forcing friendliness.
Hopefully
if I try, really, really try to be nice to her, then she’ll be nice back.

“Just don’t bother talking to me, I know you suck at this
subject so I’ll do the project and you can stand with me at the presentation
and look pretty. Oh wait, I forgot you won’t be able to do that, you’d have to
actually be pretty for that job. Hmm, I guess I’ll have to do that part too,”
she mocked, looking me over and turning her nose up.

My hand instinctively clenched into a fist. I was a split
second from ramming it into her face when Will walked over. “Erika, I need you
to help Martin.” He nodded towards the back of the class where Martin was
sitting on his own.
Wow, poor Martin!
Immediately, Erika stood up and
grabbed her books before moving next to him. She looked more than a little
relieved not to be working with me.

I looked around quickly for someone else, but everyone was
already partnered up. “Wait, but then I won’t have a partner,” I noted, panicking
because I had no clue as to where to start with this assignment at all.

“I’ll help you, Miss Henderson.” Will smiled kindly.
What
the hell? What was all that, ‘I don’t like to be alone with you’ crap about
then? He’s sending my partner away so I can partner with him?
“Tricia
Marshall’s off today so when she comes back you can have her as your partner;
I’ll just be helping you today,” Will added, shrugging like it was no big deal.

I nodded breathlessly. I was grateful that I wouldn’t have
to work with Erika, but at the same time, I would probably rather work with her
than with him. He made it so damn hard to be around him sometimes with his
cocky good looks and his fun personality.
Wow this is going to be a fun
hour… not!

Chapter Twelve

“Let’s go collect our things then, unless you’d rather look
at the theorem first?” Will inquired, raising one eyebrow as he sat in Erika’s
seat.

“Can’t you just tell me the equation?” I countered, pouting.

He laughed and shook his head. “I could, but then you
wouldn’t learn, so what’s the point in that?”

“Well where’s the point in learning what pressure makes a
soda bottle fly up in the air anyway? I can hardly use this in real life; what
the hell kind of occupation am I going to have that requires me to know this
codswallop?” I ranted.

He laughed quietly. “You’re way too funny when you’re
agitated, but at least you’re not blushing.” He raised one eyebrow and smirked
at me - which of course immediately made me blush. “Oh there it is.” He laughed
before pushing himself out of the seat and heading to the front table to
collect all of the equipment we would need to do the experiment.

The hour passed pretty quickly, and it was actually quite
fun. Will was joking around and actually did a lot of it for me which I was
grateful for. I watched him taping it together and adding the liquid, measuring
it all out precisely, talking about the pressure inside the bottle and how the
compressed air would build up. He looked like he was enjoying himself as he
jotted down numbers and letters with a small smile on his face.
He looks so
freaking hot right now!

“Okay, come and do this bit.” He motioned for me to take the
bottle. I took it hesitantly not really wanting to do anything, I was happy
just letting him do it all, but I guess I needed to have some sort of input.
“Okay now I want you to pour this in slowly, then, when I say, you’re going to
get the lid on fast. The two substances will start to react together
immediately so you need to be quick with the lid.” He smirked at me as he stood
behind me.

“React immediately what does that mean?” I asked as I
started to pour the white powder which he said was bicarbonate of soda into the
foul smelling yellowish-brown liquid already in the bottle. “What’s in here
anyway?” I asked, turning my nose up. It looked a little like urine.

“Vinegar,” he answered. I nodded and poured the rest of the
powder in all in one go instead of slow like he said. “Better get the lid on.” Will
laughed behind me as it started to fizz rapidly.

“Oh crud, what’s it doing?” I asked as I grabbed for the lid…
but I wasn’t quick enough.

Will laughed and grabbed for the bottle putting his hand
over the top just as the bottle looked like it exploded. It was spraying foul
smelling yellowish foam all over the place. It looked a little like a champagne
bottle when you shake it up. I screamed as it sprayed all over my shirt and
jeans. People were yelping and hiding under their desks, laughing as the bottle
continued to spray. It was going everywhere; it went in my mouth and wet my
hair. I span around and buried my face in Will’s chest as it spayed my back. I
could hear him laughing his ass off, and I couldn’t help but laugh too.

When it finally stopped I pulled away from the safety of his
body. My was hair dripping and smelt foul. Will was soaked too. He smirked at
me, rolling his eyes. “What part of ‘pour this in slow’ did you not understand,
Miss Henderson?”

I looked back at the desk and winced. Everything was soaked,
the notes I’d been taking as he worked, the floor, there was even foam on the
ceiling. I looked down at myself and flicked the wet off of my hands as it
dripped from my fingertips. I looked like I’d just stepped out of a vinegar
foam party.

“Shit. I’m so sorry,” I mumbled, looking back at him
apologetically.

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it up and flicking
drops of vinegar off of it. He laughed sheepishly. “I did that when I was
learning this too, and watch your language.” He smirked at me teasingly making
me laugh.

The bell rang so he looked back at the class who were all laughing
and grabbing their bags, preparing to leave. “Guys, make sure you put your
names on your rockets and put them to one side. You’ll be working on them again
tomorrow. Maybe it’s a good idea for people working near Miss Henderson to
bring a change of clothes,” Will joked, nudging me with his elbow before
walking off to the little room off of his classroom.

I rolled my eyes at his insult. Amy came over then, brushing
foam from her arm. “I’m so glad I moved over slightly so it only got on my arm
because damn you smell!” She laughed, turning her nose up at me.

I put my hand to my nose and smelled it wincing as the acrid
smell seemed to burn the inside of my nose.
Wow she’s right. Gross.
“I
guess I’m not getting a ride in your car,” I mused, but looked at her hopefully.

She rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t be much of a best friend if
I left you all wet and stranded, now would I?”

I smiled gratefully, but Will stepped forward and threw a
cloth at me. “Miss Henderson, you can stay and help me clean up your mess. The
school cleaners won’t touch this.” He waved his hand at the puddles and foam
all over the place.

“Okay.” I frowned and turned to Amy. “I’ll walk, don’t wait
for me.”

“I can drive you home if you want,” Will offered as he wiped
over the desk, sopping up the mess I’d made.

Amy grinned. “Awesome. I have to babysit again right after
school so I don’t have time to wait.” I noticed with some measure of
dissatisfaction that Amy was raking her eyes over Will’s body. I frowned,
glancing in his direction to see that his T-shirt was wet and was sticking to
his chest a little, showing of his muscles. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Chloe.
Goodbye, Mr Morris,” Amy called, waving over her shoulder as she made a swift
exit.

“See you tomorrow, Miss Clarke,” he replied absentmindedly,
still wiping the foam up.

I turned back to the table and looked at Will
apologetically. “You really did this when you were doing this experiment?” I
asked curiously.

He nodded. A mischievous smile stretched slowly across his
face. “Yeah, but mine was done on purpose, and I aimed the bottle towards the
schools cheerleaders.”

I giggled. “Pervert.” That was a typical Will comment. “Did
you know that would happen to me?”

He grinned and nodded. “Hell yeah, I said pour it slow and
get the lid ready. I knew you wouldn’t have the patience to pour it slow. Why
do you think I hid behind you?” he teased, raising one eyebrow at me.

I laughed and shook my head. “Jerk.”

He made a little bow as if it was a compliment and laughed.
“You got five bucks?” he asked suddenly, digging in his pocket.

I shook my head. I didn’t have any money on me today. “No,
why?”

“There’s bound to be a freshman we could pay to do this,” he
joked.

I burst out laughing and went to the sink in his little room
off of the classroom and rinsed my cloth out so I could carry on with the clean-up.
It took about twenty minutes to get everything foam free, but even then the whole
room smelt like vinegar.  

We cleaned in silence; I stole little glances at his body as
he wiped the table. I watched the way his bicep flexed and tensed, the way his
T-shirt rode up a little, exposing his stomach as he stood on the desk and
reached up to wipe the mess off of the ceiling. I felt my breath catch in my
throat as I imagined running my tongue across his sculpted abs. I was so lost
in my own world that I didn’t even realise I was just standing there
stock-still, staring at him like a complete moron.

“Chloe, you can’t look at me like that,” Will muttered,
looking like he was in pain as he jumped off of the table landing, gracefully
on the balls of his feet.

I blushed but didn’t look away from him, I couldn’t. I
wanted him so much. “Why not?” I challenged, and then immediately felt stupid.

He frowned. “Because I’m your teacher and you’re a minor. We
need to forget what happened and just behave like teacher and student.”

“What if the student has a crush on her teacher?” I
countered, biting my lip as my hormones seemed to take over my mouth.
Whoops,
why the heck did I say that?

“Well then the student needs to keep it to herself.” He
shook his head and strutted into the little room off next to his classroom.

I sighed and sat on the edge of the desk as rejection washed
over me again.
Why did I put myself in that situation, why did I just say
that? Do I really like to feel rejected? Maybe I’m a masochist and I just like
the pain of being humiliated.

He came out a couple of minutes later in a clean and dry T-shirt.
He threw me a sweater. I smiled gratefully. I chewed on my lip as I looked down
at myself, I was soaked through, I couldn’t just put it over the top because
I’d ruin his sweater. I put it down on the desk and gripped the bottom of my
shirt, pulling it off over my head so I was just in my bra. When I looked up at
Will he was just standing there watching me. A look of longing was clear across
his face that made my body tingle all over and my stomach get fluttery.

I smiled wickedly. “Will, you can’t look at me like that,” I
teased, using his words that he’d said to me.

He nodded slowly, not taking his eyes off of my body. “I
know.”

I grinned and pulled the sweater down over my head,
interrupting his ogling. I felt a little better knowing that it wasn’t just me
that felt this attraction. It didn’t even matter that his attraction to me was
just sexual, and not the connection that I felt to him. I liked that he liked
my body, even if that was all he liked about me.

He sighed deeply and looked away. “Come on then I’ll drive
you home.” He turned and walked to the door. I grabbed my bag and my ruined
notes and followed behind him. As I got to his side he looked down at my notes
and smiled. “You going to be able to read them?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, hopefully they’ll dry okay, and I
can just copy them out onto better smelling paper.” I turned my nose up at the
strong smell of vinegar following us both down the hallway.

He shrugged. “If you can’t read them then I can help you
write some more.”

“In the library at lunchtime, right?” I teased, giggling.

“Yeah I think that’s a good idea.” He grinned sheepishly.

I followed him out to his car and looked in with a smile on
my face. It was a mess again.
Looks like the keeping the car clean thing
only lasted while we were dating, and he’s now back to his old habits.
“Nice job with the car, slob.”

He laughed. “You want to walk home, or are you done insulting
my cleaning skills?” He smirked at me challengingly.

“I’m done with the insults; I don’t want to walk home. Want
me to take off my jeans so I don’t ruin your seat?” I offered, looking down at
my still damp jeans.