Hannah was panting when she finally reached Rebecca's table. Rebecca knew that she had some news for them.

"The prank group are planning to trick someone again" She said when she had finally caught her breath"

"Who do you think it's for?"  Rebecca asked.

"I don't know. Before I could find out, Sarah caught me spying on them. She was chasing me for a while but I think I lost her" Hannah replied.

"You shouldn't run that much Hannah. You could really..."

"I know, I know. But it wasn't that long a distance so don't worry" Hannah said.

Gabriella didn't know what to do. She wanted to say what she knew, but she knew Rebecca would never forgive her for being a part of it. But she knew who she could tell. Tom. She excused herself from Rebecca's table saying that She wanted to get a book and she dashed of to the library.
     Tom was reading about the classification of animals when Gabriella rushed in. Tom looked up from his book as Gabriella pulled out a seat behind him. Tom didn't really like Gabriella. He knew about her history with the prank group and didn't know  how Rebecca found her so interesting. She interrupted his thoughts with her sudden outburst.

"I have something important to tell you" she said.

Tom have her a signal to continue and she told him all about the prank group's plan. Tom had mixed feelings about it. He felt betrayed, afraid and angry. He thought about what he could do to avoid the situation. Then an idea but him but only Rebecca could know about it. I'm or set not to make Gabriella suspicious, he decided to say something.

"Don't worry" He said "I can handle it"

Gabriella eyes him  with a doubtful expression then shrugged and left. She had done her part. Rebecca would understand why she had told Tom.
     Meanwhile in the classroom (You guessed it), Rebecca was reading a book. Betty rushed towards her and asked her if she could help her with an equation.

Betty was a really short girl with skin that reminded you of toffee and short brownish-black hair. Her shiny brown eyes have you the impression that she was a very nice person.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

"Could you help me with this?" She asked.

"Sure, just grab your chair"

"The textbook I need is in the library. Can we just study there?" She asked feigning innocence.

"Yeah okay"

Betty smirked on delight as she led the way to the library.

     When they got to the library, Betty suggested that they sit at the same table that Tom was sitting at. Betty expected Rebecca to turn pink, but Rebecca say down comfortably beside him, while betty say on his other side. Rebecca explained the equation and Betty left her alone with Tom. Betty pretended that she had left the library but she was still at the window spying on them.
     Rebecca and Tom talked about a lot of things, argued about a lot of things and found out that they had a lot in common.

"Eminem's raps are so cool" she had said. "I never get tired of listening to them"

Tom was a bit surprised. Why would Rebecca like a rapper like Eminem.

"But he swears all the time! I thought you hated it when I swore" He said.

"It's different when he does it" She says. They both laugh.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened until Rebecca decided to leave the library. Tom realized that she had left her purse behind. Tom knew that she would be a mess without her purse. He left the library hoping to catch up to her.

     It wasn't long before he did. Betty had left the library and was now stalking Tom. She followed him quietly trying not to attract too much attention to herself. She paused and backed up against a wall when Rebecca came into view. Tom had seen her too.

"Hey!" He yelled waving her purse "Rebecca, you forgot something" He said.

"Well be a gentle man and bring it over" She said impatiently.
 
Tom rolled his eyes and walked towards her. He was almost there she he caught a glimpse of a figure behind her. Being the new student he was Tom didn't have any idea who the person could be. He definitely wasn't in SS1 though. He looked like he might be in SS3. He put out a leg behind Rebecca and knocked her over (a kaffa) before running off. Rebecca fell backwards not being able to steady herself. Falling...falling...still falling.

But then she realized that she wasn't falling anymore. She opened her eyes. Tom had caught her. He had one arm around her waist and one arm on her back keeping her steady. He was looking into her eyes the same way He had when their hands had touched at the library. Rebecca didn't want to look away yet. But she knew how awkward it would look if someone passed by. She tapped the hand that Tom had on her waist.

"Oh, sorry" He said letting go. She stood up straight and he gave her back her purse.

"Thanks" She said.

"What an immature as..." Tom was about to finish when Rebecca gave him a glare

"Oh please" Tom said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "If I hadn't been here who knows what could have happened.

"Well thank you then" She said walking away. Tom was having a bit of difficulty keeping up.

"I saved you" He said puffing out his chest with pride. Rebecca giggled.

"Who was that freak anyway?" He asked as they made their way up a staircase.

"I didn't see the person, dummy. He was at the back of me" She said.

"Don't insult your hero" Tom said "Or you won't be so lucky next time"

"Now you're making me wish you didn't show up" She said. Tom was pretty sure that if he tried hard enough he would see the word annoyance etched into her forehead. But he knew how she truly felt.

"Sure keep pretending that you weren't happy that I was the one who happened to catch you and... Hey wait !"

Rebecca had quickened her pace and Tom was rushing to keep up. They were almost at the classroom.

"Are you blushing?" Tom asked her quietly as he caught up to her. She shook her head.

"But your face is.."

"You're just annoying me, that's all" She said more to herself than to Tom.

"Okay, if that's what you think" Tom said.

Betty had just gotten to the class. Checking to make sure that no one was suspicious, she walked in. Now was the perfect time to mess up their relationship. It was time.

***

     At closing time, Rebecca told Hannah and Gabriella about the incident.

"I'm sure it was that idiot Femi" Hannah said. They were taking a stroll around the school field. The weather was perfect for it.

"Who is Femi?" Rebecca asked

"He's Mabel's boyfriend. If you didn't spend so much time reading, you would notice that he comes to our class every long break. He's basically a dullard and I'm sure he has a behavioural deficiency but he's loaded and has good looks so the girls pretty much bow to him" Gabriella said.

Mabel Adams was Rebecca's academic arch-nemesis. But Mabel didn't only have smarts. She was a boy magnet with a good figure and flawless caramel coloured skin. Rebecca had fair skin, really long brown hair and pink lips but she didn't have Mabel's figure. Sometimes, Rebecca got jealous of Mabel. She wished she wasn't such a sucker for rules.

"Maybe she sent him" Hannah suggested.

"No, Mabel's smarter than that" Rebecca said.

"And you're sure you don't like Tom" Gabriella asked

"Tom's nice but no, I don't like him" Rebecca said.

Hannah looked at Rebecca's face. "There's only one way to find out for sure..."

"Oh not that. I told you I don't like him. Can't we just leave it at that" She asked in exasperation.

"Nope, come on Gabriella" Hannah said. They looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Then they turned to Rebecca. They were going to say Tom's name over and over again. If she smiled it meant she likes him but if she didn't then she was telling the truth (this game is always horribly inaccurate)

"Ready?" Gabriella asked Rebecca who was struggling to keep a straight face. Smiling was a bit of a habit for her.

"Ready" She said
And the chanting began. "Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom,Tom" She heard them say but she just didn't smile. After a while, they stopped disappointed that she was telling the truth. Wow.

"If you don't like him then what's with all the moments between you two?" She asked.

Rebecca shrugged, she had no idea. If only she knew what Tom was thinking.

____
Hello 👋
Many thanks to all those who checked out my book and voted for it.
Yes! I finally wrote a long chapter 😁 I hope you found it really interesting. You will definitely be seeing more of Betty and Sarah.
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-Truewriter2020
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