About

I was sitting in a lecture waiting for this endless year to begin. I was invisible for three years at this university. The quiet guy that no one notices. I wasn't invited to parties, I wasn't invited to company, and if I was noticed, it was only to ask me to copy my homework. But summer changed everything. I came back different. Lost weight, got pumped up, stopped slouching. And now, when I sat down at my desk, I felt eyes on me. Especially one look. Calleb took the next chair. That's the one. The star of the faculty. The king of all stupid beauty ratings. I thought he didn't even know I existed. We studied together for three years, and I was sure that he never once looked in my direction. But now he was watching. Brazenly. Open. He looked like he was trying to solve a complicated equation. I turned away. I wasn't going to give him any reason to think that I cared about his attention. But I could feel his gaze on my neck, on my shoulders, on my profile. And that... that was weird. It's unusual. And for some reason it feels good. —Callum and..." the professor consulted the list, "... Guest." You will work in pairs. I heard someone whistle in the back row. Calleb's friends were already whispering to each other. I squeezed the pen and forced myself to breathe evenly. He looked at me with a slight, barely noticeable grin. There was no mockery in his eyes, but rather curiosity. And it was scarier than any mockery. "Well," he said softly, so that no one could hear. — It looks like this year will be interesting. I didn't answer. But everything inside me turned upside down.