Billionaire Flawed 2(112)

“Most of this can easily be found in chapter eight of your chemistry book, so you don’t have to overthink it. And, before you say anything Christine, no, you may not work alone on this topic; this is a partnered exercise, and you must work in tandem with your partner to complete it.”

I rolled my eyes and lowered my hand. Of course, I would have to work with one of the other useless appendages in my class to finish a simple exercise. I wish I could’ve tested out of this course; I had already practiced chemistry in High School, but unfortunately, they made me retake the course for credit. I wanted to smash my head into a wall repeatedly.

“Looks like we’re working together,” I heard a familiar voice say.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I replied in disgust.

Hollis had moved to the front row and was sitting next to me, his almost never opened tex book sat in front of him as a trophy to his laziness. I shot from my chair and approached the teacher.

“Mr. Takahashi, I really don’t think I can work with this –ahem- peer.”

The face of my teacher read like a book; he didn’t make any attempt to hide his contempt with my attitude.

“Ms. Reynolds, you’re the best student in my class. Hollis is, unfortunately, my worst student and he’s near failing. I paired the two of you up in hopes that your brilliant scientific mind might rub off on him a little.”

I looked back to my desk; he sat there waving. I turned back to the teacher who was now sporting a cheesy smile.

“Will that be all, Ms. Reynolds?”

I did my best to hide my disgust and gritted my teeth, returning to my seat.

Hollis was staring at his phone at some social media website probably.

“Okay, listen to me now and listen well,” I started.

He continued to click away on his phone.

“I am a hard worker, and you are not. If we work diligently, then we can finish this quick and I won’t have to look at you for another second.”

He continued to tap away at the screen on his phone.

“I’m sorry, is this not important enough for Mr. Popular?”

He still didn’t say anything. I tried to peek at what he was writing, but when I leaned in, he would turn just enough to keep the screen from my view.

“What are you writing, is it about me?” I asked innocently.

The lack of communication was bothering me, but this time, he held a finger up that appeared to plead for another moment.

I waited, and after waiting, he clicked the screen of his phone off and set it on the table.

“I was trying to organize a party; it’s hard to concentrate on two things at once.”

“You must be joking. You’re organizing a party while in class? Do you even want to pass at all?”

He shrugged and laughed. “I want to get a grade that keeps me from failing. This one is currently pulling my GPA down just enough that I might not be able to play in the next football game. If you can help me get this grade up a little bit, then you’ll be a hero to me and my friends.”

He flashed me a smile with his perfect teeth.

I collapsed to the table, hoping that he would understand the gesture. He must not have.

“Hey, are you alright?”

I pushed myself from the desk, pulling his science book to the middle of the lab table and started rifling through the pages.

“Listen, this stuff is easy. I know I can handle it, pay attention if you want, but I think I can manage on my own. Just make sure to put your name on the final draft and I can guarantee you’ll get an ‘A’ grade.”

He seemed to like the sound of that. But, it was short-lived.

“Hollis, Christine, I know you two are probably making a deal where Christine does all the work, and Hollis just sits back and soaks up the credit. I, fortunately, am not that gullible.” The professor paused. “You two have a special extra assignment. Hollis has to perform an experiment in front of the class and knowingly explain the processes involved in the chemical reaction.”

I sat there open mouthed as he continued.

“Christine, your grade in this class depends on him handling this assignment. I will even have a few questions for him to answer, just to make sure he was paying attention and not just memorizing a script.”

I was doomed. My perfect record was about to be shattered, and I could do nothing about it at all.

“Whoa, that’s rough,” was all that he could manage to say before going back to his phone and tapping away.

My anger got the best of me as I yanked the phone from his hand and threw it out the window. He watched it fly out several feet and fall the four stories to the campus courtyard.

With that done I packed up my things, wrote my phone number on a slip of paper, and handed it to Hollis.