It wasn’t a question, but I looked up from my game and nodded anyway. “I’m Lexie.”
“Zella Wheeler.” She dropped her tablet on the table and inspected me like she expected horns to sprout from my head. “Is it true you went to public school?”
“Until last week.”
She shook her head, and her brown eyes narrowed. “Crazy. I don’t know how they think you’re going to keep up. Are you some sort of genius or something?”
I blinked at her hostile tone. “I’m just here to learn like everyone else.”
She smirked. “Obviously not like everyone else, or you would have started here a long time ago.”
Zella turned away to talk to the girl sitting on her other side and started asking about her summer. I caught snatches about Switzerland and the Large Hadron Collider and particle physics, but most of it didn’t make much sense. I tried to ignore her and went back to my game, but every few seconds, I could feel her look at me, hear the whispers and giggles.
Tightness gathered in my chest, and sweat beaded on my skin. I was not going to have a panic attack on my first day. I forced myself to breathe in and out. Slowly.
Someone sat down in the seat on my right, but I didn’t bother to look up. I needed to get my freak-out under control before I bolted from the room.
“You’re Dr. Kepler’s daughter, right?”
I finally looked up to find a guy smiling at me. A sandy beard shadowed his jaw, but it was too thin and scraggly to do anything more than make him seem really young. His brown eyes were kind, with none of the hostility I’d seen in everyone else’s.
He held out a hand. “I’m Max Von Neumann. Pleased to meet you.”
I shook it, hoping he didn’t feel how clammy mine was. “Lexie.”
“Right. I knew it was something like that. I’m horrible with names. So, first day, huh? How’s it going?”
I looked around the room, not sure how honest to be. “Too early to tell?”
Max laughed. “Let me guess — nobody’s exactly happy to see you? They’ll warm up in a few days. They’re all too freaked out about you being Kepler’s kid and stealing their spotlight. Once you get to know them, they’re all right.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” I didn’t feel like much of a threat to anyone. I tucked my thick hair behind my ears, where it promptly slid back out. I should have worn it pulled back like usual, but I’d wanted to hide behind it today.
“So why is everyone freaked out I’m a Kepler?” On my other side, Zella had stopped talking and was pretending not to listen to our conversation.
Max’s eyes widened. “Your dad is a genius. His latest project on developing a new electromagnetic process for fueling space travel was amazing. Everyone here is dying to work with him on a rotation.”
I pursed my lips. Something else Dad had neglected to tell me. Though I suppose I should have guessed, with his promotion to Assistant Director and all. I leaned closer, hoping no one else would hear me. “Stupid question, but what’s a rotation? Dad said it would be different from what I was used to back home, but I’m just not getting it yet.”
There was a long pause as Max stared blankly at me, and then he pulled himself together. “Right. So QT believes in holistic teaching. Instead of history and English and physics and math all being separate, they’re combined into modules. We break into teams to work on a project for ten weeks and learn all those things at once.”
“I bet you guys get to work on some pretty cool stuff.”
Max nodded. “Yeah, we have a different staff mentor each year who helps us with the projects, and we’re given access to whatever labs in the facility we need to finish our research.” He smiled shyly. “It would be awesome if you were in my group.”
On the other side of me, Zella snorted and turned away. I didn’t think Max had heard her, but he leaned around me. “What’s the problem? Afraid Lexie’s going to show you up?”
She whipped back around to glare at him. “As if I have to worry about her. She’s probably never even heard of quantum mechanics.”
The fear coiled inside me snapped like a rubber band, and I raised my chin. “Do you secretly kick puppies in your spare time?” Zella smirked at me like I was an idiot, but I continued. “I’m just curious if your mean girl persona is limited to the new kids on the block or if you attack other hapless creatures, too.”
“Hapless creatures. Love it.” Max laughed and clapped me on the back. “I think you’re going to fit in here just fine, Lexie.”
Zella glared before turning her back on us with a sniff.
I clenched my hands together in my lap. If my new classmates were already looking for weaknesses, maybe standing up to Zella was the only way to win their approval. Maybe the only way to make it here was to stop hiding and embrace the new me. Whoever that was.
Someone across the room shouted, “Hey, there’s Asher! We can finally get started.”
My gaze flew to the doorway where Asher Rosen stood, surveying the room like he was the king and we were all his subjects. “Good morning, fellow geniuses!”
People waved at him and cat-called before going back to their conversations. Asher’s steady gaze turned to me.
His dark hair was messy, like he’d just crawled out of bed, and he had another science shirt on. This one said, “Obey Gravity. It’s the Law.” I tried to focus on the words and not the way it clung to his muscled chest, but I frowned as my pulse sped up. I had enough to worry about. I did not have time to crush on boys right now.
And then a thought hit me. Oh god. Had he heard my outburst?
He tilted his head with a mock expression of hurt. “You don’t look very happy to see me, Lexie.”
Luckily, before I had to come up with an answer, a tall man with blond hair appeared behind Asher. “Mr. Rosen, would you please stop flirting with the new girl and take your seat? I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for that later.”
My face flamed with heat, and I dropped my head to stare at my tablet. Flirting with me? Only in my dreams. But I was all-too aware of Asher as he dropped into the seat across from me and leaned his head on one elbow. His gorgeous blue eyes drifted shut.
“Good morning, folks.” The teacher stood at the head of the table and surveyed us with a smirk. “Today, we’re going to get our group and project assignments for the first module of the semester. But first, I think we should introduce ourselves to our new classmate. It’s been a long time since we’ve had fresh blood here at QT.” His eyes drifted down to the V-neck of my shirt. I fought not to cross my arms over my chest and tried to maintain eye contact with him. Eccentric? Really, Dad? The guy was a creep.