Page 39 of Fundamentals of Chemistry

That, and my grading was beyond reproach. I had followed our answer key to the letter. I was more than happy to hand my exams over to Cooper, confident that he would find no fault or foul play. Hell, I had even left detailed notes. What more could he want?

If I was being honest, I was painfully curious to know how Cooper’s students had performed. I felt like I had done well—the best that I could do—but I had a niggling fear that he had done better. That his section had outperformed mine. It was probably just anxiety, but I was having trouble shaking it. There was too much riding on these damn scores.

But worrying would have to wait until Sunday when we traded tests. Because tonight, it was time to build a bonfire.

My nails were painted in jewel tones, adorned with falling leaves, to complement my new October Lovers sweatshirt. I purchased one in a golden yellow shade that reminded me of sunshine on ash leaves. It went perfectly with the dark wash jeans and brown leather boots that I picked in concession to the beach venue. My hair was pulled into a high ponytail, functional yet pretty.

I met Russel, Miriam, and a few other October Lovers—all in matching sweatshirts—in the cafeteria, where bonfire supplies were staged in preparation for heading to the beach. Russel was in his element, sorting and organizing like a squirrel preparing for winter.

“Don’t you all look festive,” I said by way of greeting. “What do we have here?”

Miriam looked up and smiled. “Hey, Ms. Burke. Perfect timing. We’re just getting started.”

“It looks to me like you’re almost done,” I said, surveying the piles of food, lighter fluid, and enough fierce-looking roasting sticks to lay siege on Troy.

“We’ve got all the good stuff,” said Russel, proudly. “Hot dogs, buns, graham crackers, chocolate, and enough marshmallows to build a life-size igloo.”

“Plus cups, plates, napkins, and sticks for roasting,” added Miriam.

“Be careful with those sticks.” I gave them another wary glance. Sending students to the hospital for skewering each other would be a quick and shitty way to end the night.

Russel and Miriam shared a glance and shrugged, unconcerned.

“Alrighty,” I said, not feeling remotely reassured. “Should we start moving this stuff down to the beach?”

“Yep. Matt and Janelle are down there already setting up tables. And Jose and Wade are lugging firewood over from Wade’s car.”

“We have enough wood to burn down the campus,” Russel added with a wily smile.

I was reasonably sure he was joking, but just in case said, “let’s not do that.” Between the fire and the skewers, I was starting to wonder if this bonfire might be a horrible mistake.

Russel just rolled his eyes and picked up a few bags of food before heading out of the cafeteria. Other students also started collecting bags, so I grabbed a couple and headed after them. I fell into step with Miriam as we followed the path down to the beach.

“How are you feeling about all this?” I asked, sure I was picking up some tension from her.

She looked down at her feet as we walked. “A little excited. A little nervous. October Lovers has always just been for us, you know. It’s gonna be weird having so many people at the bonfire. I really hope we don’t mess it up.”

I nudged her with her arm. “Nervous is okay. This is something new for this group. But it could be a lot of fun. Maybe the rest of the students don’t love October like you do, but we’re going to help them see how awesome it is.”

“Do you think we’re ready?”

I smiled and tried to fill my voice with as much reassuring confidence as I could muster. “You can never be one hundred percent ready for anything, but we’ve done the best we can. I just need you to promise me that once we have this fire lit, you’ll try to relax and have a good time. There will be plenty of chaperones to keep an eye on things. You just need to worry about enjoying yourself.”

She shrugged again, and I started to worry that her shoulders were going to get stuck up by her ears.

“I heard David say he was coming,” she said, so softly that I barely heard her over the crunching leaves under our feet.

“Oh,” I said, her nerves suddenly taking on a new dimension. “Do you think you’ll talk to him?”

Miriam’s eyes were firmly on her shoes. “I don’t know. We don’t run in the same circles.”

Her words landed like an anvil dropped on my head. Cooper had said the exact same thing about he and I. “What do you mean?” I asked carefully.

She shrugged, and I had to fight the impulse to hold her shoulders down. “Nothing. Just… did you know I’m here on a scholarship?”

My brows pulled together. “Does that matter?” I asked.

“It feels like it does.”