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Nodding approvingly, Mrs. Blaine said, “I had a file sent to you that I want you to look over before the meeting.”
“What is it?” Sebastian asked, throwing her a questioning look as he turned his iPad on.
“Your homework.”
* * *
“That’s really not goingto work for me,” Mikey said as she stood in the doorway, taking in the two girls sitting at the table in the back of study hall as they whispered something only to laugh seconds later when they looked back at her.
Deciding that she’d had enough for one day, Mikey turned around and headed down the long hallway until she found the door that she was looking for. With a heavy sigh, Mikey raised her fist and knocked. A moment later, Uncle Jason opened the door, only to frown down at her when she handed him the hall pass.
“Last time I checked, you weren’t in this class, Miss Campbell,” Uncle Jason drawled as Mikey reached into her backpack and pulled out the small Tupperware container with two of the oversized cupcakes that her mother made yesterday and-
“But I suppose we could make an exception today,” Uncle Jason murmured absently as he plucked the container out of her hand and stepped back so that she could walk into the classroom full of curious seniors staring at her.
When she didn’t see any empty seats, Mikey gestured to a spot on the floor against the wall just beneath the windows. “I’ll just be over here if anyone needs me,” she said with a nod as she quickly made her way to the other side of the room and sat down.
That was followed by reluctantly pulling her homework out and deciding that she might as well get it over with. She’d really been looking forward to that nap in study hall, Mikey thought, biting back a wistful sigh as she settled to get more comfortable, only to find herself drawn to the image on the large monitor mounted on the wall of a painting of a large castle with the sun setting behind it.
It was beautiful, Mikey thought, unable to look away as the next image appeared on the monitor, this one of the same castle, but instead of a portrait, it was a modern image. She listened as Uncle Jason spoke about the castle as he rolled his chair next to her while he devoured the cupcakes. She watched as the images on the screen changed, showing the castle at different angles while Uncle Jason spoke, explaining the location and natural defenses while she found herself comparing the portraits with the modern images as she reached for the bottle of juice she grabbed earlier and-
Sighed when Uncle Jason held his hand out in silent demand. Biting back a grumble, Mikey handed the bottle of juice over and went back to watching the images change. All too soon, the class was over and she realized that she’d enjoyed it more than she thought she would. As she grabbed her bag and got to her feet, Mikey found herself wondering what the pictures would have looked like if the photographer had taken them at the same angle as the portrait to catch the sun setting down behind the castle. She-
“Miss Campbell, if you have a moment, I’d like to speak with you,” Uncle Jason murmured as the rest of the students left. When they were gone, his gaze flickered to her as he asked, “What’s going on?”
“I missed you?” Mikey said with a hopeful smile as she watched him lean back against his desk.
“I’m sure you did,” Uncle Jason said as he considered her for a moment. “You know that you can tell me anything.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” Mikey said because there was nothing to talk about. Her new BFFs would eventually grow bored and then, she would be free to enjoy a lovely nap during study hall. Until then…
She was going to have to remember to pack extra baked goods every day for a little while.
Nodding absently, Uncle Jason reached back and grabbed a textbook off his desk and handed it to her. “Make sure you read the first two chapters by Monday.”
At her questioning look, he said, “That’s the price of getting out of study hall.”
“Can’t I just pay in baked goods?” Mikey asked with a hopeful smile that quickly died away when Uncle Jason said, “I’ll see you Monday, Miss Campbell,” leaving her with no choice but to do the unthinkable.
CHAPTER16
“This is honestly the most terrifying thing that I’ve ever seen,” Sebastian said, swallowing hard while he stood there, holding the potato limply in his hand as he tried to make sense of what was happening.
“It really is,” Aunt Kasey murmured in agreement while they watched Mikey reach for a pen and-
“This doesn’t sound very supportive,” Mikey said with a heartfelt sigh as she wrote something in her notebook before shifting her attention back to the large textbook that he was almost ninety percent sure wasn’t hers.
“Mikey,” Aunt Kasey began, only to clear her throat before she asked, “Are you pretending to do homework just to get out of peeling potatoes?” Since he’d been wondering the same thing, Sebastian didn’t say anything as he finished peeling the potato in his hand and placed it in the bowl of salted water while he watched Mikey.
“This isn’t homework,” she said, sighing heavily as she went to write something else down, grumbled incoherently to herself and focused back on her book.
“Then, what is it?” Aunt Kasey asked as she made quick work of chopping an onion while Sebastian stood there, unable to help but notice that she looked more relaxed than she had all week, making him once again wonder about those doctor’s appointments.
“Blackmail,” Mikey mumbled sadly, only to follow that up with a sniffle that had his lips twitching as he watched her glare down at the textbook for another moment before reluctantly climbing off the stool and made her way to the kitchen table past the playpens where her baby brothers were playing and proceeded to rummage through his bag.
Curious to see what the little pain in the ass was up to, Sebastian watched as she grabbed his iPad with a heartfelt sigh before she turned right back around and made her way back to the kitchen island and set to work.
“I thought the school gave you a new iPad,” Aunt Kasey said as her curious gaze flickered between him and the iPad that Mikey gave him a few months ago.
