Chapter 11
The commotion made the whole class turn their heads. All they saw was the towering Zach being slammed against the desk by Cameron, who was at least half a head shorter than him,
And she was doing it with one hand. Her short hair framed a lazy, almost bored expression, like she wasn’t even trying, yet Zach couldn’t move an inch
Everyone was stunned. Someone whispered, “No way. Cameron’s got Zach pinned? I thought Zach bullied him all the time.”
Another voice chimed in, “Even the quiet ones will fight back when pushed too hard. Zach went way too far this time.”
Someone else said, “Is Cameron crazy? Messing with Zach Zach’s gonna make him pay for this.”
Cameron didn’t care about the chatter. Her voice was cool and sharp as she spoke, “Are you picking it up or not?”
“Like hell I am.” Zach hadn’t expected to actually get pinned by Cameron. The humiliation burned hot in his chest and there was no way
he’d back down
Cameron’s face remained blank. “I’ll give you
you one more chance. I’m counting to three. One”
I said I’m not picking it up. Zach still tried to act tough.
Two Cameron suddenly pressed down harder.
A wave of pain shot through Zach’s skull. It felt like she was about to crush his head. He instantly gave in and yelled, “Okay, okay. I’ll pick it up.
Cameron let out a faint scoff, the sharp curve of her lips laced with mockery. “See? You would’ve saved yourself the pain if you’d just done it earlier, she thought, and let go.
As soon as her hand lifted, Zach threw a punch straight at her with a snarl. “Pick it up, my ass.
At six feet tall with a basketball player’s build, Zach was no weakling. Fueled by rage, that punch had more than enough force behind it to hurt. The class let out a collective gasp. A few girls even covered their eyes in fright
But Cameron caught his fist, steady and unshaken. Her fingers were slim, and though her palms weren’t exactly small, they were definitely smaller than any guy’s. She couldn’t even wrap her hand fully around his fist–but that didn’t stop her from shutting him down completely.
She squeezed, and a sickening crack echoed from Zach’s hand.
“Ow, I get it. I’m sorry. I surrender, okay?” Realizing he wasn’t a match for Cameron at all, Zach backed off instantly, waving the white flag
Cameron then let go of his hand. Zach didn’t dare make another move. He quietly bent down and picked up the textbook he’d knocked off her desk.
The arrogant, dismissive look in his eyes had been completely replaced with caution and unease–all within just a minute or two. Someone said, “Damn, that was kind of hot
Another added, “Cameron looks so skinny, not even as tall as Zach, and somehow still has that kind of strength? That’s impressive.” And another voice gasped, “Oh my goodness, how did I never realize Cameron was this fine?
Cameron paid no attention to any of it. She sat back down without a word and pulled out a pack of sanitizing wipes she always carried with her from her bag, wiping the fingers that had just touched Zach, over and over.
Elijah walked into the classroom right then, catching the tail end of everyone praising Cameron. His coll eyes swept toward the last row, He had checked the security cameras. In the evening, the only people who had gone into the Math Lab were Cameron, Amelia, and Skyler. The one who solved that equation wasn’t Anelia or Skyler, so it had to be Cameron
But that was impossible, at least in his mind. Cameron was known for being dead last in class, Elijah would sooner believe a ghost had solved it than believe Cameron had.
Cameron felt the weight of his stare and casually lifted her eyes, meeting his gaze head–on.
