Filed to story: Once Upon a One Night Mistake Book PDF Free by Simone Shirazi
Today, however, instead of being stuck in a class with Sebastian and thirteen other people, it was just going to be the two of them in a room. Maybe they’d have a monitor if they were lucky, but going off of her past in-school suspension experiences-which were unsurprisingly numerous-they usually only popped in when it was convenient to them. And knowing her and Sebastian, she was sure no one would want to sit in a room with them for very long.
The first warning bell rang a few moments later and Taliana managed to get to homeroom just in time. As she dropped into her seat, she silently prayed something would happen to get her out of reporting to room 132 in less than ten minutes.
Maybe there would be a fire drill and she could escape while everyone went outside. Or maybe they’d get a surprise visit from the President or the Secretary of State, and classes would be canceled for the rest of the day. All those things had happened in the past, but for some reason Taliana doubted anything like that would happen, especially because she actually wanted it to.
By the time homeroom ended, there had been no fire drills or visits from any type of government official, meaning there was no way she was getting out of going to the dreaded ISS room. It didn’t help that it was directly across the hall from the classroom she was currently sitting in, so she couldn’t draw out the inevitable by taking forever to walk there. Even though she desperately wanted to run in the opposite direction, she took a deep breath and made the torturous five-second journey to her prison cell.
Luckily, Sebastian had yet to arrive, but the sleepy-eyed monitor was already there. He nodded in acknowledgment and motioned for Taliana to pick a desk, silently telling her that was where she’d spend the rest of her day. With a grimace, Taliana dropped into one of the chairs, knowing the seat next to her was soon to be occupied by her sworn enemy.
Sebastian strolled in a few seconds later with his shirt half unbuttoned, tie slack around his neck, and hair that looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. Despite his disheveled appearance, the girls who passed by the doorway did double takes, all looking as if they wouldn’t mind being stuck in a room with him for the rest of the day. Taliana would have given anything to trade with them.
After a venomous look in Taliana’s direction, Sebastian slipped into an empty seat and immediately put his head down on the desk, successfully avoiding further eye contact. While it may have been an unspoken agreement, they both knew a wrong glance could result in a throwdown, and Taliana wasn’t too keen on getting into a fight before eight-thirty.
“All right, you two.” The monitor yawned as he dropped two thick folders onto their desks. “This is the work you’re expected to do by the end of the day. I’ll check on you a couple times, but please try not to get into any trouble while I’m gone.”
The monitor spared them one last glance before he shuffled out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him.
“This is bullshit,” Sebastian grumbled into the crook of his arm. “Eleven years in this stupid place and I’ve never even had detention. Now I’ve got in-school suspension on my permanent record and I’m stuck in this stupid room with you .”
“Suck it up,” Taliana shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. “After all those years away from you, I thought you would have at least become a little less of a whiny brat. I guess some things never change, Cry Baby.”
“I could say the same, Stick Girl,” he snapped, lifting his head to glare at Taliana. “You’re still the same twig who’s been driving me insane since preschool. Will you ever grow up?”
“I don’t know, will you ever stop being the biggest prick on the face of the earth?”
“That depends on whether or not you can stop being such a termagant!”
“What the hell does that even? mean?”
“It means you’re a violent bitch, that’s what!”
A low growl came from the back of Taliana’s throat. “Watch it, Phillips.”
“What are you gonna do, Stick Girl?” he taunted, smirking as he leaned forward. “Are going to tackle me again? Maybe even break my other arm this time?”
If he had any idea how badly she wanted to do both of those things, he would have been on the other side of the room cowering in fear. Then again, Taliana had all but promised her father she wouldn’t get into any more trouble. So instead of simply throttling the asshole beside her, Taliana thrust her hand into her bag and pulled out her headphones. As long as she couldn’t hear him, maybe she could simply ignore his existence until they both calmed down enough to manage a civil conversation. Or at least keep from killing each other.
Little did Taliana know that it was going to take three and a half hours and a lot of deep breathing for her to even stop contemplating the many places she could hide his corpse. By then, Sebastian appeared to have completely forgotten about their argument, having occupied himself with his phone and the folder of classwork the monitor had given them.
With a glance at the clock that was situated on the wall directly in front of them, Taliana realized it was almost lunch time, meaning this dreadful day was halfway over. Another perk of the current time was that she finally got some time away from Sebastian, and she planned to give Jude an earful about it all.
Taliana slipped out of her seat when the bell finally rang and took a moment to stretch as she waited for Sebastian to do the same, since his chair was blocking her path to the glorious outside world.
“Can you hurry up?” she huffed, staring down at him. “I’m ready to get out of here.”
Sebastian slid her a sharp look as he rose to his feet, giving him a good five-inch advantage over her. She had to admit, he was a little intimidating when he was at his full height, but she knew she could take him. It would just take a little work.
“Patience is a virtue, Stick Girl,” he chided as he slowly opened the door. “But obviously you weren’t bles-
Oh no .”
It wasn’t like Sebastian to give up in the middle of an insult, so something was clearly wrong. After shooting him a curious glance, Taliana peeked around his shoulder to see what had caused that reaction.
Even though the hallway was packed with people on their way to lunch, she managed to follow his gaze to a group of girls who seemed to stand out more than the rest. There were five of them in total, all incredibly gorgeous. It was easy to see why Sebastian had been distracted by them-he was a straight guy after all. However, it wasn’t until she heard someone call the name of one of the girls that she realized just who Sebastian was staring at.
Blair Bakhtiar.
Although Taliana hadn’t recognized Sebastian after so many years, there was no missing Blair. The pretty little girl had grown into nothing short of a stunner, but Taliana would have known those chilly, gray-blue eyes and devastating smile anywhere. She’d been part of Sebastian’s terrible little posse back in the day, the only girl they had accepted into their ranks.
Blair had mainly left her alone, rolling her eyes whenever Sebastian and Taliana had an altercation, choosing to watch from a safe distance and gently comforting him whenever Taliana won the battle. Taliana hadn’t minded her much, but her association with the rest of them meant she and Blair would never be friends.
Taliana tore her gaze away from Blair, choosing instead to look up at a scowling Sebastian.
“That’s not the reaction I was expecting,” Taliana mused, lifting an eyebrow in surprise. “I thought you two were friends.”
“Not anymore,” he grumbled, glancing in Taliana’s direction. “Kind of hard to stay friends with your ex.”
Well, that would explain it.
“Should have expected as much,” Taliana said mostly to herself as she tried hard not to laugh. She’d always thought those two little tyrants would make a perfect couple. “Bad break up?”
“You have no idea.”
Though he had probably given her all the information he was willing to offer, Taliana’s curiosity prompted her to push a little further. “What happened?”
“Like I would ever tell you that.”
She childishly stuck her tongue out at him in reply to his brushing off. But before she could say anything, Taliana caught sight of Blair down the hall, who had just glanced their way. Taliana’s tongue retracted back into her mouth as she watched Blair lean closer to one of her friends and whisper something, all while keeping her questioning gaze trained on Taliana and Sebastian.
“Have it your way,” Taliana answered in a sing-song voice, watching as his ex-girlfriend stepped away from her group and began moving toward them. “Looks like she wants to talk to you, though.”
He’d been glaring at Taliana for the past few seconds, but his surprised gaze turned to Blair the moment the words escaped Taliana’s lips.
“Fuck my life,” he groaned. “Come on, Stick Girl.”
Before Taliana could demand he stop using that stupid nickname, his fingers wrapped around her wrist, and she suddenly found herself being dragged down the hallway. Too shocked to even consider ripping her arm away, she stumbled along behind him through the thick crowds in the corridors, trying hard not to fall flat on her face as they continued on. When she finally regained her ability to speak, they’d already come to an abrupt stop outside the arched doorways that led to the cafeteria.