ascorpiorisingâ:
Oh my god, Sophia silently thinks to herself, Iâm going to fail this class.
She would never admit it, but Science was not Sophiaâs strong-suit, nor had it ever been. She would have to work twice as hard as everyone else to get an A â and anything below that was just unacceptable. Normally that wouldnât bother her â Sophia was used to a busy schedule, filled with internships, part-time work at her fatherâs law-firm, volunteering at the local womenâs shelter and the mayorâs office, along with studying and making connections with professors. Sure she ran on coffee and only slept for an average of four hours a day, but sleep was for the weak, and Sophia was not weak.
But now, sitting before her in⌠whatever it is heâs wearing, is the reason sheâll be failing this class, and all he can say is: âIâll have them next class.âÂ
No, this was unacceptable. Sheâd have a stern, yet open conversation with the professor after class. If that didnât work, sheâd have her father make a call â he made a very generous donation to the school last year, so she was sure theyâd be willing to hear her out. Switching lab partners canât be that hard, right?
âYou do realize that because of you, weâve just lost five points off our final grade.â She can barely hide her disgust at this point. Syllabus day? Does he think NYU is a state school or something?Â
Sophia canât even look at her companion now, turning away to face the professor. She keeps her eyes locked on the older man until he concludes the lesson. She closes her iPad, hiding her color coded notes and slipping the device into her briefcase. Sophia works on packing up slowly and approaches the professor once all of the students leave.Â
âCan I speak with you?â She starts, and the man nods. âItâs about my lab partner⌠heâs, well, not prepared. He didnât even bring to supplies you requested,â she pauses to point at the table theyâd inhabited just moments ago. âIâm really worried heâs going to bring down my grade.â The professor interrupts her, nodding his head.Â
âIâll see what I can do, Miss. Thompson.â She smiles â Dadâs right, she will make a good lawyer.Â
Five points isnât the end of the fucking world, although Grayson spends the rest of class being uncomfortably aware of how pissed his new lab partner is about that. He can see her color coordinated notes out of the corner of his eye the entire lecture. Along with the briefcase and the first day outfit that probably costs almost as much as his entire wardrobe, it doesnât paint a flattering picture ofâwhoever this is, because she didnât even bother to give Grayson her name. This is why he hates Manhattan. Â
They make it through the rest of the class somehow, but nothing about her makes him want to stick around. As soon as the professor releases them, Grayson shoves his hands into his hoodie pockets and escapes through the back door.
Except. Well. Graysonâs not completely unsocialized, despite what his new lab partner might think. More importantly, heâs stuck with her for the rest of this semester. As much as heâd rather not, it might be a good idea to suck it up and play nice. Apologize for the five points and offer to buy her a coffee or something, even if he isnât that sorry. Itâs a goddamn miracle he made it to class today at all, frankly, with the way the morning went. But maybe if he explains that, sheâll deign to make eye contact with him again. Heâs not above playing the single dad card, especially if he conveniently neglects to mention that Alexis lives within walking distance or that she comes over almost every day.
When he pushes the door open to find his new lab partner though, sheâs up by their professorâs desk instead of at their table. In the now empty room, their voices echo more than before. So Grayson does the obvious thingâhe pauses in the doorway, straining to overhear, especially when his new lab partner says something about he didnât even bring the supplies.
Now he definitely canât bail. He shuts the door as quietly as he can, but he doesnât walk away. Instead, he waits for Sophia to walk out into the hallway herself. âHey, Miss Thompson,â he says casually, pushing off the wall to fall into step beside her. âNice to meet you, by the way. I never got your name, but thankfully I overheard the professor.â He jerks his thumb back towards their classroom, as if she might think he means a different professor. âYou went crying to him and called me a bad influence over five points? Are you serious? Something tells me youâre not going to be sweating five points at the end of this semester.â












