James walked toward the center row—right past Hope and Zara.
As he passed, Zara leaned closer to whisper, her voice barely contained:
Zara: "Hope… tell me I'm not hallucinating. He's—wow—he's handsome, right? Like, ridiculously."
Hope didn't look away from James.
"Zara… that's not handsome. That's dangerous."
Zara slapped a hand over her mouth, choking on a laugh—but it was too late.
Her laugh came out loud.
Hope's comment slipped out even louder.
The entire hall went silent.
Professor Adebayo raised an eyebrow. "Miss Turner… you seem to have strong opinions about your classmate's appearance?"
Hope froze.
The floor could swallow her and she wouldn't protest.
Zara looked like she might faint.
James paused halfway to his seat.
Then—
He smirked.
A slow, amused, entertained smirk.
Bold, he thought.
She says whatever comes to her mind. Interesting.
He sat down, still half-smiling to himself.
At the front of the class, Diane snapped her pen.
She had been watching James since the moment he entered. Watching him acknowledge Hope's existence so quickly, watching him smirk at another girl—one who clearly wasn't intimidated, one who drew attention without trying…
It irritated her.
More than she expected.
Her jaw tightened.
So Hope Adeyemi—perfect hair, perfect face, rich, confident, adored on her first week—was already on James's radar?
No.
She didn't like that.
Not one bit.
Meanwhile, Hope sank slowly into her seat, covering her face with her notebook as Zara whispered:
Zara: "Hope… you just embarrassed yourself in front of the entire class."
Hope whispered back:
Hope: "Please bury me. I'm not meant for public life anymore."
She peeked over her notebook—just in time to see James glance back at her, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.
He didn't look offended.
He looked… intrigued.
And that was somehow worse.