My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 124

Chapter 124 The Black Box Waiting Inside

The other girls gasped in practiced awe. They offered high-pitched praise and shallow jealousy.

I walked past them without a sideways glance. The wealth gap between us felt like a massive canyon. They measured their worth in private jets and designer labels. I measured my worth in biology index cards and the quiet pride in my mother’s eyes. We existed in the same brick building, but we occupied different planets.

The warning bell shrieked.

I walked into my first period calculus class. I took my assigned seat near the front row. I pulled my textbook from my bag. I set my black

pen on the desk.

I waited for the door to open. I waited for the heavy thud of his combat boots. I waited for the scent of cedar and dark coffee to fill the

sterile classroom.

The second bell rang. Mr. Peterson began the lecture. The wooden door remained shut.

Ryder did not show up.

The empty space in the back corner of the room felt like a physical weight pressing against my chest. His absence amplified the pounding rhythm of my pulse. He skipped first period.

I stared at the chalkboard. The complex equations blurred into meaningless white dust. I gripped my pen. I hated the sharp, undeniable sting of disappointment. I prayed for his silence. I wanted him to ignore the day. Yet, his physical absence left a hollow, aching void in my ribs. I craved the dark storm of his presence. I craved the intense, golden heat of his stare. The contradiction tore me apart.

The morning dragged. The hours felt like thick, heavy sludge.

I sat through European History. I sat through English Literature. Ryder remained a ghost. He did not corner me in the hallways. He did not wait by the exit doors. He gave me the exact distance I asked for in the darkroom. He respected my panic. He stayed away to keep me safe from his chaotic world.

The lunch bell rang. The shrill sound echoed down the C-wing.

Students flooded the corridors, heading toward the cafeteria and the outdoor courtyard. I needed to drop off my heavy history textbook and grab my chemistry notes.

I walked toward the B-wing. The crowd thinned out as I approached my section of the school. The ambient noise faded into a distant

hum.

1 reviewed the logical variables in my head. I grounded myself in facts. He did not know my birthday. I never wrote it down. It was not in his file. I never discussed it during our tutoring sessions. I kept my personal details locked away. The day would pass. I would go home. My mother and I would eat leftover roast chicken, and the milestone would end without a grand, public spectacle.

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Chapter 124 The Black Box Waiting Inside

I turned the corner.

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The beige cinderblock walls of the B-wing stretched out before me. Locker 412 sat in the middle of the long row. The space beside it sat

empty. No broad shoulders leaned against the metal. No scuffed leather jacket hung in the periphery of my vision.

I let out a slow, shaking breath. The relief tasted bitter on my tongue.

I reached my locker. I dropped my heavy canvas bag onto the floorboards. The canvas hit the linoleum with a soft thud. I reached out. My fingertips brushed the cold silver metal of the combination dial.

I twisted the mechanism to the right. The internal gears clicked. I stopped on thirty-four. I reversed the spin, turning the dial to the left. I bypassed the zero and stopped on twelve. I spun it back to the right, landing on a precise eight.

I grabbed the metal latch. I pulled upward.

The heavy beige door swung outward on rusted hinges. It offered a harsh metallic groan.

I looked into the narrow space. I expected to see the familiar, battered spine of my biology textbook sitting on the top shelf. I expected to see my spare pens and the emergency umbrella resting against the back wall.

The textbook was pushed aside.

A rectangular package occupied the center of the top shelf.

My heart stalled in my chest. The breath vanished from my lungs. My hand froze on the edge of the metal door.

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