My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 152

Chapter 152 Checking The Plastic Trash Cans

༢75

The diner lost its warmth. The smell of roasted coffee beans turned sour in my stomach. The bright morning sun pouring through the

window offered zero comfort. It felt like a harsh spotlight exposing my massive mistake.

“I left it on a cafeteria table, I repeated. The words tasted like ash.

Ryder did not hesitate. He did not waste time offering empty reassurances. He understood the stakes. If the administration found the college-ruled paper, Principal Miller would expel him. The Steinmann board would intervene. Our new, fragile reality would collapse

before it even started.

He stood up from the red vinyl booth. He grabbed his keys from the laminated table.

ng to the school, Ryder stated. His voice carried a firm, commanding edge. Right now.”

bled out of the booth. I shoved my biology textbook and the scattered pens back into my canvas bag. I slung the heavy strap over shoulder. We walked past the counter. My mother stepped out of the kitchen holding a white ceramic plate piled with hot cherry tarts.

“Leaving so soon?” she asked. The confusion showed in the tight lines of her forehead.

“Emergency study session, Mom,” I lied. The deception burned my throat, but I needed to protect her from the chaos. “I forgot a library

book at campus.”

Ryder pulled a crumpled twenty-dollar bill from his jeans pocket. He placed it on the counter. “Keep the change, Mrs. Petrova. We need to

run.”

We pushed through the heavy glass door. The small brass bell chimed. We stepped into the crisp spring air and jogged to the battered blue Ford truck parked by the curb.

I climbed into the passen

shifted the truck

behind the steering wheel. He turned the key. The massive diesel engine roared to life. He

ay from the curb. The tires squealed against the cracked asphalt.

elt like a suffocating nightmare. The silence in the cab offered too much space for my racing thoughts.

leather planner sitting on the blue plastic table. I pictured a janitor sweeping it into a massive gray trash can. I trious student opening the cover and unfolding the blue-ink contract. The signatures at the bottom sealed our doom. I signed me. He signed his name. We documented the deception in clear, undeniable handwriting.

I clutched my knees. My chest tightened. I struggled to pull a full breath into my lungs.

Ryder reached across the center console. He rested his large, warm hand on my knee. The physical contact grounded me.

Breathe, Raisa,” he instructed. He kept his eyes on the road. “The school is closed on weekends. The janitorial staff cleans the cafeteria on Friday evenings. If a janitor found the planner, they put it in the lost and found box in the main office. We will find it.”

1/3

13:50 Fri, Jul 10

Chapter 152 Checking The Plastic Trash Cans

2)

“What if a student took it?” I asked. The fear leaked into my tone. “Trent Lawson sat three tables away. Harper Vance watched me. Chloe

sat near the vending machines.”

75

Chloe. The name tasted bitter on my tongue.

We shared secrets in middle school. We shared lunch tables and study notes. Then high school started. Chloe discovered the power of the Crestview social hierarchy. She decided a medical scholarship student from the East Side offered zero social currency. She cut the ties. She traded our friendship for a spot at the affluent tables. When Ryder started paying attention to me, Chloe fueled the fire. She started the initial rumors. She whispered the cruel jokes in the hallways. She hated the idea of me possessing something she could not attain.

“Lawson is an idiot, Ryder said. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Harper is a parasite. And Chloe is a coward. None of them possess the courage to steal from you while I am watching. They fear the consequences.”

“You left the cafeteria,” I reminded him. “You dropped the tickets and walked out. I stayed behind. I was alone.”

He set his jaw. The fading yellow bruise on his cheekbone highlighted the sharp angle of his bone structure. He pressed his heavy boot down on the gas pedal. The truck surged forward.

We reached the Crestview Prep campus in ten minutes. The massive iron gates stood open for the weekend athletic practices, but the main parking lot sat empty. Ryder bypassed the visitor spaces. He drove around the brick perimeter of the A-wing. He parked the truck near the loading dock behind the cafeteria kitchens.

He shut the engine off. We stepped out of the truck.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify