The rest of the evening passed quickly. Karla had a Skype chat with Manuel and Kiara and she told them about the events of the past few days then after dinner she went up to her room, showered and went to bed. It’d been an eventful past few days and she was exhausted.
Chapter Seventy-Six
The next couple of months passed quickly. Karla and her friends hung out and studied together. Conner was the perfect gentleman and never did anything other than hold Karla’s hand and kiss her forehead. Albert was expelled from school because of the things he’d said, but that didn’t stop the rumors from happening. Karla was handling them though. She knew they’d go away over summer break and when school started next year everything would be great.
Two weeks before finals Karla, Rylee, Callie and Conner were approached by one of the captains of the Academic Decathlon team during lunch. “Can I talk to you four about something?” She asked tentatively.
“Ummm..sure.” Karla answered her.
“My name’s Vanessa and I’m co-captain on the Academic Decathlon team and we’re losing four members after graduation, my co-captain, I and another member are graduating this year, and one of the junior captains is moving.”
“What does that have to do with us?” Callie asked her.
“Well we’ve been going around asking the teachers and Mr. Johnson who we could recruit to replace everyone and your names kept coming up. You four have the highest GPA’s in the freshman class and most of the teachers said that if they could give higher grades then you four would be getting them.”
“So are you trying to ask us if we want to join the team?” Rylee asked her.
“Yes. That’s what I’m trying to ask. We need four really strong members if we want to win regionals and state next year and keep our winning streak going. We’ve discussed it with our coaches and they agree that you four can help the team achieve that goal.”
“Oh wow. This is awesome.” Rylee said with a grin.
“So what all would we have to do?” Conner asked. He was interested, but he was curious about how much time would be involved.
“We start meeting in July and practice every Tuesday and Thursday from ten until noon until school starts then its Tuesdays and Thursdays from three to five. We have competitions on Saturdays starting in September and they go through March. There are only one or two competitions a month so it’s not every Saturday.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad. What do you think?” Karla said and looked around at her friends.
“I think it sounds like fun.” Rylee grinned. “I’m in.”
“Me too.” Callie responded quickly. “What do you say Con? You in too?”
“Karla? Think you could get past your nervousness and do this with us?” Conner asked her.
Karla took a deep breath and slid her hand into Conner’s. “As long as I’m with you three I can do anything. I’m in.”
Vanessa smiled broadly “Awesome. I’ll let everyone know. I’m sure they’ll want to meet you before school’s out. We have an organizational meeting Friday afternoon if you all want to stop by and meet everyone.”
“We can do that can’t we?” Callie asked them.
“Yes. I have to tutor Friday, but that’s not until five so it should be fine.” Conner told them.
“It’s all set then. We’re meeting from three until four so you should be good. If anyone needs a ride home after the meeting I can give you one.” Vanessa told them.
“Sounds great.” Callie said. “We’ll be there and thank you for this opportunity.”
“Thank you all for agreeing to be part of the team. With you four we’ll continue to rise to the top in the academic community.” She turned and walked away before any of them could say anything else.
“Wow. What an honor.” Chase said and kissed Callie’s cheek. “Congrats babe.”
“Thanks Chase. Are you okay with me doing this?”
“Of course. It’ll look great on your college applications. I’m proud of you.” He kissed her cheek again and she smiled.
“I wish Dominic was here.” Rylee pouted.
“He’ll be back soon Ry. I’m glad he isn’t here. I really don’t want to catch his strep throat.” Conner told her and hugged her.
“Neither do I.” Karla agreed.
When the lunch bell rang they threw away their trash and headed to class. The rest of the day passed quickly and when they all got to Karla’s house that afternoon they told Leslie about the Academic Decathlon team then started studying for finals. School may come easy for all of them, but if they wanted to keep the highest GPA’s in their grade then they still needed to study.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
On Friday when the dismissal bell rang they all walked to the meeting together. When they walked in Vanessa walked to them and led them to the front of the room. “Thanks for coming everyone. I’d like you all to meet Rylee McNabb, Karla Hall and Conner and Callie Newberry. They’ve agreed to fill the four spots that will be vacant at the end of the school year. As you all know they have the highest GPA’s in the freshman class and Karla is the top student in the freshman class. She has a one hundred percent grade and has a memory that will be invaluable to the team. Conner has a ninety nine point nine percent grade and has the science skills to bring that from our weakest subject to one of our strongest. Callie has a ninety nine point eight nine five percent grade and is a math genius. She can solve equations faster than anyone I’ve ever met. Rylee also has a ninety nine point eight nine five percent grade and is strong in math, science and grammar.”
“So you’re saying that you found four freshman that will be able to keep us at the top?” A boy asked from the back.
“Daniel, what I’m saying is that with these four the team could go further than we’ve ever gone before. We’ve never been able to win Nationals and with them on our team I think we could.” Vanessa told him with a smile.
“Wow. Are they really that smart?” Someone else asked.
“Look, the other captains and I have evaluated every freshman, sophomore, and junior in the school and with the help of Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Wright and several teachers we determined that Karla, Rylee, Conner and Callie were the ones the team needed to go all the way.” One of the other captains said. He turned to them and grinned. “I’m Jake by the way. I’ll be your head captain next year.”
“Nice to meet you Jake. Can you answer a question for me?” Conner asked him.
“Sure. What do you need to know?” Jake asked him.
“How did you get access to our transcripts?”
“Mr. Johnson. We went to him and asked for his advice and he told us about you four. We didn’t actually see your transcripts, but he told us your GPA’s and grade percentiles. He’s very pleased to have you four in school here, especially Karla. I don’t know why, but he was very hush-hush about her test scores.”
“I know why. It’s a promise he made me before school started. I’m glad he’s keeping it.” Karla spoke up.
“Well we’ll respect your privacy and not ask. We’re glad you’re all here and won’t risk ostracizing any of you by asking questions you don’t want to answer.” Jake told her with a wink.
“Thank you. I’ll tell you all though. Conner, Callie and Rylee already know so I may as well let everyone else know too. On my eighth grade exams, the ones that evaluate where you are before you go into high school, my scores were college level. I had the option to skip high school, work with a private tutor for a year, take my college entrance exams and go into college at fifteen, but I wanted the high school experience so I didn’t take that option. I’ll never regret that decision.” She grabbed Conner’s hand and looked at him.
He was smiling at her. “I’m glad you didn’t take that option.”
“We are, too.” Jake told her. “Now if you four will take a seat we have a few things to discuss and then we can get out of here.”
The rest of the meeting passed quickly. Jake told them when the first training meeting was
going to be and what was expected from the members of the team. When the meeting ended Conner stood up and pulled Karla to her feet. “Mom is probably waiting for us. We should get out of here. I have to tutor Jennifer in an hour for her bio final. When I’m finished I’ll be over. We still have some studying to do.”
“Sounds good. We won’t go over anything new until you get there.” Karla told him with a smile.
Mrs. Newberry dropped Karla, Callie, Rylee, Chase and Dominic off at Karla’s house and took Conner home. Jennifer was coming over there so he could work with her on her bio. Before Karla got out of the SUV she kissed Conner on the cheek “I’ll see you in about an hour.” Then she got out and walked into her house.
When Conner got home Jennifer was already there waiting for him. “Why don’t you go into the kitchen and I’ll be right there. I’m just going to run up and grab my bio notebook from last semester.” He didn’t wait for her answer before he went upstairs. He left his bedroom door open and went to his desk to get his notebook. He wanted to get this over with so he could get back to Karla. When he grabbed his notebook and turned around Jennifer was standing in his door.
“I thought we could study up here in your room.” She said suggestively. “I want to get to know you better Conner.”
“Jennifer I don’t know what you think this is, but I only agreed to tutor you so you could pass bio. I have a girlfriend and I would never do anything that would cause me to lose her.”
“Oh come on Conner. You know as well as I do that you agreed to tutor me ‘cause you want me.” Jennifer said as she started to unbutton her shirt.
“Jennifer, I am totally and completely committed to Karla. She’s the only girl I want.”
“Yeah, you and every other guy in school. Since she moved here every guy has been drooling over her and she eats it up. You know what she did with James don’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’ve heard Jennifer, but whatever it was is a lie. Karla and James never did anything.”
“So she says. I heard from James that she offered to do things to him in the theater if he’d go out with her then when he agreed to go with her she backed out. That’s why he was so mad.”
“Jennifer I think it’d be best if you found yourself a different tutor. I can’t help anyone who spreads lies about my girlfriend.”
“You’ll regret turning me away Conner Newberry. You’ll see what kind of girl Karla is and then you’ll come begging to take me up on my offer, but I won’t be there anymore.”
“You disgust me. Get out of my house and find someone else to tutor you.” Conner was so mad he was shaking. He wanted to find James and throttle him, but he knew that wouldn’t do any good. The lies had already been spread and apparently some people were believing them.
“Fine I’ll go, but before I do.” She stopped talking, walked to Conner and kissed him hard on the mouth. Before he could push her away he heard a phone camera click and she broke away and ran out of the room. As she ran down the steps she yelled back to him; “Let’s see how your precious Karla reacts when this picture hits her phone.” Then she darted out the front door, ran down the street and jumped into a black car. When the car passed Conner he saw that Albert Greene was driving it.
“I should have known.” Conner said out loud to himself. Then he walked back into the house, grabbed his backpack off the couch and shouted to his mom. “Jennifer’s gone. I’m going to Karla’s.” He ran all the way to Karla’s, but by the time he got there he was too late. Callie and Rylee met him on the front porch.
Chapter Seventy-Eight
“Conner Fredrick Newberry would you like to explain what the heck this is?” Callie demanded and turned her phone around to show him a very clear picture of him and Jennifer kissing.
“Jennifer set me up. She was there when I got home and I asked her to wait in the kitchen while I ran upstairs to get my bio notebook from last semester. She followed me up there and confronted me in my room. She was bad mouthing Karla and I told her she’d have to find someone else to tutor her because I couldn’t help anyone who was spreading lies about my girlfriend. She said fine, but walked up and kissed me. She snapped the picture about a second before I pushed her away. She ran out the door and jumped into a car driven by Albert Greene. I was set up. I swear I was set up.”
“Con, Karla saw this picture. I know how Jennifer has my number, but how does she have Karla’s?”
“Like I know that. I really need to talk to Karla. She must hate me right now.”
“She’s locked herself in her bathroom. She won’t talk to any of us.” Rylee told him.
“I’ve got to try.” Conner told them. He walked past them and through the front door.
Before he could make it to the stairs Leslie stopped him. “What’s going on Conner? Karla is locked in her bathroom crying and Rylee and Callie are pacing the front porch like a couple of caged animals.”
“It’s a misunderstanding Mrs. Peterson. I really need to go talk to Karla. I have to make her understand that things aren’t as they appear.”
“Go then. I’m going to get the whole story from Callie and Rylee. Oh and Conner. I know you care about her and you know I care about you, but no matter what Karla comes first.”
“I understand Mrs. Peterson. What you need to understand is that she does with me too.” Conner turned and took the stairs two at a time, leaving her standing there gaping after him.
He paused at Karla’s bedroom door and took a deep breath before he opened it and walked in. He went straight to her bathroom door and knocked. “Karla can you come out so we can talk please?”
“Go away Conner.” She sobbed out. “I saw the picture.”
“It’s not what it looks like Karla. I swear to you it isn’t. Can you please come out and I’ll tell you everything that happened?”
“All I need to know is why? Why did you ask me out if you wanted her?”
“I don’t now, nor have I ever, wanted her. She set me up Karla. I swear to you that I would never do anything like that to you.”
He heard the lock on the bathroom door and a second later Karla walked out. Her beautiful green eyes were red and puffy and she had tear streaks running down her face. “I’ll listen to you, but only because I don’t want this to ruin my friendship with Callie and Rylee.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get.” Conner took a deep breath and told Karla exactly what he’d told Rylee and Callie on the porch. When he was finished Karla looked up at him and tears ran down her face again.
“Why would she do that Conner?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to do everything I can to find out. Karla you have to believe me when I tell you that I do not want her. I want you.”
“I’m trying to believe that Conner. I want to believe that, but that picture speaks volumes.”
“I know it does and when I see Jennifer again I swear I’m going to confront her about that, but right now I couldn’t care less about her or what she’s doing. What I care about is you. I am so sorry Karla. I would never do anything to hurt you like that. All I’m asking for is a chance to prove that to you.”
“I don’t know what to believe Conner.” Karla looked at the floor as tears filled her eyes again.
Conner placed a finger under her chin and tilted her face until their eyes met. “You’re the only girl I want Karla. I need you to trust me.”
Karla kept her eyes locked with his and rose to her tip-toes. “I trust you Conner” she whispered and kissed his cheek.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. After a few minutes he kissed the top of her head and let her go. “I think we need to go let everyone know you’re okay.”
“We will in a minute.” Karla told him and stood on her tip-toes and placed a soft kiss on his mouth before she turned and walked out of the room.
Conner stood there for a minute, shocked by her brief kiss, before he grinned and followed her out the door and down the stairs. She was in the kitchen s
itting at the table with Callie and Rylee and when he walked in they all looked up at him.
“I think I need to confront Jennifer.” Karla told them all. “She tried to break me and Conner up and I want to know why.”
“I know why.” Rylee told her. “While you and Conner were upstairs talking I got a text from Dominic. Apparently Jennifer and Albert had just started going out when Albert and Kevin got into that fight on Valentine’s Day. When he got expelled she blamed Karla and has been looking for a way to get revenge since. I guess almost failing bio worked in her favor.”
“So it all goes back to James and his lies?” Karla asked, stunned that James was still trying to hurt her.
“Jennifer said some things about James, but I didn’t connect it until I saw her get into the car with Albert. She said that you offered James sexual favors if he’d go to the movies with you, but then you backed out and that’s why he did what he did.”
A look of shock crossed Karla’s face at Conner’s words. “I didn’t. I swear I didn’t.”
“We know Karla. We know you better than that.” Rylee assured her.
“My question is, what do we do to put an end to this once and for all?” Callie asked.
They all thought about it for a few minutes before Karla looked up and grinned. “I got it, but it isn’t going to be easy.” She told them her plan and they all nodded their agreement.
“We’re going to need Dominic and Chase to pull this off. Think they’ll help?” Conner asked. He was proud of Karla for coming up with idea, but he was a little nervous too because it could backfire if they got caught.
“We’ll find out.” Callie said with a wicked grin. “If they will then we’ll all meet here in the morning and put together an action plan.”
“This is going to be fun.” Rylee said and they all burst out laughing.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
The next afternoon they met at Karla’s and discussed the plan. They knew that if they were caught they’d all be in trouble, but they were all willing to do whatever needed to be done for Karla to have some peace at school.
A New Beginning (The Second Chance Series Book 1) Page 24