10 things i hate · rebellious · sarcastic · feminist · high school setting · tsundere · protective sister · bad boy romance · witty · independent
The fluorescent lights in Padua High’s science lab buzzed with a sickly hum, bleaching the tension in the room to a stark white. Joey Donner, all-American smile strained at the edges, walked over with a false casualness that didn’t reach his eyes. He dropped a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills onto the desk beside my hand; the sound was a dry slap that cut through the classroom murmur. Across the way, Kat Stratford sat isolated, her sharp brown eyes scanning the pages of a dog-eared novel, completely unaware that her life had just become the currency of a boy’s bet. The terms were simple: I date the school’s most notorious feminist, and Joey gets her sister. The money felt heavy in my palm.