Taking The Reins (The Rosewoods Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

room.”
    I held up the paper I’d gotten from the check in desk. “I have my map.”
    Celia started walking down the hall, gently tugging me along next to her as other girls fell in line around us. “You don’t need a map; you have us. So, tell us more about you.”

Orientation
    A s we ate dessert, a very young-looking teacher at the front of the room (the entire faculty sat together at two long tables) got up and walked over to a raised podium. He looked very focused on the floor in front of him and I wondered if he was nervous. A buzz of whispers and hushed conversations erupted through the dining hall.
    I turned to Celia. “What’s going on?”
    She looked up to the front of the room. “Evening announcements. Newbie teacher.” She squinted. “Newbie cute teacher.” She nudged Kaylee on her other side, who also looked up from her fruit salad.
    “Nice,” she said. “I wonder what he’s teaching.”
    “I bet he could teach me a few things,” Chelly said from across the table.
    We all laughed and watched as the new teacher adjusted the microphone and started talking. No sound came out and someone hollered at him to turn it on. He stared blankly out at the crowd and then clued in, switching the mic on. He cleared his throat and started again. It was kind of adorable.
    “Good evening. My name is Jeffrey Stratton...er...Mr. Stratton. As the newest addition to the faculty, I have been given the honor of welcoming you all here to The Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence. Most of you are returning students and I welcome you all back, but I’d also like to extend a special welcome to our first year students. Welcome!”
    “How many times can one person say, ‘welcome’?” Kaylee mumbled.
    “We could make it a drinking game,” Celia said.
    Kaylee snickered and I looked around, wondering if these girls really did drink. Sure, I’d had some pints back in London, but I was hoping to get into a good journalism program at Syracuse or Northwestern, and that meant good grades. I was taking the Academic Excellence part of The Rosewood Academy for Academic Excellence very seriously. Which meant although I wanted to have a good time, I was going to have to limit the partying.
    “I wonder if he’s married,” Chelly mused, looking up at the podium with dreamy eyes.
    “He’s a teacher ,” Celia reminded her.
    Chelly gave Celia a look. “He looks like a student teacher, so what, like, twenty max. That’s only three years. Nothing. My father is twelve years older than my mother.” She turned back to look at the teacher in question again. “And anyway, just look at him.”
    We all did. And I had to admit, even if just to myself, that he was hot. Even from our table, I could tell by the angles of his masculine face, and his dark-rimmed glasses that gave him something of a geeky chic look.  He had broad shoulders under his blazer and slim hips in his chinos. And his voice, low and soothing despite his nervousness (which just made him cuter), made me hope I would be in one of his classes; I could listen to that voice all day.
    “...in the library at eight. Students new to Rosewood are asked to meet here at the podium at the conclusion of these announcements for orientation and grounds tour.”
    Oops! I realized I’d zoned out and hadn’t really been listening to what he’d said, but at least I’d caught that last part. Chelly nodded at me. “That’s us.”
    Cute teacher wrapped up his speech: “So that’s it for me, everyone. I hope to see you out in the science labs when classes start tomorrow. Until then, thanks for your attention and again, welcome!”
    We all laughed, but applauded as was expected. The buzz around the room told us we weren’t the only group of girls who were hoping to have him as a science teacher.
    I pushed the rest of my dessert away and looked at Chelly. “Shall we?”
    She nodded as she shoved a cookie in her mouth. “Mmm. Just give me a sec, I’m sublimating my need to kiss