A Bloom I Passed By Chapter 2

After the final bell, Mia slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked out of the classroom ahead of me.

Carl, the chauffeur waiting at the school gate, did a double-take. “Aren’t you waiting for Mr. Vance?” he asked, surprised.

Mia pressed her lips together, saying nothing. Carl was used to her silence. He shot a resentful look at me as I caught up. “Leo,” he said, his voice low and chiding, “why weren’t you keeping up with her? If something happened to Miss Malina, how would I explain it to her mother?”

See? He called me ‘Mr. Vance,’ but he’d never seen me as anything more than a glorified babysitter. It was the price of my family’s fall from grace.

“Carl, let’s go.”

Mia spoke again, her voice clear. Carl was so stunned he forgot the rest of his lecture. “Miss Malina, you… you spoke to me?” he stammered, a goofy grin spreading across his face. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn’t even notice a stranger approaching.

“Whoa, Mia, is this your car?” Alex whistled, circling the black sedan. “This thing must have cost a fortune.”

Carl’s brow furrowed. He was about to step in when Mia herself opened the car door.

She tugged nervously at the hem of her uniform. “If you like it, you can have it.”

Alex’s eyes went wide. “Hahahaha! Do you even know what you’re saying? You’d really just give it to me?”

Mia nodded earnestly and even got out of the car, gesturing for him to get in.

A muscle in Carl’s jaw twitched. Anyone who knew Mia knew how fiercely she guarded her personal space. It had taken me six months just to be allowed to ride in the same car with her.

But Alex was different. Alex was an exception. A first.

He ruffled her hair as if she were a well-behaved puppy. “Wow, you’re so naive. Aren’t you afraid someone will take advantage of you? Okay, okay, I’m just kidding. See you tomorrow, my cute little deskmate.”

He walked away, humming a cheerful tune. Mia seemed to catch his infectious joy, a small smile playing on her lips. She watched him until he was completely out of sight before turning and slamming the car door shut right in my face.

Carl, having completely forgotten I existed, looked like he couldn’t wait to race home and tell Mia’s mother the miraculous news.

The car sped off, leaving me in a cloud of exhaust.

I glanced at my phone. My ride-share was five minutes away. Good thing I hadn't counted on them.