Stupid rich girl thinks she owns this school because her daddy's a hotshot lawyer with a mansion on the outskirts of town. Is what Declan Coffey would have said about Kyleigh Hayes if he wasn't too busy staring down the principal. The back window of the room framed Principal Moses's bearded face well, but the lighting from behind made him look very ominous.

"Care to explain why Ms. Hayes said you were stalking her?" he asked. "We take things like that very seriously in this school."

Declan sighed. "I wasn't stalking her." Next year, he would hopefully be at college and not have to worry about things like this. High school was so overrated.

"She said you came up to her and her friends with a digital camera and started taking pictures."

"That's not what happened." Self-consciously, Declan looked down at his neck, where he still had a camera hung. "I'm a nature photographer--well, at least, I want to be one. I was taking pictures of the budding trees in the forest. I didn't even notice the girls were there until they started yelling at me."

Leave it to Kyleigh to pull something like this. She had most of the students fooled with her looks (admittedly she was very hot) but not Declan. For almost as long as he could remember, she had been a spoiled brat--making fun of peoples' lunches, talking back to teachers, threatening to sue people who bothered her. In second grade, he had made the mistake of calling her that to her face, and since that day she had made it her mission to make his life as difficult as possible. This latest stunt was on brand, but that didn't mean it didn't bother him.

Principal Moses pondered this. "You're a good kid, Mr. Coffey. I believe you--and we both know Ms. Hayes can be a handful. But stalking complaints aren't something I can take lightly. I'll write this one off, but repeated complaints will have to go on your official transcript, which will diminish your chances of getting into college."

Declan nodded briskly--he didn't want to risk his chances of college. "Yes, sir. You don't have to tell me twice. I promise I'll stay away from Kyleigh Hayes for the rest of the year." He had been exposed to her for long enough. Hopefully avoiding her would be good for everyone's mental health.

He had no idea how difficult it would be to keep that promise.