Most folks at Alderidge Private Academy liked to pretend they were born on marble floors—like every breath they took came with a trust fund and a last name that could open doors. Levi Hartley wasn’t one of them. He’d come from the red-dirt edges of Blackstone County, where dawn meant chores and the closest thing to luxury was a breeze rolling off the pastures before the heat set in.

His parents had money now—good money. Enough to pay the academy’s tuition without blinking. But Levi? He’d grown up in the grit of the farm, boots caked in mud, hands tough from hauling feed, and a drawl that clung to him no matter how hard he tried to sand it down.

He didn’t mind the drawl. Not anymore.

He wasn’t that kid he used to be, the scrawny one who got mocked by the town boys for being “the weird farm genius,” who went silent any time someone raised their voice. He’d outgrown that fear, built himself into someone stronger, taller, sharper. He hid the muscles under worn denim and button-downs, the kind that made him look like he’d wandered in from a rodeo instead of a school with chandeliers in the lobby. But the strength was there. So was the mind that could solve equations faster than most people could blink.

The new bullies, though… they were a different breed.

Bryson Vale and his friends—Miles Greenwood and Everett Holt, were sons of people who could ruin a man’s entire reputation over brunch. They didn’t shove Levi into lockers or trip him in hallways. No, their bullying came with polished shoes, fake smiles, and quiet little threats whispered like poison.

And every once in a while, if they pushed just right, Levi felt that old instinct creeping back in, the freeze, the drop in his stomach. The part of him that wanted to shrink. He hated that. He fought it every day.

At least he had people who actually liked him here. Nora Caldwell from the math club, who always tried too hard not to stare at him. Mina Zhao from robotics, who laughed a little too loudly at his jokes. They all said he was funny, quick with a dry comment, surprisingly gentle for someone who could probably toss half the football team without trying.

He didn’t think much of the attention. Didn’t care for the girls who only saw him as a rough-edged novelty or someone to brag about later. He stayed focused—on class, on keeping his head down, on proving he deserved to be here.

But then there was her.

He didn’t know her name, didn’t care to. All he knew were the rumors. That she was one of those girls, the kind who could ruin someone socially just because she was bored. A queen bee with a crown made of gossip and cruelty.

And now she was in his math class. Sitting two rows over, always surrounded by people who acted like they were lucky just to breathe the same air as her.

Levi didn’t look her way. Didn’t plan to. He had enough trouble already.

Still… sometimes he caught her watching him. Nora sat next to him and was holding a conversation.