WEYBRIDGE ACADEMY

BONUS CHAPTER

ALEXANDRA MOODY
Copyright © 2023 by Alexandra Moody
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Editing by Pete Thompson
 NOAH

T he school year hadn’t even begun, and I was already over Weybridge
Academy. Even though I’d only been back a couple of hours, I could tell
the school hadn’t changed one bit during the break. It was still full of the
same grovelling teachers, the guys were as arrogant as ever, and the girls
only seemed to have grown more fake over the summer. Worst of all, it
seemed everyone here still wanted a piece of me. This year was going to be
just as bad as the last.
Two girls shared a giggle as they watched me pass, and the sound
scraped down the back of my spine like nails on a chalkboard. I hated it
when girls looked at me that way. And why did they always have to giggle?
I forced an awkward half smile that came out more like a grimace as I
hurried past them. I should have known that coming into the girls’
dormitory was a bad idea.
It was my cousin’s fault I’d had to venture in here. Cress had said she’d
come find me when she got to school, and even though she’d texted me an
hour ago to say she’d arrived, I’d heard nothing from her since. She wasn’t
answering her phone when I called, so I’d decided to hunt her down.
The girls giggled again behind me and whispered something I couldn’t
quite hear. Yep, I was going to kill Cress. And then I was going to give her a
massive hug.
I’d missed her this summer. She’d spent the break in New York, while
my grandfather had sent me out to one of his company’s labs in California.
Pretty much all my time outside of school these days was devoted to
“learning the ropes,” as William liked to call it, at Hastings Laboratories.
I’d been doing it for a few years now, and all I’d learned was that my
grandfather was not to be trusted.
I’d hoped to spend this summer uncovering more dirt on William, but
my investigation into his shady past had stalled a little while I was on the
West Coast. Being back at school wasn’t going to help with that either. Still,
I had enough information to know that William was to blame for the fire.
That he had lit the blaze that saved his company but killed my father and
destroyed my family. The only question that remained: what was I going to
do about it?
I was already struggling to maintain the guise of a relationship with my
grandfather, and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it up. I hated
him more than anything, and I knew I had to make him pay for the things
he’d done. I just wasn’t sure how I could accomplish that yet.
Again, I fell back on the same thinking that had gotten me through the
summer. Hastings Laboratories was a sinking ship. It was only a matter of
time before it took on too much water and went under. That’s not
necessarily what I wanted, but if I could ensure my grandfather when down
with it, then I didn’t really care.
I finally made it to Cress’s room and rapped on the door. My skin itched
from the scrutiny I could feel as people watched me wait. The hallway was
busy as students moved back into their rooms after the break, but it felt like
they all stopped carrying boxes and unpacking their things when they saw
me. Cress didn’t answer straight away, and I couldn’t hear any movement
from within the room, so I knocked again, in case she hadn’t heard me the
first time.
I’d only been waiting a few seconds and already I could feel the
whispers filling the hallway around me. No one was bold enough to
approach me, say hello, or ask me how my summer was, but that was
normal. They preferred to gossip about me quietly. I often felt like some
odd attraction at the zoo. People didn’t necessarily want to pet the animal in
the cage, but they couldn’t seem to stop themselves from pausing to admire
it.
This year, the attention on me would probably be worse than ever, as
my eighteenth birthday loomed, and I prepared to officially take a stake in
the family business. All people saw when they looked at me was my name
and the potential inheritance that came with it.
 I gave Cress another few seconds to answer the door before I gave up. I
couldn’t bear to stand here much longer. I’d have to find her later. I made
my way back through the dorm, doing my best to avoid eye contact with
everyone I passed, keeping my focus on the ground in front of me.
I only started to relax when I reached the entrance and saw the freedom
of the courtyard was within reach. I pushed through the door, and as I lifted
my gaze I found myself looking into a pair of stunning blue eyes.
My feet ground to a halt. There was a girl standing in front of me. I’d
never seen her before in my life, but I felt a strange jolt of recognition as I
looked at her. As she met my gaze, her eyes widened with a sense of shock
that mirrored my own.
A feeling of warmth swelled within me as I stared at her, and I didn’t
know how to look away. Her eyes were a strikingly light shade of icy blue,
and they glinted like a frozen sea on a bright sunny day. They were
welcoming, yet piercing and curious, and it felt like she could see right into
the depths of my murky soul. Who the hell was this girl?
“Hey, Noah.”
I frowned as the words hit me, and I finally managed to tug my gaze
away from the girl. It was only once we’d broken eye contact that I dragged
in a breath. I must have been holding my breath ever since I stepped
through the door. That was definitely a first. I couldn’t remember a girl ever
stealing the air from my lungs that way before.
It took me a moment to realize Cress was standing next to the girl, and
she was the one who had spoken. A knowing smile was curving my cousin’s
lips, like she knew the impact her friend was having on me.
“Cress.” I tried to keep my voice as disinterested as possible. I didn’t
want her to think the girl had any effect on me whatsoever, let alone that
she’d left me pretty much breathless.
“I was just inside looking for you,” I continued. And I’m pissed that you
weren’t there, I silently added. Entering the girls’ dorm was painful enough
on a normal day, let alone when it was buzzing with everyone arriving for
the start of the school year.
Cress’s eyes danced with laughter. She clearly understood exactly how
excruciating that experience had been for me, and, apparently, she found it
hilarious. How someone so sweet could enjoy my pain so much was a
mystery I’d never solve.
 “Well, here I am,” she replied. “This is my new roommate, Isobel. She’s
just started at Weybridge and I’m showing her around.”
I snuck a glance at the girl again. Isobel. Now that I got a better look at
her, I could really see how beautiful she was. It wasn’t all that unusual;
there were plenty of good-looking girls at Weybridge Academy. I couldn’t
quite bring myself to lump Isobel in with the rest of them though.
There was a hint of innocence in her gaze, and from the way she
wrapped her arms across her body, she appeared uncomfortable with her
surrounds. Her blonde, curly hair was unruly, and she was barely wearing
any makeup; yet that only added to her appeal. She seemed a little nervous,
like a wild bird that had been placed in a gilded cage. She clearly wasn’t at
home in her new habitat. I wondered how long it would be before she
acclimatized to this place. Or would she soon be like me, rattling at the
bars, desperate to get out. I’d been trying for years and still hadn’t found a
way to truly escape.
I could feel my curiosity, and Isobel’s blue eyes, reeling me in again, so
I quickly tore my gaze away.
“Are you coming to Luther’s tonight?” I asked Cress.
Her grin was even wider now. I’d only meant to glance at Isobel, but I
must have held my focus on her long enough for Cress to confirm her
suspicions that the new girl had caught my eye. It was just a look though,
and my cousin had no reason to suspect anything. Just because a girl briefly
held my attention that didn’t mean I had any further interest.
“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Cress replied, her smile somehow widening
further.
I didn’t miss the fact she’d included Isobel in her answer. I was tempted
to look at the girl again to see her reaction, but I just about managed to keep
my eyes planted firmly on my cousin. It was more difficult than I thought,
and Cress was still smirking, as though she could tell I was stubbornly
resisting the urge to let my eyes stray.
“We can catch up then,” I told her. It had been a long summer apart, and
we still had so much to talk about. She was one of the few people I actually
liked in this school. In this world. She was the only person I ever really
opened up to about the pressure my grandfather put me under. And while
she might not know all of my problems, and the extent of my grandfather’s
indiscretions, she was probably the person I was most honest with.
 It was quite clear I wasn’t going to be able to have a proper talk with her
now though. Not with Isobel here. She looked overwhelmed by Weybridge
and would probably be completely lost without Cress’s guidance, so I
couldn’t exactly tear my cousin away and leave the poor girl to fend for
herself.
I spotted Kaden and Luther making their way across the courtyard, and I
gave Cress a small nod. “I’ll leave you to your babysitting duties.”
Cress shot me a scowl in response and I struggled not to smile. I walked
off before she could tell me to be nice—which was probably her favorite
thing to say to me. She definitely wasn’t afraid of being straight with me,
unlike most people.
As I stepped away, I felt every fiber of my body urging me to sneak
another look at Isobel, but I resisted and forced myself to keep my eyes up
and my feet moving forward. As the distance between us grew, I instantly
regretted the decision not to meet her blue eyes with mine one more time.
“Oh, Noah. There you are.”
I’d been making my way across the courtyard so I could intercept
Luther and Kaden, but I hadn’t noticed Veronica and her friends
approaching. They surrounded me before I could blink, and within moments
Veronica’s nails were clawing into my arm.
She was the only person from school I’d seen over the summer but also
the one person I wanted to avoid most. My grandfather was always setting
up meetings with her family and throwing the two of us together. He was
desperate to maintain a close relationship with her father, who was currently
the main investor in Hastings Laboratories. William knew Mr. Cordeaux
was crucial to the survival of the company, and Mrs. Cordeaux was
obsessed with the idea of Veronica and I becoming an item. None of them
seemed to realize, or care, that I had no interest in Veronica. I sometimes
questioned whether she had any interest in me too, even if she was
constantly throwing herself at me in front of our friends and families.
I glanced over my shoulder, back in the direction of the girls’ dorm.
Isobel was just disappearing through the front entrance, following after
Cress. A moment later, she was out of view completely. I was surprised by
the ache I felt in my chest when the door shut behind them. I’d missed
another chance to look at Isobel, and I couldn’t help but wonder when I’d
get the opportunity again.
 “I’ve missed you.” I realized Veronica was still talking, but I hadn’t
heard most of what she’d said. I wasn’t sure how she could have missed me.
I’d seen her just two weeks ago at an event my grandfather hosted. As I
focused on her, I frowned. There was something different about her. It
suddenly hit me. Her lips. They seemed to have exploded since I’d last seen
her, and I had to wonder if she’d had an allergic reaction to something.
I slowly peeled her hand from my arm. “I’m afraid I can’t talk right
now.”
“But, Noah…”
“We’ll talk later.” Or, if I had my way, never. If only that were possible.
I walked an extremely tight line when it came to Veronica. I couldn’t be
outwardly rude to her, or I’d risk upsetting my grandfather, and I needed to
keep him on side. However, I also had to be direct enough with Veronica
that she didn’t get the wrong idea. It was tricky, and she only made it harder
with the incessant fawning and flirting. If it was any other girl, I would
have just ignored her until she got the message. Unfortunately, that wasn’t
an option with Veronica Cordeaux.
Luther and Kaden had almost reached the boys’ dorm, so I took off at a
jog toward them before Veronica could object. I could hear her mutter her
displeasure to her friends as I left, but she thankfully didn’t come after me.
My two friends were grinning as I approached. They’d probably just
seen my interaction with Veronica.
“School hasn’t even started yet and already Veronica’s marking her
territory,” Luther said with a laugh.
Yep, these two didn’t miss a trick. Especially Luther.
“It’s great to see you too,” I grunted. Along with Cress, Luther and
Kaden were the only other people I’d been looking forward to seeing all
summer. But, as usual, Luther had to open his mouth and ruin it. It was
moments like these that made me wonder why I even bothered being
friends with him. But then I’d remember. He might give me a lot of shit, but
he always had my back when the time came.
Luther’s grin grew wider. “Aw, Noah-kins, did you miss me over the
break?”
“Definitely not.” I turned to Kaden. “When did you guys get here?”
Kaden was smiling, though he clearly wasn’t getting as much of a kick
out of my pain as Luther was. He was definitely the less annoying one of
my two friends. In fact, the guy didn’t have an annoying bone in his body.
“Not long ago,” he said.
“We texted you,” Luther added. “And were extremely disappointed you
didn’t come to the parking lot to greet us with a welcome sign. I wanted to
show you my new baby.”
I rolled my eyes. Luther had sent me so many pictures of his new car
over the last week, I practically felt like I’d ridden in the thing.
“So, who was the girl?” Luther asked.
My heart skipped a beat as I thought of Isobel. There were plenty of
girls in the courtyard, but I instantly knew he was talking about her. I just
hoped they hadn’t seen the way I’d looked at her. They’d only give me
more shit.
“What girl?” I shrugged as casually as I could.
Kaden chuckled. “I think you know what girl.”
“Of course, he knows,” Luther said to Kaden, before turning to me
again. “But, if you need reminding, I’m talking about the one who stopped
you in your tracks outside the girls’ dorm just a few minutes ago.”
“I didn’t stop in my tracks.”
“Ha, you totally did.”
I really wished there was something I could do to wipe the smug grin
off Luther’s face.
“So, who is she?” he prompted.
I gave another shrug, failing miserably to make it look convincing. “Just
some new girl. Cress is showing her around. That’s the only reason I
stopped to talk with them.”
“Uh huh.” Luther nodded sarcastically. “It’s interesting that you only
stopped to talk to Cress, but you couldn’t keep your eyes off her friend.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I insisted.
“Veronica certainly thought it was like that,” Kaden said. “You should
have seen the way she raced across the courtyard so she could ‘bump’ into
you.”
“I wouldn’t pay too much attention to Veronica’s reaction. She’s got her
own agenda.”
“Yes, and you’re the number one item on it,” Luther said. “But, we’re
not talking about her. I want to hear more about the new girl who struck you
speechless. What do we know about her?”
“Nothing.”
 “Do you need me to do some digging?”
“Please don’t.”
“Because I’m very good at uncovering people’s secrets…”
I let out a groan. Luther was never going to let this go. Had he always
been this way? Surely, I hadn’t made a conscious choice to become best
friends with someone whose sole purpose in life seemed to be making mine
difficult.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Luther said. “Anyway, I better get going. I’ve
got to make sure everything’s ready for the party. I’ll catch you both later.”
He started to step away but made sure to get one final point in before he
left. “And don’t worry, Noah. I’ll be super subtle about getting all the dirt
on newbie.”
I tried to object, but Luther was already walking away.
Kaden laughed when he caught my distraught expression. “I’m sure
he’ll give up when he realizes you’re not really interested in her.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“You’re not interested, are you?”
I shook my head. “I’m sure she’s just like every other girl at Weybridge
Academy. Once she learns my surname, that’s all she’ll see.”
Kaden sighed. “Not every girl here is like that.”
“The vast majority are.”
“I guess.”
We started walking toward the dorm together.
“So, does the new girl at least have a name?” Kaden asked.
“Isobel,” I replied, a little too quickly.
Kaden slowly started to smile, and I let out a sigh. “What?”
“You remembered her name.”
“And?”
“Well, if you remembered a girl’s name, you can’t be that
disinterested…”
“Geez, I know I can be a bit of a dick, but I’m not that bad, am I?”
Kaden shrugged. “No comment.”
I shook my head at him. Sometimes my friends were just a little too
brutally honest.
But Kaden and Luther were both wrong about this. At least, I hoped
they were. I had too much going on in my life right now, and the last thing I
needed was to let a girl distract me from what I had to achieve this year.
Sure, I might have felt an attraction to Isobel. She was gorgeous, so who
wouldn’t? But that was where it ended.
I told myself that Isobel would be just like the other girls at Weybridge
Academy. Even if there had appeared to be a connection between us when
we’d first met, it couldn’t be real. That was the sad but brutal reality of my
existence here. Only a few people ever saw the real me, and even then, I felt
like I was always holding something back.
Still, even as we entered the boys’ dorm and Kaden turned the
conversation to the party that night, I couldn’t seem to get Isobel’s bright
blue eyes out of my mind. I had to admit, no girl had ever made me feel this
way with just one look. Even though she hadn’t said anything, and had been
so uncomfortable in her new surroundings, she seemed to have awakened
something inside me that I’d forgotten existed.
I needed to see her again. To find out if she would elicit the same
reaction out of me. To confirm whether she was going to be just like
everyone else. Although, I couldn’t be sure if that’s what I wanted or not.
I’d thought that nothing in this school had changed over the summer.
But maybe I’d spoken too soon. Maybe this year wasn’t going to be so bad
after all.
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ALSO BY ALEXANDRA MOODY

Stand-alone books
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Stuck with You

Weybridge Academy Series

Sweet Heartbreak
Sweet Temptation
Sweet Ruin

The Wrong Match Series

The Wrong Bachelor
The Wrong Costar
The Wrong Prom Date

Christmas Magic Series

Christmas Magic
Christmas Chaos
Christmas Curse

The Liftsal Guardians Series

The Liftsal Guardians
The Brakys’ Lair
The Oblivion Stone
The Rift War

The ARC series

Tainted
Talented
Fractured
Destined
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexandra Moody is an Australian author who writes romance novels for young adults. She lives in
Adelaide with her husband, son and their naughty dog. When she’s not busy writing, you’ll find her
reading or spending time with her family. She loves to travel, is addicted to caffeine and has a
love/hate relationship with the gym. She can often be found on Instagram and TikTok.

For more information:

www.alexandramoody.com
[email protected]