Spotlight: I Hate You Fuller James by Kelly Anne Blount
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I hate you, Fuller James.
I hate your floppy hair and your lopsided grin and those laughing blue eyes that always seem to be laughing at me.
I hate that you’re the most popular guy in school and I’m still the girl who sneezed and spit out her retainer on someone at a middle school dance. It’s just such a cliché.
I hate that I’m being forced to tutor you in English and keep it a secret from everyone. Because otherwise it might put our basketball team’s chances at winning State in jeopardy, and even though I hate you, I love basketball.
I hate that it seems like you’re keeping a secret from me…and that the more time we spend together, the less I feel like I’m on solid ground. Because I’m starting to realize there’s so much more to you than meets the eye. Underneath it all, you’re real.
But what I hate most is that I really don’t hate you at all.
Excerpt
“How was school today, honey?” Mom passed me a large bowl of pasta.
“Good.” I scooped several heaping servings onto my plate, burying the blue flower design in the center.
My little brother giggled from across the table, his light brown eyes flashing with interest. He took after our mom in the looks department, and I took after my dad.
Clearing his throat, Dad caught Mom’s gaze. “Hudson, can you do us a favor and grab the pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator?”
He scrunched up his nose and grinned. “You’re in so much trouble.”
“Hudson,” Mom said in a firm voice. “Lemonade, now.”
Getting off his chair, his little feet hit the floor. “I know. I know. I’ll take my time.”
As soon as he disappeared around the corner, Mom and Dad turned toward me.
“Fuller, how could you be doing so poorly in AP Literature class? You’ve never failed a class before!” Mom’s eyes were wide and her brow furrowed.
Of course Principal Davis would let them know... It
couldn’t have been a complete surprise to them. They’d been on me when my grade dropped from a B to a C and again when it went from C to a D, but I’d promised to bring it up. A promise, it turns out, that I couldn’t keep.
“I—I—” Unable to come up with an excuse, I let my head fall. The homemade bunny salt-and-pepper shakers in the middle of the wooden table didn’t offer any brilliant answers, so I remained quiet.
“I don’t want to hear excuses. This is your only AP class.” My dad frowned. “Principal Davis told us that Coach’s niece will be tutoring you until you’ve raised your grade back up.”
“Yes, sir.” I struggled to get the words out. Not only were my parents upset with me, but I’d made a terrible bet that could end up hurting someone who didn’t deserve it.
“We want a daily report. Details of what you covered in class, what you did in your tutoring session, and a rundown of your homework.” Dad crossed his arms. He looked at me like Coach had before I left practice.
Shoulders drooping, I replied. “Yes, sir.”“You need to set a better example for your little brother.” Mom’s words stung. She was right.“Yes, ma’am.”Hudson walked back into the room with a glass pitcher
balanced in between his small hands. “Are you done being disappointed in Fuller?” He pressed his lips together, trying to suppress a grin.
“Your brother is going to do much better in school,” Mom said, shooting me a look that could stop a freight train in its tracks. “Isn’t that right, Fuller?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
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About the Author
USA Today Bestselling author and Wattpad Star Kelly Anne Blount has more than seventy-three-thousand followers on social media. Her Wattpad stories have been read more than twenty-million times. She’s contributed to Tap, Wattpad’s new app for chat-style stories, where her work has been “tapped” more than fifty-million times. She is a writer and reviewer for SpoilerTV, which has allowed her to develop an incredible network of film and TV stars.
Two of her Wattpad works, including Captured (seventeen-million reads), have been optioned for film by Komixx Entertainment, and she is regularly invited to present seminars about social media at author events.
Stop by any of Kelly’s social-media platforms (@KellyAnneBlount) and stay tuned to this website for announcements and information about upcoming releases and events
