Chapter 26
Ashby
“How did what I said get me detention?” Stan asked. His expression was serious as we walked down the hallway towards Milow’s locker.
“You told Ms. Sartre you have something called Brain Lag Syndrome and that if she didn’t give you a B, you were legally required to sue her for malpractice.”
Stan scoffed. “It’s a legitimate thing, dude. Look it up.”
I laughed and shook my head. “I won’t look up something that doesn’t exist.”
“Okay, maybe the Brain Lag Syndrome isn’t real, but if a teacher fails to teach you, that’s negligence. I’m failing her class because she hasn’t found the right way to teach my brain.”
“Ever thought that maybe you actually just need to study for once? Ms. Sartre is a great teacher.” And he knew that. But Stan was lazy when it came to things he didn’t care about, which wouldn’t help him graduate next year.
“I just asked for a different learning style.”
“You asked her if she could explain algebra using cartoons,” I said, laughing again.
“Uh, yeah! Visual learning,” he shot back. “Very real.”
“You also asked if sleeping during class counted as participation.”
“I was just annoyed at that point,” he muttered. “All I was trying to say was that a C-minus was basically a crime against my future, and by the Geneva Conventions, she’s obligated to fix it.”
“Stan,” I said, stopping for a second because this was getting ridiculous. “The Geneva Conventions apply to war crimes.”
“Exactly.” He stared at me with wide eyes and raised brows, as if his point made any sense.
I shook my head and patted his shoulder. “You’re a basket case.”
We continued walking, and Stan wouldn’t let up. “I was just trying to compromise.”
“It got you detention.”
“That’s a temporary setback,” he said with a shrug, adjusting his backpack. “She can silence me, but she can’t silence the truth.”
“The truth being you’re an idiot.”
We stopped at Milow’s locker, and Stan leaned in closer, lowering his voice like he was sharing classified information. “For the record,” he said, “I think detention is proof I was onto something.”
“Of course,” I replied.
He grinned, proud of himself. “Revolutionaries are never appreciated in their time.”
“Right.” I pressed my lips together and leaned back against the locker. Then I laughed with a shake of my head, unable to keep a straight face. “I still think you should start taking school more seriously.”
“I am taking it seriously,” he shot back. “I just sometimes am not in the mood for school.”
That, unfortunately, made sense. I often wasn’t in the mood either. The difference was that I knew I didn’t have the luxury to ignore it. No matter how heavy everything felt, I couldn’t afford to mess this up. I had goals I wanted to reach in the future.
We waited there, both of us glancing down the hallway every few seconds for Milow. She should’ve been here by now.
Instead of her walking up to us, Lando did.
He walked toward us fast, with his shoulders tense and his jaw locked. His face was tight with anger, and before I could even register what was happening, he was in front of me. His hand grabbed the collar of my sweater and slammed me back against the lockers.
The metal hit my spine hard.
“You sick fuck,” he hissed, his face inches from mine. His eyes were wild. “You always go around messing with girls?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I tried to pry his hands off me, but his grip was solid.
If there was anyone I didn’t want to fight, it was Lando.
He trained MMA like Stan, and he was stronger than he looked.
And right now, he wasn’t thinking, which was the kind of mindset he usually had in a fight.
“Jesus, Lando, get off him!” Stan yelled, trying to push him off me.
“Step back,” Lando growled, never taking his eyes off me. “Think you can mess with my sister and get away with it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, my jaw tight. Panic crawled up my chest.
“Don’t play dumb, Statler,” he snapped. “You harassed her.”
“Whoa,” Stan said, his voice louder now, and trying again to pull him off me. “Slow the hell down. I think you’ve got the wrong guy.”
Lando yanked my collar again and shoved me back into the lockers.
Pain shot through my shoulders. My muscles were already sore from practice, and this made it worse.
I lifted my hands to protect myself. I wasn’t going to fight back.
I didn’t want this to escalate. I also wasn’t convinced I’d win if it did.
“You fucking harassed my little sister,” he repeated, like saying it again would make it true.
I swallowed hard. “I swear to you, Lando, I never even talked to her,” I forced out. His fists pressed too close to my throat. If anything, I’d done the opposite. I’d avoided Aspen at all costs, and I was nice to her, even when she didn’t deserve it.
“Don’t act all innocent now,” he snarled. “I’m gonna fucking kill you.”
Stan snapped at Lando’s threat. “Oh, you wanna fight? Fight me, bitch.”
He finally got a solid grip on Lando and shoved him hard. Lando stumbled back and slammed into the lockers across the hall with a loud crash.
“Stan,” I warned. My chest rose and fell fast. “Let it be.”
“No,” Stan said, stepping forward. “If he wants to fight, he can fight me. Not that he has a chance.”
A crowd had formed around us, watching it all go down with curiosity, waiting for someone to cross a line.
Lando straightened slowly, his breathing heavy. He looked between us, trying to decide whether it was worth it. Then he pointed past Stan, straight at me. “He touched my sister inappropriately.”
I shook my head immediately. “I didn’t.”
Stan let out a dry laugh. “Who’d ever want to touch her?”
That earned him a deadly glare. But Lando didn’t move toward him. He knew better than to rile up Stan. He was a menace when he fought.
“What’s going on?” Jasper broke through the crowd. Bennett was right behind him. Jasper’s eyes moved from Stan to Lando, then landed on me. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m fine.”
Jasper turned back to Lando, unimpressed. “So what’s this about? Why are you losing your mind?”
Lando repeated his accusation, and I finally snapped, unable to hear him blatantly lie any longer. “She flashed me. Out of nowhere. I was swimming, and she showed up and flashed me.”
“Liar,” Lando spat.
“Shit,” Jasper said suddenly. “She did it to you, too?”
Everyone froze, and the students around us gasped.
Jasper looked straight at Lando. “About a week ago. She came to the pool and flashed me. Same thing.”
Stan whistled low. “Damn,” he said, eyes wide and dancing with amusement. “Your sister’s kind of out of control, eh?”
Lando looked like he might blow up again, but his expression shifted.
The tension in his face didn’t disappear fully, but doubt crept in and settled in his eyes.
We weren’t laughing. We weren’t scrambling to defend ourselves.
We weren’t acting guilty. We had no reason to lie, and he finally saw that.
“Let it go, man,” Jasper said calmly. “You should probably talk to your sister about this.”
“She does have a habit of lying,” Stan added immediately. He had no damn filter. He shrugged, as if commenting on the weather. “She’s a crazy witch, if we’re being honest. Just saying.”
I shot him a look, hoping he wouldn’t go further and turn Lando’s initial anger on himself.
Luckily, Lando had other worries now. He dragged a hand through his hair.
He was clearly fighting the instinct to keep defending her.
If we had actually harassed her, his reaction would’ve made sense. But we hadn’t done shit.
Stan crossed his arms over his chest, satisfied. “You owe my friend an apology.”
Lando muttered something under his breath.
Stan leaned forward, cupping his hand behind his ear. “Sorry, what was that? We didn’t quite catch it.”
Lando clenched his jaw, then said it louder. “I said I’m sorry.”
“There it is,” Stan said, nodding like a proud coach. He reached out and patted Lando’s shoulder, completely unbothered. “Growth. Accountability. Love to see it. See you at practice, buddy.”
Lando didn’t respond. He just turned and walked away, disappearing down the hallway with stiff shoulders.
I finally let out the breath I’d been holding and shook my head slowly. “Jesus.”
Stan grinned. “You’re welcome.”
“What happened?” Scottie appeared once the crowd around us thinned out. Instead of answering her myself, I let Stan explain everything while my attention shifted past her to Milow, who had come up behind her.
She looked worried. As soon as she reached me, she lifted her hands while her eyes searched my face. [Are you okay?]
“I’m okay,” I told her, forcing a tight smile.
[I heard shouting.]
“I know.” I sighed and reached out, rubbing her arm gently to ease her worry. “It’s fine. Really.”
She wanted to believe me, and though her shoulders relaxed, her expression stayed tense. She didn’t push me for further explanation, but I knew she wasn’t happy with the answer I gave.
I couldn’t tell her the truth, though. I didn’t want her to know what Aspen had done.
I didn’t want her getting upset, or worse—wondering if I’d somehow provoked it.
It was irrational. She knew me. She knew I wasn’t that kind of guy.
Still, the thought of her hurting over something so stupid made my stomach twist.
I smiled at her again, then turned to her locker and spun the combination. It wasn’t a secret. I’d asked her for it on her first day of high school, and since getting this new locker for junior year, she hadn’t chosen a new one. I glanced back at her once the door opened. “Hungry?”
She nodded and slid her books inside, then grabbed the container with her lunch.
“Good. Me too.”
“She did what?!” Scottie’s voice cut through our quiet moment, and we all turned as she stared at Jasper, then snapped her gaze to me. “Seriously?”
My stomach dropped, and Milow stiffened beside me.
Shit…
“She flashed you?” Scottie’s eyes went wide. “What a bitch.”
“It’s fine, Scottie—” Jasper said, but she cut him off immediately.
“It’s not fine. That’s sexual harassment. You’ve reported her, right?”
My hands curled into fists at my sides. I hated that Milow was hearing this. She was looking at me, trying to piece together what was going on, but I didn’t dare meet her eyes. I knew they’d be full of hurt.
“Lando’s taking care of it,” Stan said casually.
Scottie shot him a death stare. “Taking care of it? Are you even hearing yourself? She flashed her tits at them, and you don’t think that’s worth reporting?”
She was right. We were brushing it off. If a guy had done that to Scottie or Milow, I’d be dragging him straight to the principal’s office without a second thought.
I lifted a hand and rubbed the back of my neck, then looked at Jasper.
When he met my eyes, I saw the same realization there. He nodded slowly.
“God, sometimes I really wonder if you guys even have brains,” Scottie muttered, shaking her head. Then she looked straight at me. “I expected more from you.”
Milow lifted her chin. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye and saw how serious she looked.
[Me too.]
That hit harder than anything else.
“You’re right,” I said, turning fully toward her. “Jasper and I will go report it to the principal. We should’ve done it right away.”
Milow still wasn’t looking at me. Her jaw was tight, and her lips pressed together. That was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid. I didn’t want to make things worse, but I couldn’t ignore this either. It would only upset her more.
“Milow,” I said quietly.
She hugged the food container to her chest and turned her head to the side.
“Milow.” I was trying to find the right words.
“He probably didn’t even look, Milow,” Stan said, trying to help.
Scottie rolled her eyes. “That’s not why she’s upset.”
I frowned and looked between Scottie and Milow.
Milow finally looked at me, a bright fire burning in her eyes, and she shifted the container under one arm and signed, [I’m mad because you didn’t react right away.
She and Hailie get away with things like that without real consequences, and I’m sick of it. ]
She wasn’t mad at me. I finally understood that.
She was angry because there were no real boundaries or fairness when it came to those two girls, and she hated that Aspen wasn’t being held accountable.
Especially when we should have spoken up much sooner.
I slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.
“Milow’s right,” I said, looking at Jasper. “We should’ve reported it immediately.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go now.”
I nodded back, then turned to Milow. “I’ll come right after. Go eat.”
She looked up at me again, her eyes less fiery now. [Okay.]
I wanted to hold her longer. Pull her close and kiss her. But this wasn’t the place or the moment.
“Alright, ladies,” Stan said, slinging an arm around Milow and Scottie, pulling them into his sides. “Let’s eat.”
I watched them walk away. Milow glanced back at me once before turning the corner, and then I looked at Jasper.
“All right,” I said. “Come on.”