Chapter 5
WELCOME BACK, BOBCATS!!!
Anyone else just miss that sweet, sweet smell of Brentwood High?! (Metaphorically, anyway. We all know the east wing smells particularly like a stall in the men’s restroom)
I, for one, am eager to kick off this school year, and to see what secrets and scandals await us. We have a new Top Tier beginning its reign, so keep an eye out for those in glittering blue and gold today. Leave a comment below: any predications for what the school year has in store?
#HappyFirstDay #UghTooEarly
“Hey, Madison!”
“Welcome back, Mads!”
“Oh my God, Madison, your captain uniform looks great on you!”
I smiled at each person who greeted me as they entered the Brentwood High building, their bright smiles and eager eyes boosting my mood higher and higher.
The attention was a shot of dopamine straight to my soul, and along with the first day of school, I was about floating in the middle of the hallway.
No one would pass by Madison Oliphant without attempting some sort of communication.
Some even stuttered. It was so cute.
But I wasn’t here to greet them. I was waiting for a specific golden-haired, blue-eyed heartthrob to saunter through those double doors.
I looked down at my phone, opening Logan’s message thread. The last text was from me first thing this morning. Today’s the day! See you at seven thirty!
It was now seven-fifty, ten minutes until the start of the school day, and Logan still hadn’t replied. He wasn’t kidding about being chronically late, even on the first day of school. I bit down on the corner of my lip, debating whether or not I should double text.
Nah, I wasn’t that pathetic…yet. Five minutes ‘til, then I’d text.
Maybe he got lost on his way to school. They were new streets for him to navigate. Maybe he woke up late. Maybe he couldn’t find parking. Maybe I should call him—
Was I acting like a needy girlfriend? Ugh.
A girl walked through the double doors with her head bent down, focused on her phone, and didn’t even spare me a look. Landon was directly behind her, though, his eyes focused on the back of her head as if trying to burn a hole through it.
My heart jumped. “Hey!”
Thinking I was talking to her, the girl jerked her head up, and as she did, I realized I recognized her.
Brentwood was a big school, but I tried to remember the names of my classmates at least. Lacey…
something. I flashed her a polite smile, which she ignored by taking a hard left down the hallway. Ookay.
Landon seemed to know I’d been calling out to him, because he stopped in front of me, though his eyes still trailed down the hallway. “Happy first day,” he said distractedly.
“Nice Brentwood Blue,” I complimented, scanning his tall frame. He wasn’t wearing his jersey, but he was wearing a blue and gold T-shirt, one that fit his arms tightly but hung loose on his torso. Jade would be happy he listened. “I’ve been meaning to catch you.”
Landon finally looked at me. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to clear the air about something.” Okay, Madison, you can do this.
“Over summer, when I… said we should go out. Jade was the one who told me to ask you. I didn’t…
like, ask you because I had feelings for you or anything.
I don’t have some unrequited crush on you, I mean. So if you’re uncomfortable… don’t be?”
Jeez, I couldn’t have made it more awkward if I’d tried. My voice even lifted up like a question at the end.
Landon blinked down at me. “You only asked me out because Jade told you to?”
I cringed a little, hoping it didn’t hurt his feelings. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Why… what?”
“Why would you ask me out if you didn’t like me?”
Now it was my turn to blink. “Because… Jade told me to.” He literally just said that. Were we not on the same page?
“No, I know.” Landon readjusted his bag where it sat on his shoulder, a line forming between his brows. “You do everything she asks you to do?”
“You’ve met Jade—I’d be crazy if I didn’t.”
I meant it as a joke, but Landon didn’t smile. “I don’t do everything Connor tells me. No,” he murmured, shaking his head. “He doesn’t tell me to do anything.”
I reached out and patted Landon’s shoulder. “It’s because you’re boys,” I said sweetly, dropping it. “Anyway, I just wanted to clear the air. Because… well. I kind of have this thing going on. With someone else. And I didn’t want you to think I was just bouncing between guys, or whatever.”
“Got it.” Landon’s cheeks looked reddish, but he didn’t seem embarrassed. Just still wholly confused. “Air cleared.”
I lifted a fist. “Go Bobcats?”
Landon lifted his own in return, a small, white-flag shaped smile tipping up his lips. No more awkwardness. I could’ve slumped against the wall with a sigh of relief. “Go Bobcats.”
Landon walked away then, merging into the growing hustle and bustle of the hallways before classes started. My homeroom was with Mrs. Diego on the other side of the school, which meant that unless I wanted a tardy on my first day, I couldn’t linger too much longer.
Six minutes from the top of the hour. Still nothing from Logan.
Even though it went against every instinct in my body, I double texted. Did you snooze your alarm?
“Are you the welcoming committee?” a high voice asked. “Because having a Brentwood Babe like you greet everyone is such a good idea.”
It took me a second to realize the person was talking to me.
“Yep, here to greet everyone on their first day—” I had begun answering before my eyes fully lifted from my phone, but when my gaze landed on the two girls who stood in front of me, my sentence fumbled. Everything in me stiffened. “—back.”
There was only one person in all of Brentwood High, over a thousand students, that I didn’t like seeing. So much so that I refused to meet her eye whenever our paths crossed.
That person, as harmless as she looked, was Maisie.
And just like always, seeing her always sucked me back into the past.
Jade laid her hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “You know Maisie. She’ll laugh it off, just like every other prank you pull. That’s what you said, right?”
“Right.”
Maisie hadn’t laughed it off. Everyone else had laughed, but Maisie Matthews had not.
I wouldn’t do anything differently.
Maisie stood in front of me now, her brown hair loose around her face and her black glasses resting on her nose, though she hadn’t been the one who’d spoken.
The dark-haired girl beside her had. I recognized her as Reed Manning’s twin sister, Rachel.
She wasn’t in the Top Tier—didn’t play sports, didn’t have any dirty little secrets.
She didn’t meet the criteria for the popular crowd, but she was nice.
“You should have the other cheerleaders with you,” Rachel said. At her side, Maisie focused down the hallway, pretending I didn’t exist. “Brighten everyone’s spirits extra, extra.”
“Everyone else isn’t as peppy so early in the morning,” I told Rachel in a conspiratorial tone. No one would’ve guessed that Maisie’s appearance had shaken me to my core. “That’s okay. I don’t mind being the face of the cheer squad.”
Rachel’s smile broadened further. “You are the captain.”
“Co.” We all turned toward the new voice who’d joined the group, finding none other than Jade coming up to stand beside me. Her shimmering shadow pulled the flecks from her hazel eyes, making them pop. Her blue and gold cheer uniform matched mine—our captain uniforms. “Co-captain.”
Rachel looked sheepish. “Right, right.”
“Come on,” Maisie said, tugging on Rachel’s arm. “I need to unload my stuff before the bell.”
Rachel gave the two of us a little wave before Maisie pulled her away. I watched her retreat, almost like I was waiting for her to turn around.
Jade sniffed. “What did they want?”
“Reed’s sister was just saying good morning.”
“How did you get talking about being the face of the cheer squad?”
“It was just a joke. You just missed the beginning of it. She was saying how me standing here—”
“Why are you standing here?” Jade asked, suddenly uninterested in that topic. And then it seemed to occur to her, and her pink lips curved into a knowing smile. “Right. Lover boy. He starts today, right?”
“He should.” I looked down at my phone again.
Jade came in close, pressing her head against mine as she peered at the screen. Her perfume made my nose itch. “You double-texted and he still didn’t answer?”
For some reason, I felt embarrassed. “He probably slept through his alarm.” I bit my lip. “We were going to get his schedule and do a walk-through for his classes.”
“Well, you won’t have time for that.” Jade pulled out her own phone, swiping the screen. “Three minutes ’til the bell, and we can’t be late. Remember the Top Tier rules about tardies and detentions?”
I didn’t remember her saying anything about tardies.
“Maybe he’s sick.” Jade thought about it with a noise of approval. “Hey, if he is sick—or slept through his alarm, or whatever—that could work in your favor.”
“How so?”
“Introducing him to Brentwood society on day two means the excitement of the first day won’t overshadow his debut.” She gave me a knowing grin as she looped her arm through mine. “It gives us time to spread the word, too—Madison’s hot new beau starts tomorrow.”
She made a good point. People would anticipate his arrival even more, and plus, there had to be a few other newbies starting today. If Logan came tomorrow, he’d get the sole spotlight. “Is it wrong to say that I hope he’s sick?”
“Come on.” Jade tugged me away from the office. “Let’s brainstorm during homeroom. We’ll make sure we get everyone talking, shall we?”
I thought about how Logan said he didn’t like gossip, and wondered, briefly, how he’d appreciate stirring the excitement of his arrival further. Jade always knew best, though, and I couldn’t tell her no. “We shall.”