Chapter 17
17
RUE
I didn’t think of my job proposal’s consequences and am now paying for it.
Whispers and snickering follow me as I go down Cambridge High’s hallways to my first class. Malice left before I could catch a ride with him.
That butt! Thank goodness Leigh and her boyfriend live close by. They gave me a ride to school. Leigh gave me a tour and offered to stick by my side, but I won’t let my bad rep rub off on her, even though she has her boyfriend’s protection. Seven Shanahan is at the top of the school royalty echelon along with his buddies, Trace and Malice. Speaking of the devil, where is he?
I hurry to the school’s office and ask the woman at the front desk for Malice’s schedule, expecting to get pushback. There isn’t any, and I find out the reason.
She taps on the computer’s keyboard. “Principal Staudinger told me about your transfer.”
The office lady looks like she is Riley’s age. Layers of blonde hair frame her face, and her makeup is expertly done. Nothing is off about her, not even the collar of her crisp periwinkle shirt. Is her fate my fate when my friends leave for bigger and better things?
“He said you might show up at the office for this.”
She hands me a printout. I take it from her and compare Malice’s schedule with mine. Weird. “We have the same classes.”
“It makes your job easy, doesn’t it?” She winks. “Principal Staudinger said it’s been a rough year for you. You lost your dog-sitting job, and no one will hire you because”—she coughs into her hand—“things go missing.”
Malice had accused me of being a pessimist, and I would like to start proving him wrong. I look on the bright side of their gossiping. “It’s nice of Principal Staudinger to look out for me. Please thank him for me when you see him.”
Her eyes widen. I hold back my smile. She goes in for the kill with her next, from left field comment. “You’re not the first.”
First what? Malice’s first hookup? I’m a hopeless romantic but not a naive one. My contemplative silence gives her permission to continue goading me.
“There were two others hired to watch over Malice and keep him out of trouble. One was your sister. Successful, that one.” She looks me up and down. I resist the urge to smack the satisfied smirk off her face. “Then she went off to college, and Malice went back to sulking.” She shakes her head and returns to tapping on the keyboard.
I am not easily dismissed. Plus, my curiosity gets the better of me. “And the second girl? What happened with her?” Malice fell for Riley. Did he fall for this other girl?
She gives me a cryptic response. “His sophomore year.”
I search my brain for a memory of anyone telling me about Malice’s second Malice-sitter. Nothing. “How old was she?” Was she older and then went off to college too?
“Same year.”
The same age hangs in the air between us . Was she one of Malice’s hookups? Did he hook up with her after me?
“The Sterlings let her go for something he did to another girl.”
Sophomore year. My pregnancy. Malice’s parents telling the other Sterlings. Did they fire her for my pregnancy? “Who was she?”
“Olivia Stanton.”
Red’s crush? I groan. These Sterling boys are a heap of trouble. Did Red know Olivia was working for Malice’s parents?
“Where is she now?” I can get Red closure.
“No clue.”
The first bell rings. I head for the door. “Thank you. Gotta run.” Had I been at Delridge High, I would have taken my time, living up to my reputation of being habitually tardy. Here, I have the chance for a do-over.
Except I didn’t count on my reputation following me. I open the door to my first class and step in. The other students feign exaggerated gasps, surprised I’m on time. I ignore them and take the only seat left. It’s in the back. On the way, I don’t miss the whispers.
“Slut.”
“Gold-digger.”
I hold my head high, take my seat, and pull out my binder from my backpack. I pay attention to the teacher as though my life depended on it.
Tears sting the corners of my eyes. I blink them away, refusing to cry. Crying gives them power over me. Gives them the chance to wallow in their satisfaction at making me hurt.
God, when will the rejection and hurt stop?