Chapter 79
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
NICOLE
Redwood Academy’s cafeteria buzzed with toxic energy, students gossiping and bullies laughing, pointing at other students. I walked into the cafeteria by myself and scanned the tables. I hated this part, not knowing who to sit with, who accepted me, who wanted me.
Allie stood up from her table and waved her arms. “Nicole! Over here!”
I eyed their table, spotting the same group of girls as last time they had called me over—Allie, Imani, Vera, Maddie, and Sakura. The boys were nowhere to be found. Swallowing my nerves, I walked over to them with my lunch.
Despite having grown closer to them over the past few weeks, I still felt like the odd one out. I had bullied them, against my will, for the past four years. And I wished that I could take it all back.
When I sat down and started my lunch, Imani broke her sandwich in half. “So, how’s it going with Akio?”
“Good,” I said softly, trying to make up for all the years that I had unintentionally tortured them.
My father was gone, but what he had made me do to everyone still haunted me. Remnants of him still lingered around Redwood Academy, within the students and staff and even faculty that he had made me fuck.
“Have you met his parents?” Imani asked.
“Only in passing.”
At least for the most part. These past few months had gone by in such a blur, and lately, I’d begun to realize that I’d been repressing memories. I was sure I’d had a conversation with Akio’s mom, but I couldn’t remember where or when or even what we had talked about.
But, boy, did I know about her.
She was a witch, evil, and deserved to die. Just like my father.
Imani leaned in, her brown eyes wide. “Good.”
My eyes widened slightly, mirroring hers. I had been reading a bit lately and learned that mirroring someone’s expression might make them like me a bit more. But I didn’t know if I was that redeemable.
The other girls shared a quiet look.
“She’s,” Allie started, looking over at Imani, “a bit of …”
“A bitch,” Imani said, crossing her arms and glaring down at her food. “I think she literally has it out for me. My parents were stupid and asked for her protection a long time ago, and now, she owns them.”
“She owns this entire town,” Vera whispered, curling her arms around herself, too, and unable to keep eye contact, her entire expression turned down.
And I recognized that she must’ve had personal experience with her.
I sat up taller and furrowed my brow. “What’d she do to you?”
Vera opened and closed her mouth a handful of times, then glanced at Maddie.
Maddie pursed her lips. “Kidnapped her and tried to sell her into their sex ring.”
My entire body froze up, and I scrunched my sandwich between my fingers. My father had used me for so, so long. This was unacceptable. I didn’t want any girl to go through that, and I could only imagine how someone as sweet as Vera must’ve felt.
“She does own everyone,” Sakura whispered. “Mr. Avery too.”
I looked around at the faces of my new friends, and they stayed quiet.
“Well then, we need to do something,” I said, a protective urge surging through me. If Akio didn’t want to do anything, it would be fine. But I didn’t know how many lives she had truly affected. “We can’t let her get away with all this.”
“We can get Poison on it,” Imani suggested.
“Do we need Poison?” I asked. “Why can’t we do it ourselves?”
For me, revenge felt best when I was getting it myself. Not when I watched Akio do it. We were capable of making Akio’s mother’s life a living hell by ourselves. She couldn’t outrun or outfight all of us.
While the other girls seemed hesitant, Imani smirked. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“Imani, we can’t—” Allie started.
“Yes, we can,” she said, glancing around the table as the lunch bell rang. “And if you girls want in, meet me in the back of the student lot tomorrow morning before school. We’ll come up with a plan to destroy this town for good. Together.”
Students bustled by us to dump their trays in the garbage and head to their next class, but we stayed seated, all looking at each other and slowly agreeing that we would do this ourselves, that we didn’t need anyone else.
“Let’s go, girls!” the dean shouted from the doors. “Lunch is over. Get to class!”