Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
I find an empty workstation at the back of the room and sit down without making eye contact with anyone.
The teacher, Mr. Deluca, is moving between stations with a relaxed, unhurried energy.
He’s the kind of teacher who gestures a lot when he talks and calls everyone by their first name, as if he’s good friends with them.
He gets to me and pauses.
“Alice,” he says, and there’s no surprise in his voice, which surprises me. “Glad you’re here.”
“Sorry I missed last week,” I start, bracing.
“Your previous teacher sent over your portfolio, and it was a joy to look over.” He pulls out a stool and sits with an easy, unguarded manner. “Your landscape series is phenomenal. The way you use available light is instinctive. You don’t force the shot. You wait for it.”
I blink at him.
“We’re in the middle of a portraiture unit,” he says. “I want you to shoot what you want, when you’re ready. But don’t rush back on my account. Your work already speaks for itself.”
I open my mouth to say something, and then I notice who’s sitting at the station to my left.
Jasper Whitmore.
He has his shiny new camera in front of him, and he’s not using it. He’s watching me.
My stomach tightens.
Mr. Deluca moves over to another student with his hand raised, and Jasper shifts on his stool, angling himself toward me.
“So,” Jasper says, under the noise of the class settling. “You finally showed up.”
I focus on the workstation screen in front of me.
“I’ve been working on a new article,” Jasper continues in a pleasant, unbothered tone. “Actually, talking to your aunt on the weekend got me thinking. You know, no one really knows that much about you, but you’ve made such a spectacle of yourself since you arrived.”
Don’t react. Don’t give in. He just wants a rise out on you.
“Did you move to Victoria Falls specifically to get in with the band, as everyone says, or is there more to the story?” He leans in closer, but I don’t dare budge an inch.
“You could say it brought out the journalist in me. I just didn’t expect to find articles about two Millbrook caterers who shared your last name. ”
At that, I let out the shallow breath I had been holding.
No, it was…
“One article said they left behind a daughter…”
This guy. Of course, it was this guy.
Before Jasper can continue, I spin to the left and send him a cutting glare. “What are you getting at? Why are you snooping into my life?”
Jasper’s satisfied smirk wanes when I hold his stare. “It wasn’t supposed to come out this early,” he says. “I was working on the article during my English period, and Kimberly saw what I was working on.”
My mouth falls open as all the hurt inside me congeals into one ugly blob. “You’re writing about me for the school paper? You’re turning my life into sensationalism?”
Jasper sits back, offended. “It’s your fault. If you didn’t act so mysteriously and...”
“And grief-stricken?” I fire back at him. “Huh? Did that occur to you, Jasper, during your little research find? Maybe I didn’t say anything because I’m not ready to admit to strangers that my parents are dead?”
Gasps fly out from the nearing workstations. I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but I think today has broken me and I’m no longer capable of shutting down my emotions.
“Jasper?” Mr. Deluca says softly, moving away from another student’s station. “Alice? Everything okay here?”
Jasper shifts in his seat, trying to gain some composure. “Just talking about an article for The Gazette.”
Mr. Deluca frowns. “And do you think another student’s personal life is suitable material?”
Jasper scoffs, fidgeting and crossing his arms. “Her aunt started it. If she hadn’t humiliated me at the...”
Mr. Deluca raises a placating hand. “Jasper, take a beat. I think it’s a good idea for you to rethink some of your choices.”
I can’t help smiling. Mr. Deluca hasn’t missed a step. Dang. Why have I been skipping this class? This guy rocks.
Jasper groans and packs up his things, moving to a station further away from mine.
I sigh with relief, slumping in my seat.
Mr. Deluca taps my desk. “Let me know if anything else like that pops up. You don’t deserve to have anyone nosing around in your business.”
I give him a grateful smile and nod.
Mr. Deluca moves back to the other student and resumes their conversation about focal lengths, when someone sits in Jasper’s absent chair.
Madison Pierce.
Ugh.
“Before you say anything,” Madison says, holding up both hands, “I’m not here to ask about him.”
I look at her sideways.
“I mean it.” She pulls Jasper’s abandoned seat a few inches toward mine. “I just saw what happened, and I feel bad about how people have been treating you since you got here.”
“Okay,” I say carefully.
“I’m serious, Alice.” There’s no influencer brightness in her voice.
Instead, she sounds like a real person. The person I thought she was when I first met her in the cafeteria.
“If what you just said… You walked into this school having lost everything, and instead of anyone giving you five seconds of grace, they made you a villain in some story about Ryder Hamilton.” She shakes her head. “That’s not fair.”
I don’t say anything. I’m waiting for the pivot. The ask. The moment when being on my side turns out to be a transaction.
It doesn’t come.
Madison picks up a pencil from the workstation tray and turns it over in her fingers, as if she needs something to do with her hands.
“Kimberley and Jessa are horrible. I know everyone thinks they’re just catty, but they’re genuinely cruel.
They did the same thing to me when I transferred here.
They made my life so miserable. That’s why I’m working so hard at cultivating my brand.
I want armor, so no one can hurt me again. ”
I look at her properly for the first time. “But doesn’t that just make you a target online? Online hate can be immensely cruel.”
Madison smirks, shrugging. “Beats having it said right to my face.”
I sigh, remembering the way Kimberley and Jessa ran up to me in art class, like a juicy piece of gossip was satisfying their bloodlust.
“Thank you,” I say tentatively. “It’s still really hard to trust people at this school. But it means a lot that you can relate.”
Sympathy drips from her smile. “But my parents are still here. Your situation is a lot tougher than them mocking my modest style.”
I think about everything I’ve been hit with today, and my mind lands on me yelling at Ryder in the hallway. It replays over and over in slow-motion, making every muscle inside me contort and cringe.
“I just...” I press my fingers against my temple.
“I made a huge mistake before coming in here. Kimberley and Jessa told me they knew about my parents, and I assumed they got the information from Ryder. Oh gosh, I completely unleashed on him in the hallway. I said some really awful things, and now I know it didn’t come from him. ”
“He knew about your parents?”
“Mm-hmm.” I nod. “I told him to keep it a secret.”
“And he did?”
I nod again, feeling a wave of sickness rise to my throat.
“So tell him you know it wasn’t him.”
“You didn’t hear the way I…”
Madison plants her hand on my shoulder. “He kept your secret. He was the only one who knew before that idiot over there went digging. Ryder knows you’ve been in a dark place.”
I take a settling breath, comforted under the weight of Madison’s hand. “Okay. You’re right.”
Madison removes her hand, stifling a laugh. “If Ryder hears it was Jasper messing with you, I can’t wait to see how he reacts. I saw him knock Jasper on his butt last week.”
I bite into my bottom lip, smiling. “Yeah. There’s definitely no love lost between Ryder and Jasper.”
“Ryder will have your back. I saw your connection at the gig on Saturday night. Your photos turned out excellent, by the way.”
I flinch. “What photos?”
“The ones on the band’s social feed. I remember where you were standing at The Factory. Those shots were yours.”
“Not that anyone knows that. They’re credited to my aunt.”
“Oh, please. There’s nothing on the band’s feed with that kind of flair. Even if people don’t know it’s you behind the camera, they know it’s a brand new artist.”
“Thanks. I needed a bit of an ego boost today.”
“Well, they put my shots to shame. Not that anything I do is very hard to beat.”
“Since when are you self-deprecating? I thought you were all about brand armor?”
“Oops.” Madison sits up, wearing a bright, cheesy smile. “I let some armor slip. My bad.”
“It’s good to see you’re a real person.”
“I’ll take that compliment because I know this school hasn’t infected you yet.”
“I don’t plan on becoming another student clone.” I notice the shift in Madison, and quickly blurt, “No offence.”
Madison giggles, swatting a hand. “None taken. It’s the game plan I recommended to you on your first day.”
“Oh, I remember. I decided not to like you.”
Madison winces.
I lean in and whisper, “I’m learning people deserve second chances.”
Madison sighs, slumping in her seat. “Well, thanks.”
“And thank you for sitting next to me. I think I would’ve truly spiraled otherwise.”
“No problem. I’ve got your back.”
The rest of the lesson goes smoothly. It’s surprising how comforting it was to work with Madison by my side. Plus, I need to continually thank the heavens that Jasper didn’t pipe up again during class. Maybe if I tell Ryder what he did, he’ll put Jasper in his place again.
As I leave the classroom with Madison, my stomach is in knots.
I was horrible to Ryder. I blamed and shamed him as if he were the villain of the piece. I didn’t give him a chance to speak. I let my rage spill out, and all I could see was red.
“He’ll understand,” I whisper aloud. “Won’t he?”
Madison leans in. “What was that?”
“Ryder…” I let the thought disappear when I see him up ahead.
He’s leaning against a locker, backpack slung over one shoulder, and he’s scrolling on his phone.
I swallow my fearand leave Madison two steps behind me.