Chapter 17 #2
I turn and see Oliver there. He’s one of the tech nerds who spends all his time in the computer lab.
He’s friends with Calvin, the guy I drove home when his car wouldn’t start.
Oliver doesn’t look as geeky as Calvin. He’s tall and not as skinny, and he doesn’t wear glasses.
But he still gets picked on because he’s quiet and doesn’t stand up for himself.
I’ve always thought he’d be a good match for Charlotte, but she has no interest in him.
She’s holding out for a guy who looks like Briggs, but nobody else in school looks like him.
Hardly any guys are as hot as Briggs, and he knows it, which is why his ego is so huge.
“I can’t get this open.” I step away from my locker. “Something’s jammed in it.”
Oliver steps up to my locker and tries the door. “Did you do the right combination on the lock?”
“Yeah, it’s not the lock, it’s the door.”
He messes with the lock, and a few seconds later, the door pops open.
“It was the lock,” Oliver says. “Someone put something in it.”
“Like what?”
“Something that makes it stick so it doesn’t click into place when you put in your combination.”
I sigh, knowing exactly who would do that. “Thanks for getting it open.”
“No problem.” He smiles at me.
I grab my book and shut the locker. “I have to go. I’m late.”
“Bye, Ella,” he says as I’m running down the hall.
When I see Briggs at Chem lab, I decide not to acknowledge his little stunt to make me late to class. We both know he did it, and telling him to stop his juvenile pranks will make him do it all the more.
“Do you know how to do this?” he says, shoving the lab manual my way.
“Yeah, I looked at it this morning. Why?”
“I’m not in the mood. You’ll have to do it.” He starts looking through his phone.
“You’re not going to help me? Like at all?”
He doesn’t answer. I thought he might be halfway nice to me after what happened Saturday night, but he’s back to his old self.
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if those guys turned me in to the cops and made up some story about me being the one at the wheel that night.
If they do, I’ll find a way to turn it back on them.
There’s no way I’m letting them destroy my future.
“For the next few labs,” Ms. Higgins says from the front of the room, “I want you and your partner to meet outside of class and brainstorm practical ways you could apply what you learned in the lab. Don’t just go online and look something up.
If you do, your grade will reflect that.
I want you to come up with these ideas on your own and then explain them in a short paper that will be submitted online. ”
The class groans, and people are rolling their eyes.
“I know you don’t want to meet outside of class,” Ms. Higgins says, “but in the real world, you’ll need to learn how to brainstorm and problem solve with other people, even people you may not like.
” She glances at Briggs and me. “And you’ll often have to do work outside the traditional hours of your job. ”
“We’re all rich,” Briggs mutters, swiping through his phone. “Nobody’s going to be working a regular job.”
“I will.”
He looks over at me. “Doing what?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Just skip college and take over the family business. Mow lawns for a living.” He says it in a condescending tone with a smirk on his face as his eyes return to his phone.
“I’d rather mow lawns than cheat people out of their money like you’ll be doing. At least it’ll be easy for you since you’re used to cheating to get what you want.”
He grabs my arm and whispers, “Shut the fuck up.”
“Everything okay back here?” Ms. Higgins asks, stopping at our table.
Briggs smiles at her as he lets me go. “Everything’s fine. We were just discussing the lab.”
She nods and continues to the next table.
Briggs goes up to get our supplies.
“I thought you weren’t helping,” I say when he gets back.
He sets the chemicals in front of me and sits down. “Have fun.”
“I’ll do it better without you anyway.”
He hides his phone under the table and texts someone. “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“What are you talking about?”
“For a job. It’s not—” He shakes his head. “Just forget it.”
I turn to him. “You’re not working for your dad? Is that what you mean?”
“I said forget it,” he snaps. He sets his phone down and rubs his face. “Fuck.” He jerks his hand from his face, and I notice it’s where he has the bruise. It looks even worse today, more swollen and a dark blue-gray.
“How’d you fall to get a bruise under your eye?” I ask.
He glares at me. “Do you ever stop talking?”
I turn back to the assignment, deciding to just ignore him. He’s being an ass, something that’ll never change. I don’t know why I thought it would.
As we’re finishing up the lab, Drew, the guy at the table next to us who plays rugby with Briggs, goes up to him. “You think I could get out of practice today?”
“For what?”
“My knee’s bothering me and I don’t want to make it worse.”
Briggs looks at him like he’s crazy for even asking. “You want to skip practice because your knee hurts? Are you fucking kidding me?”
He shrugs. “I could ask Coach.”
Briggs stands up, towering over the guy. “Coach listens to me , the team captain, and I don’t let people miss practice for some fucking lame excuse. You play through the pain.”
Drew nods. “Yeah, okay. Just thought I’d ask.” He points to Briggs’ face. “Someone punch you?”
“The ball hit me at practice last week.”
“Looks pretty bad.”
“You come over here to insult me?” Briggs says in a threatening tone.
“No,” Drew says, sounding nervous. “I’ll see you at practice.”
When he’s gone, I say to Briggs, “Do you always do that? Change your story depending on who you’re talking to?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he picks up his stuff and leaves. There are still a few minutes left of class, and he took off without even telling the teacher.
He lied to Drew. Or he lied to me. Either way, it’s further proof that Briggs can’t be trusted. He’s only looking out for himself.
I need to do the same. I need to look out for myself. I thought the four of us were in this together, but we’re not. I’m on my own. I have to watch my back around those guys and never let my guard down.