Chapter 16
Nika
Thursday
Nika Geary is furious. Ms. O’Donnell’s message is all over the place now, and Nika has many, many thoughts and feelings about this.
She flops back on her bed, staring at the pink chandelier on her ceiling.
First and foremost, the absolute cheek of a teacher, talking about a pupil like that.
Unreal. She hopes Ms. O’Donnell gets fired, and if someone else doesn’t send the message to the principal, Nika will do it herself.
Or at least, she’ll get her mum to do it.
She’s still a bit in the bad books at school after the vodka situation, though clearly that was Jessica’s fault for dropping the bottle and Maeve’s fault for being so clumsy.
Ms. O’Donnell’s message is embarrassing though: “bratty.” It’s obviously rude, but also kind of…
infantilizing? Is that the word? She might have preferred it if Ms. O’Donnell had called her “entitled” or “spoiled,” something more…
princessy. Even if she’d said “brat,” that would actually be quite good.
But not “bratty.” That makes her sound like a toddler.
And the stuff Ms. O’Donnell said about the rest of her family too.
God. Nika hopes her dad will sue. He said he would.
Then again, that’s the kind of thing her dad says about everything.
We should sue. We should take them to court.
He never actually does it. And he’s walking around like a sad dog with his tail down at the moment, not surprisingly.
How unbelievably mortifying to have that message doing the rounds, claiming he was with some other woman.
Gross. He should definitely sue for slander or libel or whatever.
That would show Ms. O’Donnell. And anyone else who might think the message is true.
Meanwhile, her mum is smiling her way through it, but quietly fit to kill Susan O’Donnell.
And Cody? Well, Cody’s the same lump he always is—hiding in his room, glued to his stupid Xbox, curtains closed all day like he’s some kind of vampire.
Why can’t she just have a normal, not embarrassing family?
She turns over on her stomach and picks up her phone again.
From downstairs, the click of the kitchen door signals her mother may be on her way upstairs.
On autopilot, Nika slides her vape from her bedside table into the drawer and lights a scented candle.
No footsteps on the stairs after all. Celeste is probably hunting for Warren so she can hammer home that she’s not talking to him; the silent treatment only works if you’re in the same room.
Nika clicks into Ms. O’Donnell’s message again.
None of it is good, but the worst part, the bit that’s making her nervous, is the mention of her “boyfriend.” How is she going to get out of this one?
Nobody’s put two and two together just yet, as far as she can tell, but it’s only a matter of time.
She’s meeting Zach tonight and they’ll talk about it then, get their stories straight.
She checks her watch and hauls herself off her bed.
At her vanity, she starts with concealer, eyeing herself in the mirror.
She might wear her new Urban Outfitters dress; Zach likes her in dresses.
He’ll be waiting for her in their spot—the hidden grassy patch behind the football clubhouse, where nobody can see them.
Her stomach knots. What if people find out about Zach?
She’ll be dead. Literally dead. Her English teacher would tell her that’s not a correct use of the word “literally,” but to be quite honest, if people realize she’s seeing Zach, it could end up being true.
She pushes the thought away. If she’s careful, nobody will find out.
Her mind goes again to the message. The bunking-off school part is less worrying than the rest. Her mother believes everything Nika tells her.
If she asks, Nika will say they had a free class and they were allowed out.
Celeste hasn’t actually asked her yet, though it’s a full forty-eight hours now since Ms. O’Donnell sent the message.
Then again, that’s not unusual. Nika is lucky that way.
Her mother mostly leaves her in peace. And Nika does exactly what she wants.