Chapter 3
Briggs
It’s Thursday, the day I’m supposed to have lunch with someone I’d normally pick on.
Since getting that text, I’ve been looking around school, trying to decide who to choose.
I’m not worried this will ruin my reputation, but people will question why I’m doing it.
I need someone who will cause the smallest reaction, meaning people will question why I’m sitting with this person, but not be shocked by it.
I just haven’t figured out who that person would be.
If I picked someone like Ella, it would shock people.
Everyone knows I bullied her and tried to destroy her, so there wouldn’t be any logical reason people could come up with for why I would sit with her at lunch.
I thought of sitting with Charlotte, but I bullied her too, not as much as Ella, but it was bad enough that it’d be a shock if I sat with her.
I’ve seen Charlotte in the hall a few times this week and watched as she completely ignored Ella as she went past her.
I’m surprised Charlotte’s acting like this.
I know she had a crush on me, and maybe she still does, but it’s not worth ending a friendship over.
Charlotte doesn’t have many friends, and Ella only has one, or she did until Charlotte stopped talking to her.
Now, Ella has no one. I feel like I’m to blame for that, not just because I was the one who convinced Ella to have sex behind the bleachers the day Charlotte caught us, but also because I turned everyone against Ella sophomore year.
I took away any chance of her making friends.
Just being seen with her was social suicide, all because of me.
At the time, I didn’t even know I had that much power, but I did, and I used it to go after Ella.
“Briggs.” Parker comes up to me at my locker with Finn right behind him. “Are you doing this or not?”
I glance around to make sure no one’s listening. “I’m doing it. I just need to pick someone. Did you guys decide?”
“Yeah, we’re not doing it,” Finn says.
“Just fucking do it,” I say, lowering my voice. “It’s easy and it’ll buy us more time.”
“More time for what?” Parker asks as a guy opens the locker next to mine. “It’s not going to change anything.”
“We can’t talk here.” I close my locker and head to the door.
“Where are you going?” Parker yells from behind me.
I go outside and wait for them to come out.
Parker shoves the door open and storms over to me, while Finn takes his time, walking slowly, like he’s high.
“We’re not fucking dogs!” Parker yells. “We don’t follow you wherever you go! Next time you want to talk, you ask us first.”
Parker never used to challenge me like this.
It started when he got the idea in his head that I formed some kind of alliance with Ella.
Now he thinks he can overtake me, which means I need to be more forceful and put him in his place.
I’m bigger than him and can be a hell of a lot scarier, thanks to years of watching my father.
I also have more power than he does at school.
Parker’s popular, but he’s not a leader. I am, and people do what I say.
I grab Parker’s shirt in my fist and yank him toward me. “You talk to me like that again and your pretty little face will be planted on the ground.”
Finn laughs. “Pretty little face.”
“Shut up!” Parker yells, looking over at him.
I shove Parker back next to Finn. “I’m sick of fighting with you about this!
Both of you! I’m working my ass off to keep us from getting caught and all you two do is fucking complain.
” I step up to them and lower my voice. “We need more time, and all we have to do to get it is eat lunch with someone. The text didn’t even say for how long.
It could be a two-minute lunch and still count. ”
“Why would we do this?” Parker asks. “As soon as we do, we’ll get another text telling us to do something else. It never fucking ends. You keep saying it’ll buy us time, but for what?”
“To keep us from going to jail, for one.” I keep my eyes on Parker. “This person turns us in tomorrow? Or next week? Our senior year is over. No more parties. No more rugby games. All our time will be spent talking to lawyers and trying to find a way out of this.”
Parker looks down, shaking his head. He knows I’m right. He just doesn’t want to deal with it. He’s in denial, hoping it’ll just go away.
“The other reason we need more time,” I say, “is because I’m closer to figuring out who’s texting us.”
“Who is it?” Finn asks.
I lower my voice even more. “I think it’s one of the teachers. I’m not sure, but I’m thinking it might be Ms. Higgins.”
Parker looks up at me. “Why Ms. Higgins?”
“She used to be like Ella. She got picked on in high school. She told us about it one day in class when she was lecturing us about being nice to each other. And she hates rich kids. It’s like she’s jealous of us.
It makes total sense for her to tell us to give to charity or sit with some reject at lunch. ”
“But why would Ms. Higgins be in the woods that night?”
“Who the fuck knows? But I’m going to start asking her questions to find out.”
“What kind of questions would you ask?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure it out. Right now, I just need you to agree to have lunch with someone.”
Parker looks at Finn. Then they both look back at me.
“Can it be the same person?” Parker asks.
“The text didn’t say it couldn’t.”
“Then you find the person and sit with them, and then Finn and I will show up.”
“But it’s not going to be long,” Finn says. “A few minutes and I’m out of there.”
“Yeah, whatever,” I say, going around them to the door. “Let’s do this.”
We head back into the building. Finn and Parker take off while I search the hall for someone to approach.
I notice Calvin heading to the computer lab.
He’s someone I used to pick on, but I’m not going to choose him.
There’s something wrong with that guy. Ella’s convinced he’s normal, but I don’t agree. I think he’s a future sociopath.
As Calvin goes into the computer lab, one of his friends comes out, a tall, skinny guy I’ve seen around school, but I don’t know his name. I walk towards him, and when he sees me, he immediately looks down and starts walking faster.
“Hey!” I say, trying to get his attention.
He glances up at me, his face covered in fear, and quickly turns around.
“Hey! Wait!” I catch up to him, grabbing his bony arm.
His mouth opens like he wants to say something, but can’t. He’s breathing fast, and I notice him shaking. His eyes get huge, and he looks at me like he can’t figure out if I’m going to punch him or kill him.
“Relax,” I tell him, letting go of his arm. “I just had a question.”
He remains silent, his mouth still hanging open, his body still shaking. Do I really scare him that much? I know people at school are afraid of me, but this guy looks like he’s about to pass out from me just being near him.
“What do you think about having lunch?”
“Lunch?” he says, like he might’ve heard me wrong.
“You know, grab a sandwich. Sit down.” I smile so he won’t be so afraid.
“You want to have lunch?” he asks, his voice cracking like he’s still in puberty.
“Yeah. You eat lunch, right? I never see you in the cafeteria, but I assume you eat.”
“I eat in the lab,” he says, pointing to it.
“Today you’re eating in the cafeteria,” I say, then realize I shouldn’t order him around like that. But if I don’t, we’ll be here all day. The guy won’t move. He’s either frozen by fear or confusion, or both. “C’mon, let’s go.”
He looks behind him, like I must be talking to someone else.
“There’s nobody there,” I tell him. “I’m talking to you. And I’m starving so we need to get going.”
He looks back at me. “You really want to have lunch with me?”
“Not if you’re going to take all day,” I say in a joking tone.
“I don’t . . . I don’t understand,” he stammers. “Why?”
“I’m interested in what you’re working on. I heard you do contract work.” I only know this because Ella mentioned it when she was still talking to me. “So what’s your name?”
“Oliver,” he says, eyeing me with suspicion. “You’re not going to take me somewhere and . . .”
“Punch you? Stuff you in a locker?” I say in a kidding tone. “No. We’re just having lunch.”
He’s looking at me like he still thinks I might kill him.
“Let’s go.” I turn and head to the cafeteria. When I open the door, I almost slam it into him. He reaches for the door as I open it, like he thinks he needs to open it for me. Why would he think that? I don’t make people open doors for me.
We walk into the cafeteria. Nobody notices or reacts to me being with Oliver.
They probably think he walked in behind me since he’s not anywhere near me.
I glance back and see him a good six feet behind.
He still doesn’t trust me. He thinks this is all a prank, and I’m about to embarrass him in front of everyone.
“Hey, Briggs.” Alison smiles at me as I go by.
She’s one of the cheerleaders. She’s been flirting with me since I broke up with Aubrey.
Half the girls at school have been trying to get with me, but I’ve ignored them.
I don’t have time for girls. I’ve got too much going on.
And I’m still too hung up on Ella. I can’t stop thinking about her.
I miss her in a way I didn’t think was possible.
I miss holding her in my arms. I miss kissing her.
I miss the feel of her naked body wrapped around mine.
And the thing that shocks me the most? I miss talking to her.
She’s the first girl I’ve ever considered to be a friend.