Chapter 23
A chill runs through me. Another dead person. Why are there so many stories about people dying around here?
“He died last year,” the guy says. “I thought you were doing some sick joke asking about him like that.”
“No. I was just trying to find the room. I’m new here. Rumor Bennet.” I pause. “Bennet-Halliway.”
His brows rise. “Halliway? You related to Braden?”
“I’m his cousin.”
“No shit?” His mouth turns up in a smile, and he extends his hand. “Dante Stevens. I’m on the team with Braden.”
I smile back. “I kinda guessed that, given your size.”
He nods. “Linebacker.” He folds his arms over his chest, his eyes doing a quick scan of my body. “So how long you here for?”
“The year. I just moved here from New York. I’m a senior.” I don’t want to get into the whole dead mom story, so I change topics. “So what happened to Monroe?”
“Died during a football game. Well, he collapsed during the game and died on the way to the hospital. They think he had some kind of heart condition.”
“And it happened last year?”
“Right after school started. He would’ve been a senior this year.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah, he was the best player on the team. Even better than—” He stops and looks down.
“Better than Braden?” I ask, knowing he wanted to say it but didn’t because of his loyalty to Braden, and because I might tell him since I’m his cousin.
“Follow me,” Dante says. “I’ll show you where the room is.”
“You can just tell me. I don’t want you to be late.”
He chuckles. “I’m on the team.”
“Yeah? So?”
“I can be as late as I want.”
Special treatment for athletes. I thought that was more of a college thing, but apparently, high schools do it too, even small private high schools that claim to be all about academics.
Dante goes down one of the long hallways, stopping at a room at the very end. He peeks through the window in the door and smiles. “Good luck.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“You got Mr. Piedmont. He talks really fast. It’s hard to keep up. And he calls on you if you’re not paying attention and gives out tons of homework.”
“Great,” I say with a sigh.
He turns and smiles at me. “Come find me at lunch. I’ll be at Braden’s table.”
He’s gone before I can tell him I won’t be there. There’s no way Braden would let me sit there on the first day. He’d say I have to earn a seat at his table. He’s so obnoxious.
When I open the door to the classroom, everyone stares at me.
“Sorry I’m late,” I say to the teacher.
“Class doesn’t start for two more minutes. Please take your seat.”
The only ones open are in the very back. At my old school, those were the seats that were taken first.
Making my way back there, I hear the teacher clearing his throat.
“Excuse me, Miss.”
Is he talking to me? I turn around and see him staring in my direction.
“Please introduce yourself to the class.”
At my old school, the teacher would introduce the new person. They didn’t make the student do it.
When I don’t respond, Mr. Piedmont says, “Class, we have a new student joining the Twisted Pine family. But apparently she’s a little shy.”
“I’m Rumor,” I say, taking my seat.
Everyone’s eyes are glued on me. Why are they staring? Do they never get new students here?
“We use one’s entire name here,” Mr. Piedmont says. “Last names are just as important as firsts.”
Because it tells you if the person’s family is rich or famous or both. I’m quickly learning that who you are as a person doesn’t matter here.
“Rumor Bennet,” I pause, remembering the plan. “Halliway.”
The eyes that were on me suddenly move around to the other people in the room, like they’re trying to figure out if I’m one of those Halliways or if I just happen to have the same name.
“Are you related to Braden?” a dark-haired girl in the front row asks.
“She’s his cousin,” a girl says as she walks into the room. It’s Kristen, and her eyes are zeroed in on me, looking like she wants to kill me.
She must’ve found out about Jackson and me.
He must’ve told her. Why would he do that?
She could tell Braden. She could ruin our plan.
And if Braden found out I was with Jackson, living at Brock’s house would be even worse.
Brock might even try to forbid me from being with Jackson, saying I’m being disloyal to his sons.
I could totally see him doing that. He only cares about their happiness, not mine.
“He just found out about her,” Kristen says, slowly walking to the back of the room. “She used to go to public school.”
She says public like it’s the most disgusting word to ever leave her mouth. And yet she doesn’t seem to have a problem being with Jackson.
“I can speak for myself,” I blurt out, glaring at her.
I should hide my anger, but I can’t. Not with her. I don’t know what’s going on with her and Jackson, but I don’t like it. I think she’s using him, and for some reason, he’s letting her.
“Kristen, please take your seat,” the teacher says. “We need to get started.”
She smiles at him. “Of course, Mr. Piedmont. And may I say, it’s a pleasure to be back in your class.”
What a suck-up. I didn’t think Kristen would be such a teacher’s pet.
The class is French Literature, which apparently is a required class. I don’t know French, so I don’t know how I’m supposed to read French literature.
It’s a long boring class and the teacher assigns five chapters to be read by tomorrow, along with a written summary of what we read.
Next is global economics, another required class. I can’t even understand half of what the teacher’s saying. These are more like college courses than high school.
By the time lunch arrives, I’m too exhausted to eat.
I just want to go lie down somewhere and sleep.
But I have a job to do. It’s the first day, and as Brock lectured me last night, first days are all about first impressions, and first impressions determine your future.
So far, I’ve managed to keep a smile plastered on my face when people come up to talk to me.
I’ve had a lot of people approach me since my introduction in Mr. Piedmont’s class.
Adding the Halliway name has suddenly boosted people’s interest in me.
If they can’t get close to Braden, I’m the next best thing.
Or the third best. Trystan would be second.
I haven’t seen him all day. Or Braden. You’d think in a school this small, I’d at least see them in the hall. Maybe I’ll see them at lunch.
The small dining hall is lined with wood tables and chairs set up in neat little rows.
There are three food stations — one for salads, one for sandwiches, and one for hot foods.
I go to the hot food line and see today’s entree is spaghetti and meatballs.
Finally, some real food. I was worried the school lunch would be kale salads and protein shakes.
“I’ll take the spaghetti,” I tell the old lady serving the food.
“Do you have a card?” she asks.
“What card? I thought lunch was included.”
She smiles. “It is, dear. I was asking for your allergy card.”
“Allergy card?”
“A list of any food allergies, sensitivities, intolerances, or special diets?”
“Um, no. I don’t have any of those.”
She nods. “Well, if you do, the meatballs are gluten and dairy free.”
“Do they have meat?”
“Yes, of course. Grass fed organic beef.” She smiles as she dishes up my food. “Enjoy.”
I take the plate from her, then look for a vending machine. I really need a soda. It’s the only way I’ll stay awake this afternoon.
“Hey, where’s the vending machine?” I ask some girl who looks like a freshman.
“Over there.” She points to it next to the salad station.
“Thanks.” I walk over there and see that there aren’t any sodas in the machine. Just water and juice. “No soda?” I say, thinking out loud.
“It’s not allowed,” the lunch lady says from behind the salad station.
I sigh and decide to just sit down and figure out my drink later. Looking around, I spot Dante at a table by the windows. It’s the first table in the first row. First and first? I’m guessing that’s intentional. And it has the best view of both the outside and the dining hall.
“Halliway!” Dante yells.
I look behind me to see if Braden’s there, but he’s not. Neither is Trystan, which means Dante’s yelling at me to come over. Should I ignore him? Braden will tell me to leave if he sees me at the football table.
“Hey! Halliway!” Dante yells. “Over here!”
Everyone in the dining hall is now staring at me. I can’t pretend I didn’t hear him.
As I walk over there, three other football players sit down at the table. One of them sits across from Dante. He says something to the guy, and he moves over a seat.
“Hey.” I smile at Dante.
“Have a seat,” he says, motioning to the seat across from him.
“Where’s Braden? Doesn’t he eat lunch with you guys?”
“Yeah, but he gets here late.”
I need to be gone before he gets here. I don’t want him yelling at me for sitting at his stupid table.
“I should probably go eat with some girls,” I say to Dante. I roll my eyes. “My uncle keeps telling me to make friends.”
“I’m a friend, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, but you don’t count, at least not to my uncle. He specifically told me to make some girl friends. And if I don’t find some, he’ll keep nagging me about it.”
“The girls will be here any minute,” he says, digging into his spaghetti. He has three plates, all heaped high with spaghetti and meatballs.
“Girls sit here? I thought this was the football table.”
“Girls are allowed if they’re invited.”
“So I guess I should feel special.”
“You should.” He smiles, and it’s the kind of smile that says he wants to be more than friends. His eyes dart to the guy next to me. “Barron, this is Rumor, the girl I told you about.”
Barron. The guy who tried to crash the Legion party with his friend. I’m feeling nervous being around Barron, knowing I told on him to Jackson, but if I’m going to do this, I need to relax. Blend in. Pretend I’m one of them.