by Kai Juniper
"Who's staring?" I ask, hoping it's James from my AP Lit class. I used to not even notice him but this past year he had a major growth spurt and now he's six feet tall with actual muscle lining his arms. He's not as muscular as Briggs—not even close—but he's still decent looking, and he's smart. I like smart.
"A2," she whispers.
"Which one?" I whisper back. "Last semester A2 or now A2?"
"Now A2. I think." She sighs. "This is so confusing. Can't we just name them something else?"
I glance back at their table, then quickly focus back on my lunch, a peanut butter sandwich I brought from home. "It's the current A2."
"That's what I thought." She picks up her veggie burger and takes a bite, then shoves up her glasses as she looks back at the A's table.
"Stop looking over there," I say in a hushed tone. "I told you to ignore them."
Her eyes dart back to mine. "Has he said anything to you? A2?”
"Not recently.”
“What about A1?”
“No. Nothing."
I didn't tell Charlotte about my encounter with Briggs. I didn't think she needed to know. Charlotte tends to worry incessantly. She's always on edge, chewing on her lip, her nails, her pencil—anything to calm her nerves. Even loud noises freak her out. Last year she jumped out of her seat when Finn suddenly laughed while passing behind her on his way out of the cafeteria. He was looking at a video on his phone and didn't even notice her leap up and almost slam into him as he went by. So yeah, telling Charlotte about Briggs' threats would just cause her more anxiety, especially if she thought he might come after her too. And it's not like she could do anything. Even I don't know what to do and I've had all week to think about it. I'll deal with it when it happens, although I still have no idea what he's planning.
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Charlotte mutters, gnawing on her lip.
"What?" I look around. "What are you—"
"Hey, Trailer Girl." Parker shoves me in the back and leans down to my ear. "Left you a little present."
"What do you mean?" I whip around and see him smirking, his white teeth matching his bright white, designer t-shirt. The shirt is tight, accentuating his muscle-lined chest and arms, and his hair looks like he just woke up, but in a good way. Another hot asshole. Are there hot guys who aren't assholes or is that not a thing?
"See ya, Trailer Girl." He saunters off, meeting up with Scarlett who's giving me a wicked smile that says something's going on.
Charlotte leans across the table. "What did he say to you?"
"That he left me a present." I roll my eyes. "Probably a dick pic." I check my phone. I've never given Parker my number but if Briggs was able to get it, Parker would have it too. "I don't see anything."
Charlotte gasps. "What if it's something else?"
"Like what?" I stuff the rest of my sandwich in the bag, no longer hungry.
Charlotte gets up and comes around the table to me, sitting beside me and whispering, "What if it's drugs?"
"Parker wouldn't have drugs at school. He'd be kicked off the team if anyone found it on him."
"And you'd get suspended."
Shit. Is that what he's doing? Is Briggs trying to get me suspended? I'd get in a lot more trouble than that if the school found drugs on me. I could get charged with possession. Forget being valedictorian. This could keep me from getting into college.
"I have to go." I grab my backpack and race out of the cafeteria and down to the girls' bathroom. Aubrey's there, checking her makeup.
She sees me and laughs. "What the hell are you wearing? Is that a shirt?"
It's not a shirt. It's a dress that looks like a shirt. It's comfortable and I like it. I don't bother trying to wear the right clothes to fit in. The girls here can afford to wear a different outfit every day, and everything they wear is designer. There's no way I could compete with that so I don't. I just wear what I want and don't care what people think.
"Yeah, it's a t-shirt," I lie. "I got it at a thrift store so God only knows what's living in it. You should probably leave before you catch something."
She huffs. "You're so disgusting."
I go in a stall and shut the door, hearing Aubrey's sandals click on the floor as she leaves. I yank open all the zippered pouches on my backpack and search for any powders, pills, or joints. I've been offered drugs before but always turned them down. Charlotte smokes weed now and then, claiming it calms her nerves, but I've never tried it and never wanted to. I want to be in full control of my mind, which is a struggle right now as I frantically search my bag.
Where the hell did he put it? There's nowhere else it could be but my backpack. But when did he do it? I don't have class with Parker. But I have several classes with Briggs.
Briggs must've done it, then ordered his minion to come tell me.
What the hell is wrong with that guy? Why is he so obsessed with being valedictorian? He's seriously willing to ruin my life to get on stage and give a stupid speech? The guy has everything, and it's still not enough.
There's nothing in my bag. I've searched every part of it twice. Maybe Parker was just trying to scare me, or maybe he was talking about something else. Maybe he hid his dick pics in my locker as some kind of stupid joke. It seems more like something Finn would do but I could see Parker doing it too.
My locker. Shit! Maybe that's where he put the drugs. But how would he get in my locker?
I fling open the stall door and run out of the bathroom, flying past Scarlett and her friends. I hear Scarlett laughing as I go down the hall. Is she laughing because I'm running or because she's in on this little prank?
When I get to my locker I fumble with the lock, my hands too shaky to put in the combination. After three tries, I finally get it open.
And there it is. A bag of white powder.
I was thinking it might be a joint, maybe some prescription stimulants, stuff that could get me in trouble but not arrested. This looks like cocaine, which any of the three A's could easily afford. Finn probably has stashes of it in his room. He's the only one of the three who doesn't play sports so can do all the drugs he wants.
I grab the bag and shove it my backpack.
"Ms. Quinn," a man says from behind me.
I turn around and see Principal Perkins standing there, wearing his usual white shirt, ugly tie, and brown tweed blazer.
"Could I get a look before you close it?" he asks.
My heart's pounding and my throat's so dry I can barely swallow. "You want to look in my locker?"
"Please." He gives me a tense smile.
"Can I ask why?"
He clears his throat. "We received some information and would like to either confirm or deny it."
"What information?"
His brows furrow and he narrows his eyes at me. "Ms. Quinn, is there some reason you don't want me looking in your locker?"
"No. I just want to know why mine is being searched but no one else's is."
"Step aside, please." He reaches for my locker door.
I move out of the way and watch as he takes out my books, one by one, flipping through them as if he thinks I've hidden something in the pages.
"Hey, Ella."
I immediately recognize the deep voice, dripping with arrogance, and look over at Briggs walking by, giving me a wink and a smile.
I fucking hate him. I can't believe he'd stoop this low. Making me an outcast at school wasn't bad enough? He has to get me arrested and ruin my life? Just so he can be valedictorian? If he's seriously going to take it to this level, I might just have to give him the stupid title. I want to be valedictorian but I'm not giving up college and my entire future to do it.
"What's in here?" Principal Parker holds up a blue plastic pencil case.
"Just some supplies."
By supplies, I mean tampons, some pads, and acne cream for those times when a giant zit the size of a crater decides to show up on my face the minute I arrive at school.
Principal Parker tries to open t
he box but the latch is stuck. He yanks on it so hard it pops open and a tampon flies out, landing in the middle of the hall. Right in front of James.
Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse.
James looks over at me, then back at the tampon by his feet. He steps over it and continues down the hall as my face turns what I'm guessing is a deep shade of red.
"Sorry about that," Principal Perkins says, shutting the box. He puts it back in my locker. "Well, everything appears to be fine."
"I don't do that stuff," I tell him. "I've never even touched it."
"I didn't think so." He folds his arms over his chest. "But you never know. Sometimes when people your age are unsure where they fit in, unable to make friends for whatever reason...they turn to substances to make themselves feel better."
"That's not what I'm doing. And I do have friends." I'd like to add that the reason I don't fit in here is because of Briggs, but I'd probably get detention for daring to say something negative about the school's Golden Boy.
Principal Perkins rubs his hand over his jaw, his eyes now down by my feet. "I should probably check that too, just in case."
He's looking at my backpack. Shit!
"I'm going to be late to class," I tell him.
"This won't take long." He motions to my backpack. "Give it here."
If he finds the drugs, I'm done. Everything I worked for is gone, just like that.
"You want to fight me?" someone yells.
I look over and see Finn shoving a guy in the hall. It's Lars, one of the soccer players. He's a junior and trying to become the next Finn by sleeping with as many girls as he can. He's okay looking, but nothing special. He gets girls by knowing what to say to get them in bed. And he has an Australian accent, which girls seem to love.
"Go ahead and try, fucker!" Finn shoves him again.
"Boys!" Principal Perkins races over to them, grabbing Finn and holding him back. "Stop it, right now!"
"He came after me," Lars says. "I was just trying to get to class."
"You're a fucking liar!" Finn yells at Lars, who's standing there, calm and collected, which makes Finn even angrier. "You ever take my shit again I'll—" He stops, his jaw working side-to-side.
"I think you need some time to settle down," Principle Perkins says, keeping hold of Finn as he leads him away.
Charlotte appears beside me. "What happened?"
"Finn was fighting with Lars."
"I meant with your locker. Did he find anything?"
"No. I need to go. I'll see ya later." I grab my backpack and head to the bathroom. Scarlett's in there checking her makeup. I swear she and her friends spend half their day in the bathroom, messing with their hair and makeup. Most days I don't even wear makeup. I'd rather sleep in than take time to do my face.
Going in a stall, I reach in my backpack and find the small plastic sack. As I'm trying to open it, it slips from my hand and falls on the tile floor.
The stall door swings open.
"Whatcha got there, Trailer Girl?" Scarlett asks, chomping on her gum and staring down at the bag
I pick it up off the floor. "Do you mind? I'm trying to use the bathroom."
She snatches the bag from me, holding it up and smiling. "This is worth more than your house. Where'd you get this?"
"I didn't. I found it. I was about to flush it. Now give it back."
She holds it high in the air, out of my reach because she's so much taller than me. With her heels, she's almost six feet and I'm barely five four.
"Give it back." I bite out the words, ready to climb on the toilet to get it if that's what it takes.
"Finders, keepers." She smirks, then whips around and walks off.
"Scarlett, wait!" I go to chase after her but she's already out the door.
Whatever. If she wants to risk getting caught with the stuff, let her. I should go report her and then Principal Perkins can go search her locker like he did mine. But knowing Scarlett, she'll hide it in her boobs. They're huge. You could easily hide something in there.
Feeling relieved that it's gone, I go to the sink and wash my hands, then head to class. I smile when I see Ms. Higgins, the only person at school who makes me feel like I belong here.
"Hi, Ella," she says, meeting me at the door. "Do you have a minute?"
"Um, yeah, okay," I say, wondering what this is about. Did she hear about my locker search and wants to give me a stay-off-drugs speech? I could totally see her doing that. She's one of those people that feels the need to save everyone.
"I wanted to talk to you about your lab partner."
"Rachel? What about her?"
"Her father was transferred to New York for his job so Rachel is unable to be your partner."
"She's moving? Now? Before she graduates?"
"Her mother decided not to wait. The family is moving there this week."
"Rachel's gone?" As I say it I realize I haven't seen her since we got back from break. I thought she was sick but apparently she was packing up to move across the country.
"Anyway, it turns out that Nathan decided to drop the class, leaving another person without a partner." She sets her hand on my shoulder. "Now I know you two don't get along but I think this would be a good chance for both of you to put your differences aside and—"
"Wait. You're not talking about Briggs, are you?"
She sighs. "It's only for a semester and—"
"No. I'm not doing it. I don't need a partner. I'll work alone."
"Everyone needs a partner. Some of the experiments require two people."
"Then I'll switch with someone. Anyone else would love to be with Briggs. He's Mr. Popularity."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Briggs says, coming up beside me, that smile on his face that seems to charm everyone but me.
"Briggs," Ms. Higgins says, smiling back at him. "Just the person I wanted to talk to."
"I assume this is about my partner? I heard he dropped the class."
"Yes, he decided this class was too much with his band commitments and other activities."
"Let me guess." Briggs puts his arm around me, his hand squeezing my shoulder. "This is my new partner?"
"Yes," Ms. Higgins says. "As you may have heard, Rachel's family had to make a rather sudden move to New York, leaving Ella without a partner." Her smile drops as her eyes bounce between us. "I trust there won't be any problems with you two working together."
"Of course not," Briggs says, holding me tighter against his side as I try to pull away. "I'm looking forward to this. It'll give me a chance to get to know Ella better." He looks at me, his smile now a smirk.
"Great!" Ms. Higgins is beaming, like she just managed to get enemies to be friends. She couldn't be farther from the truth. Briggs and I aren't even close to being friends. And he's not just an enemy. He's a bully. A bully who almost ruined my life with a bag of white powder he planted in my locker.
How did he do it, and why? Is he really that evil?
As much as he's done to me, I never thought he'd take it this far, but now that he has, I need to watch my back. This is about more than being valedictorian, because seriously, why would he care? It's just a stupid title. So why is he doing this? Does he really hate me that much?
What is this really about?
Chapter Five
Ella
As Ms. Higgins goes back in the classroom, I yank away from Briggs.
He grabs my arm and drags me back to him, putting his face next to mine. "You think today was bad? Just wait."
"Is this because of you? Did you make Nathan drop the class so we'd be forced to be partners?"
He answers with a smirk.
"Why would you want that? We're supposed to be competing. If we're partners we get the same grade."
"It's just one class. It doesn't fucking matter."
"Then why'd you do it?"
He lets go of me and saunters into the classroom.
What the hell? He's not going to give me a
n answer? Why would he do this? He hates me. Why would he want to be my partner?
It must be part of his plan. If we're forced to be together, he has access to me. He can do stuff, like hide drugs in my bag.
We don't have lab today so I'm able to keep a safe distance from him, way up front by the teacher while Briggs is way in the back.
After class, I glance back at Briggs and see him watching me, a wicked smile on his face. I gather up my things and get out of there.
When school lets out, I go to the office to fill out a graduation form they apparently had on file but lost. The lady at the desk takes forever to find the blank forms so by the time I leave, the school's empty and so is the parking lot.
"Help!" a girl yells as I'm walking to my truck.
I look around but don't see anyone.
"Please! Someone help me!"
It sounds like it's coming from around back. The shrill cries for help continue as I get out my phone and follow the voice to the back of the building.
When I get there I see Scarlett and Aubrey standing there, laughing.
"What's going on?" As I ask it, someone grabs my arms, yanking me back.
"We wanted to have a little talk," Briggs says. He's on one side of me and Parker's on the other.
"Let go of me!" I scream, struggling to get free.
"You two can go now," Parker calmly says to Scarlett and Aubrey.
"Take her phone," Briggs says to Scarlett. "Just throw it on the ground."
Scarlett rips my phone from my hand, smiling as she watches me struggle. "What are you going to do to her?"
"We haven't decided yet," Briggs says.
Aubrey looks at Scarlett. "We should stay and watch."
"No!" Briggs snaps. "Get the fuck out of here."
"Why?" Aubrey walks up to Briggs. "You're not going to..." She looks me up and down with disgust.
"Are you serious?" Briggs says. "You really think I'd put my dick in that?"
"You're right, baby." Aubrey reaches up to kiss him. "Nobody would. See you tonight?"
"Maybe. I'll text you later."
Scarlett goes up to Parker, kissing his cheek, her eyes on me. "Wash your hands after you're done with her. I don't want that getting on me."