I keep my head facing forward and try to ignore him, but every time I glance over I catch him looking my way. The old me would’ve been excited that a cute guy was staring at me, but I shove her down and remind myself that his good looks hide a horrible personality.
When class is over, Jake lingers by the door till I walk by.
“Hey goth girl, you okay? You looked like you had rabies a few days ago.” He laughs nervously, and I clench my fists.
I know I said I was never going to talk to him again, but I can’t help myself. He’s just asking to be told off. “Thanks to you, asshole! You could’ve killed me with that stupid prank!” I shove him out of the way.
“Whoa, what makes you think I had anything to do with it?” he hollers after me, but I don’t acknowledge him.
I know he did it, and his response just proves it. If he was innocent, he would have insisted it wasn’t him. No decent human being would want to be suspected of doing something so cruel and thoughtless.
I must look like I’m on the warpath because people gawk at me and move out of the way when I stomp to 2nd period. I slump into a seat in the back and cross my arms. A few people look at me like they want to say something, but I avoid eye contact and send out “leave me the hell alone” vibes.
I’m dreading seeing Jake again in 3rd period, but he marches up to me as soon as he walks in. My hackles raise, and I try to back up, but the bar that connects the desk with the chair blocks me in.
“Hey, I’m sorry you got sick last week, but you can’t go around saying it was me. You don’t know that. You don’t even know me.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Maybe I can’t prove it, and maybe you’ll get away with it, but I don’t need to know anything else about you to know you did it. I saw what you did to the kid in first period and that girl in here. Even if you didn’t do the hot sauce thing, you’re obviously still a jerk who thinks it’s funny to humiliate other people.”
He winces like I hurt his feelings, but it only makes me want to jab the knife in further.
“Hey, come on. It’s not like that. I just like to get a laugh. I’m not trying to hurt anybody. I’m sorry you got sick; really, I am. How can I make it up to you?”
I notice that he never actually admits he did it, probably because he doesn’t want to get in trouble, but his apology seems sincere, and for a minute I think about letting my anger go. But right now he’s standing in for everyone who’s ever hurt me, and I’m not ready to forgive anyone just yet.
Whoever pulled that prank deserves to be punished, but he’s right that I don’t know for sure it was him. I’m almost positive it was, but there’s no way I can prove it.
“Just stay the hell away from me, Jake.” I glare at him. He presses his lips into a flat line and walks away.
He ignores me for the rest of class, purposely keeping his eyes trained anywhere but on me. I know because I can’t stop looking at the back of his head.
People stare at me all day, and I can see the same thoughts flit through their minds. First my goth appearance catches their eye, then they realize they don’t recognize my face, which automatically makes them think I’m the new girl. A second later, it dawns on them that I’m the freak that had a spaz attack in the cafeteria, and they stare at me like I’m a side show.
Some of them approach me and offer their pity while others look at me like I’m a total freak, but either way, I draw attention everywhere I go. Exactly the same as it was at Astor Lake and the exact opposite of what I wanted to have happen here.
What do I have to do to be a nobody — invent invisibility spray?
I tell myself the attention will wane in a few days. Having an allergic reaction is not nearly as scintillating as having your naked picture posted all over the internet. I just have to ride it out till they forget about me.
I see Kerri and Mia in the hallway before lunch. Kerri’s face lights up, and she bounces up and down and waves at me to get my attention. “KC! KC!”
I hustle over to her just to get her to stop yelling my name across the hallway.
“You look good! Feeling better?” Kerri smiles at me. She doesn’t even blink an eye at my goth getup. I would expect a girl like her to be afraid of anyone dressed like me.
“Yeah, pretty much back to normal.” Physically, anyway. Emotionally, I’m still a wreck, but that’s starting to feel like my new norm.
“Hey, do you want to sit with us at lunch?” Mia asks, pulling a brown, paper bag out of her locker.
Do I? The hallway is bustling with hundreds of students talking, laughing, slamming lockers, but in my mind everything stops for a moment while I contemplate the offer. I came here hoping to disappear, too afraid to trust anyone. I never intended to make friends or get to know people. But Kerri and Mia seem nice, and I miss having friends. It’s been a long time since anyone besides Lindsey and my parents acted like they cared about me. Do I risk getting to know people, letting them know me?
“Come on! Somebody has to watch out for you and make sure you don’t get food poisoning from the lasagna.” Kerri winks, and I snort.
“I’m not taking any chances. I brought a bag lunch.” I hold up my own sack.
Kerri and Mia laugh and start walking down the hallway, and I move with them. I guess that means I’m going to give them a shot.
When we get to the cafeteria, the sights and sounds and smells bring it all back to me, and I’m caught off-guard by the rush of panic. My throat squeezes shut, and I can’t breathe; it’s like I’m having the same reaction even though I haven’t eaten anything. I freeze, and people flow around me like I’m a fallen tree in the middle of a stream.
Kerri and Mia keep walking, but they stop and turn back when they realize I’m not with them anymore.
“Hey, are you okay?” Kerri waves a hand in front of my face, and I snap back to reality, dragging in a ragged breath.
I shake my head to dislodge the memories. “Yeah, sorry. Where do you usually sit?”
“Right there.” Mia points to a table full of popular kids — you can tell just by looking at them. They all have cool clothes, nice hair, and a look on their faces that says they can’t imagine anything bad ever happening to them. Okay, that is not what I expected, at all. I have to admit, I thought these two were just a step above geeks.
Do I really want to make friends with the popular kids? Those are the kind of people who claimed to be my friends before but turned on me the minute they had a chance.
When Jake sits down at an empty spot in the middle of the table, my sweaty hands clench my paper sack, crumpling it. No way! I can’t sit by him! Are they friends with him? Why on earth would they think I would be okay with that?
“I can’t, I’m sorry.” I spin around and rush out of the room. I take off down the hallway, pushing through the doors that lead outside, desperate to get away from everything.
It’s only when the bright sunshine hits me that I remember I don’t have a car here. I’m trapped. Tears spring from my eyes, and I wipe them away with shaky hands. I’m probably smearing my eye makeup, but that will only make me look more edgy.
I find a tree to hide behind and eat my lunch, my knees pulled up to my chest and my arms wrapped around them.
I trudge through the afternoon, keeping my head down to avoid the stares and trying to tune out the whispered comments. I pass Mia once, and she glances at me curiously, but I stay on the other side of the hall and keep my eyes on the ground as I hustle past.
Chapter Five
Jake
“I heard you got shut down by that new chick today. I guess she wanted you to feel the same buuuurrrrnnn.” Dylan licks his finger and touches my shoulder, making a sizzling sound.
I make a face at him and push his hand away. “I was just trying to be nice to her after what happened.”
“That’s not the way I heard it. Matt said you practically asked her out and she told you to F-off.” Dylan smirks and snaps a towel at me.
I squeeze my butt chee
ks and jump forward so he doesn’t hit me, rolling my eyes. I don’t know what it is about the locker room that turns high school guys into middle schoolers again. At least it’s a little less gross than the middle school locker room since most guys have finally figured out they actually have to shower and use deodorant every day or they smell like ball sweat.
“Why would I ask her out? She’s definitely not my type. I like fun, hot girls, not ugly, emo chicks.” KC isn’t actually ugly, she’d probably look hot if she tried, but that attitude is definitely not winning her any points with anybody.
“Yeah, like Kerri? How’d that work out for you?” Dylan chuckles. “I thought I saw her making out with Connor the other day.”
I am a little bummed about losing Kerri. She’s fun and cute, but she’s also a hot mess. Both dates I had with her ended in disaster. But I think she was into Connor even when she was going out with me, so I wasn’t too upset when I heard they were a thing now.
Dylan pulls his shirt over his head, flexing his muscles on purpose. Yeah, yeah, I know you’re more cut than me, you don’t need to rub it in.
“And didn’t Mallory turn you down, too? Oh yeah, that’s right — for me!” Dylan throws his head back and laughs, tempting me to uppercut him.
I slam my locker next to his head instead, letting the metal rattle his brains. “You can have her; Mallory’s too Kardashian for me.”
“It just seems to me like you’re having a little trouble with the chicks lately, huh?” Dylan flexes his back muscles as he props his foot on the bench and bends over to tie his shoes.
“I am not! Are you crazy? I could get any chick I wanted.” That’s probably not true, but I’ve never had a problem getting dates. Why is Dylan being such a prick about the fact that the last few haven’t worked out?
“Oh really? Is that so? You think you can get any chick? Any one at all?”
I sneer at him and stand up straighter. He may have bigger muscles than me, but I’m taller. “Yeah, I do.”
“Well, I think you should put your money where your mouth is, don’t you guys?” Dylan says loud enough for everyone to hear and glances around the room with a wicked grin. The others chime in with eager cheers.
“What do you have in mind?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
He strokes his chin and leers. “You get KC to go out with you and let you kiss her in front of witnesses, like at a party or something. And it doesn’t count if she slaps you afterward.”
“And what do I get if I win?”
“Well, prom is coming up, and all that shit is expensive. How about if you win I’ll pay for your tux and limo and hotel room for afterwards, and if you lose, you pay for mine.”
I can’t help it. It’s like a biological imperative to rise to the challenge. I can no more turn down Dylan’s bet than I can stop breathing.
“You’re on Dillweed. But I think you need to get in on the action, too. You and Macy are off again, right? I think you need a rebound girl. How about I pick your next date.”
Dylan can’t help it, either. It must be a guy thing — the inability to turn down a challenge. His chest puffs up at the mention of a face-off.
“I got way more game than you do, Jake. Hit me with your best shot.”
“Rebecca Stanley.” The name pops out before I even realize I’m talking. Rebecca makes KC look cute and well-adjusted.
Dylan flinches, the other guys hoot, and I smirk. “Buck-tooth Becky? She’s a freak show! She’s probably never had a date in her life.”
“Well, then she ought to be pretty desperate, huh? Desperate enough to go out with you.” I slug him in his thick deltoid.
Dylan rolls his eyes and his shoulders, flexing his muscles. “She’ll think she died and went to heaven if I ask her out. Are you sure you’re willing to take that bet? I’m gonna want the fancy limo with the champagne and the disco lights inside.”
I don’t think it’ll be that easy for Dylan to get Becky to go out with him — she’s a total weirdo who probably thinks any boy who talks to her wants to rape her or something. But it’ll be fun to watch Dylan try. And even if he wins, it’ll be hilarious to see him on a date with her.
“Oh, I’m in if you are.” I hold out my knuckles for a deal-sealing fist bump, and Dylan pounds his into me.
“So, how much time do you think you’re gonna need? A month?” he asks.
“That’s pushing it awful close to prom. I want to make sure you have enough time to save up for my prom gear. I’ve got expensive taste, too. Besides, I don’t need any more than two weeks to win KC over, not with my natural charm.” I give a cheesy grin and flip my hair.
“Two weeks, huh? Well, I bet I can snag a date with Becky in one.”
“Oh yeah? Well then, one week it is. My parents will be gone next weekend, so party at my place Saturday night.”
“Right on.” Dylan smiles back, baring his teeth.
Okay, I’ve got less than seven days to convince KC I’m not a jerk and get her to come to my party. I’m always up for a challenge. Plus, I wanted to win her over, anyway. It irks me that she hates me so much when she doesn’t even know me. Yeah, she assumes I pulled the hot sauce prank, but she doesn’t know that for sure. And she started hating me the minute I walked into our history class and told her she was in my seat.
Okay, so maybe that was a jerk thing to do to a new girl; I probably should’ve let it slide. I didn’t mean to be an ass, it just kind of came out when I saw her sitting there. But was that so bad that she instantly wrote me off?
I guess maybe picking on Mikey reinforced her opinion, but Mikey wasn’t as upset about it as she was. Everybody in this school is used to my pranks, and most people think they’re funny, even when they’re the one getting it.
Maybe if she hadn’t had such a bad reaction to the hot sauce thing she might have gotten over her irritation with me, but now I’m pretty sure she’s decided to hate me forever. I’m up for the challenge, though. People can’t resist a guy who makes them laugh, and I know most girls think I’m pretty hot, too, even if I’m not the He-Man Dylan is.
I grab my stuff and head out to the parking lot, trying to think of how I should approach KC. Most everyone is gone now since I took time to shower after my last period gym class and then I hung around, making the bet with Dylan.
But I notice a figure sitting on the steps. She’s all in black, hunched over with her head in her hands, looking miserable. Hello, opportunity.
“KC?” I ask, coming closer. She looks up at me with a pained expression. Her makeup is smudged like she was rubbing her eyes. Was she crying? “Is everything okay?”
“Just waiting for my ride,” she says, turning to stare at the parking lot again.
I check the time on my phone. “School ended 20 minutes ago. Are you sure they’re coming?”
“Yeah, my mom probably just got distracted or something.” I can hear the frustration in her voice, and I wonder if this isn’t the first time. I know the feeling. My parents always seem to have something more important to do than worry about me.
“Did you text her to remind her?” I learned the hard way not to expect them to remember what I need them to do.
She turns back long enough to scowl at me. “Of course. I’m not an idiot.”
“Did she respond?”
KC sighs and mutters, “Not yet.”
“Well, I can give you a ride so you don’t have to keep waiting. I don’t have anywhere I have to be.”
She looks at me and raises an eyebrow like I just offered to fly her to Mars.
“Why?” she eventually responds.
“Why not?” I shrug.
She stares at me again, and I plop down onto the step beside her. “Look, I’m not the douche bag you think I am. Give me a chance to prove it to you. I’d hate for you to sit out here by yourself for a long time. It’s probably not safe.”
She stares a beat longer but then slowly nods her head.
“Great! Come on.”
I grab one
of her hands off her knee and pull her up. Her hand is moist, and she gasps and tries to pull it away from me, but I hold on until she’s steady on her feet. When I loosen my grip, she yanks her hand away and wipes it on her pant leg.
I notice that her clothes aren’t faded or rumpled like most of the goth kids. Hers look brand new. Her shirt is plain, not a concert tee from some heavy metal band, and her black and silver bracelets look like they came all together in a goth starter set. Her backpack looks spotless, too. Is the whole goth look a new thing for her?
I try to imagine her in something nicer with a smile on her face and without all the black eye makeup. She’s pretty enough she could fit in with the popular girls if she wasn’t trying so hard to look rough. What’s her deal?
She follows me to my SUV and climbs in, not saying a word. I wonder what she would say if I was driving my motorcycle today.
“Where do you live?” I ask, pulling up to the school exit.
She points left. “Just take this road a couple miles, and I’ll show you where to turn.” Okay, I was expecting her to give me an address, but I guess that’ll do.
I make the turn and drive in silence for a minute. She seems tense, but I don’t know what to say to get her to relax. Maybe if I ask some questions it’ll loosen her up.
“So, did you just move here or something?”
“No.” The look she gives me tell me I should mind my own business.
I want to ask why she transferred in the middle of the second semester, but I’m pretty sure she’s not going to tell me that.
“Where did you go to school before?” That’s a safe enough question, right?
“Private school,” is all she says.
I’m really curious about her, but I don’t think she’s going to talk to me. Not yet, anyway. I guess I’m going to have to warm her up a bit first. I could ask her about her stay in the hospital, but I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing she wants to talk about. I switch on the radio instead, and I notice her tapping her fingers to the pop song.
April Fools' Joke (Holiday High Series Book 3) Page 4