by Ruby Vincent
“You mean when he was playing me for a bet,” I shot back. I pushed myself up and sat cross-legged. “All of this is new to me, Sof.”
“Making out?”
“Making out, chemistry, dating, crushes, getting felt up, being betrayed by smirking assholes. People hated me at my old school and guys avoided the weird girl with holes in her clothes like the plague. I don’t know what I’m doing here, but I do know I can’t do it with him. I can’t be with a guy I don’t trust.”
She hummed. “You should probably stop kissing him then.”
I promptly shoved her into the pillows. Sofia went down laughing, but she was right. I needed to channel all of my energy into surviving the semester and the students so desperate to get me out—the Knights among them.
“ARE YOU EATING IN YOUR secret spot again?”
“I’ll be in my room. It’s taking longer than I thought to finish my Huxley paper and it’s due tomorrow. I’ll be working on it all day so get ready for another trip to the library.”
Noemi shrugged. “Alright. Then I’ll walk you and then head back to the security office.”
Morning classes had just let out and we were on our way to the lunchroom. My run-in with Maverick the day before had seen to it that I was back to eating in my room. The result of getting discovered by Maverick was... interesting. I didn’t want to guess what would happen if Ezra or Ryder had found me.
As expected, my paper demanded my attention all through lunch. I had one hand on my tuna wrap and the other on my laptop, and I still wasn’t done by the time Noemi came to get me.
“Haven’t you been working on this for weeks?” she asked as the elevator dropped to the ground floor. “What else is there to say?”
“I have to write about his life on top of fourteen different novels. I’m on my last one, Brave New World, but that’s his most famous novel so I have to knock it out. Strange has given me nothing but Bs all year. This time I’m getting that A.”
“You deserve it for the work you’ve put in.”
I got through the rest of my classes and took off for the library the moment they let out. I went to my spot in the back and pulled out my book and laptop. Consumed by my work, I didn’t look up from my screen until a voice broke the silence.
“This project is stupid as shit. Who has ever even heard of James Joyce? Let alone cares enough about the guy to want twenty pages on him?”
I peeked over my screen and watched the Knights file in.
“Why are you complaining?” asked Ezra. “Maverick’s got Agatha Christie and the woman wrote sixty novels. He’s been writing that paper since five minutes after she assigned it.”
“Ricky likes reading and all that smart shit.” Jaxson was ignoring the dress code once again. His shirt was open to the waist and his blazer nowhere to be seen. He ran his hand over his growing blond spikes and shot Maverick a grin. “Don’t let that football thing fool you; the guy’s a nerd.”
Grinning, Maverick shoved Jaxson and almost sent him to the floor.
“Seriously, man,” Ezra deadpanned. “How did you get into this school?”
Jaxson dropped his bag and did a little spin. “Charm. Good looks. Dad’s an insanely rich and famous record producer. You pick.”
Ryder threw himself into a chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “Well, it’s definitely not the first two, so I’ll go with number three.”
“Haha. The boy’s got jokes. But I’ve got this.” Jaxson flipped him off and the boys burst out laughing.
Seeing them like that I couldn’t deny how close they were. A friendship that made no sense to me but here they were.
I must have stared for too long because Maverick’s eyes flicked up and found me across the room. Heat spread through my body. I didn’t know how to be around him before the Knights’ room incident; now I definitely didn’t know what to do.
Despise him. Ignore him. That’s what you do.
I sighed at my internal voice. It was right. It was the only choice.
Maverick smiled. A small smile that was just for me, then he sat down with his boys.
I gripped my book tighter than necessary. It was the only choice, but that didn’t mean it was an easy one.
After a minute, I returned to my paper and the library was quiet again. The Knights had taken up studying. Ezra, Ryder, and Jaxson either didn’t know I was in the room or they didn’t care. Jaxson and Maverick were busy typing away on their laptops while Ryder and Ezra bent over the same textbook studying for their own midterms.
The clock ticked down and every second brought me closer to being done with this paper. I beamed when I hit my final paragraph. This was going to get me that A; I had no doubt.
“Maverick.” Ryder’s voice broke the silence. “Get it done and let’s go.”
“Right. One minute.”
The boys were tossing their books in their bags and gathering their stuff. Maverick bent over his laptop, his fingers a blur as they flew across his keyboard.
I bent my head and went back to my project. How to sum up fourteen books and the impact he made—
A notification popped up on the bottom of my screen. I was going to ignore it until I noticed the name.
Email Notification: [email protected].
Maverick.
I stilled. Why would he be emailing me?
You know why. You devoured his face like he was a triple pound cheeseburger and you were a vegetarian looking to binge.
I hesitated for a few more seconds before navigating to my email. His subject line stood stark on the screen.
Give me a chance to explain...
Was there any point in this? There was no explanation that he could give me that would make yesterday anything other than a mistake? I should delete it unread. Forget about that kiss and keep in mind the awful things he had done.
I clicked the email.
Val,
You have every right to be pissed at me, but you need to know that not everything was fake...
That simple line was followed by a link. I did have every right to be pissed at him, but if Maverick had something to prove to me, then I wanted to know. I deserved an explanation. I clicked the link and a small window appeared at the bottom of my screen.
I squinted. What the hell was this?
A stream of random words and numbers flooded the window, scrolling so fast I couldn’t make it out. I leaned in closer for a look when the screen winked out. I gazed uncomprehendingly at the blackness. The soft hum of the laptop faded under the slowing fan.
No.
I tapped the on button as the laptop stopped humming. Nothing happened.
I tried again. Then again. Then I held it down so hard my finger turned white.
No. No, no, no!
I leaped out of my chair, startling Noemi into dropping her book.
“Valentina? What’s wrong?”
I couldn’t speak for the lump that had lodged in my throat. I took a step toward the door and wobbled. I fell down hard in my seat and caught only a glimpse of Maverick’s blazer as it closed behind him.
“VALENTINA, ARE YOU okay? You’ve been acting strange since you ran out of the library last night.”
Everything went dark as I pressed the heel of my palms to my eyes. I was dull and achy all over, and not only physically. “I’m fine, Noemi.”
“Okay, but if something is wrong—”
I tuned her out. Well-dressed, polished students streamed past me in blue blurs. I couldn’t make sense of their noise; it devolved from words to a meaningless whomp, whomp, whomp. My feet carried me to Professor Markham’s door but didn’t stop. I walked past and kept going until I was standing outside of the English classroom. There was no point in putting it off.
“Miss Moon.” Strange looked up from her computer with a smile on her face. “What can I do for you? I hope you’re all set for today. I’m eagerly looking forward to reading your report.”
I fisted the hem of my skirt to still shaky fingers
. “Professor, that’s what I wanted to speak to you about—”
“I’ll wait outside.” Noemi patted my shoulder. I waited for the soft click of the lock before I tried again.
“What is going on, Miss Moon?”
“Professor...”
Why drag it out? Just get it over with.
“Professor, my computer was infected with a virus and I lost e-everything.” My voice caught, but I pushed on. “The paper and... everything. I stayed up all night trying to re-type what I lost, but it’s not finished.”
Strange’s normally pleasant smile disappeared. “What have you completed?”
“I have the biography, but I don’t have the novel comparisons.”
“I see.”
How could two simple words make me flinch, but I did all the same. “But if you give me more time, I can give you the rest. I swear it was all done. If it wasn’t for my computer—”
Strange held up a hand and stemmed my rush of words. “Miss Moon, you are well aware that I do not accept late or incomplete work.”
“But, Professor, it wasn’t my fault. The virus—”
She shook her head. “You should have backed up your work. I’m sorry, Miss Moon, but it is your responsibility to be prepared for class, and mine to hold all students to the same standards. Giving you more time is unfair to the students who worked hard to have their presentations ready on time.”
“But it wasn’t me!” I burst out. “My laptop was infected on purpose.”
“On purpose?” A frown formed in the corner of her mouth. “Do you have proof of this?”
“Well, no, but—”
“Then how am I to know you didn’t procrastinate and are now using sabotage as an excuse.”
“Because I can show you the piece of junk that used to be my laptop!”
Her frown deepened. “I’m sorry, but that wouldn’t change anything. You will receive a zero on this assignment.”
The words pierced through me, sticking in like pushpins until my lungs popped under the assault. I couldn’t breathe.
This wasn’t happening. Please don’t let this happen.
“With a zero on this project, your grade will drop to a D,” she relentlessly plowed on. “Even if you get a hundred on the final exam, it won’t bring you to the required seventy-five percent. I’m sorry, Miss Moon, but you will fail the year.”
“But if I still have a 3.5—”
“It won’t matter.” Strange rose from her desk and stepped around to my side. Her expression softened into what could only be pity. “English is a core class. You cannot fail English I and expect to rise to English II.”
I cast about for anything that could save me. “What if I retake the class?”
“You can do that—”
Hope unfurled in my chest.
“—at another school.”
“What?” I croaked, stepping back.
“Evergreen is an elite academic institution. Students do not retake classes here. I’m afraid there is nothing I can do, Miss Moon. In all likelihood, you will not be returning to Evergreen next year. I suggest you call your mother and begin making arrangements.”
I staggered, falling against the desk like she had punched me. “But, Professor Strange—”
“The matter is closed.” She stepped aside and pointed to the door. “Now I suggest you go. You’re late to homeroom.”
A thousand pleas sprang to my lips, but one look at Strange told me it was no use. After a minute, I unglued my feet and walked toward the door. Her voice reached me when I eased it open.
“—out of here. You should all be in class!”
“Watch yourself, bodyguard, or your next job will be chasing sticky brats in the mall.”
There was no mistaking the owner of that voice. I stepped around Noemi and there they were. Jaxson, Ezra, Maverick, and Ryder took up the entire hallway with their presence. I knew they had been waiting for me.
Ryder forgot about Noemi and focused all his attention on me. His smile was terrible to see. “So that’s it then. You’re out.”
I didn’t speak.
“I promised I had plans for you, Moon.” Ryder grasped Maverick’s shoulder. The taller boy was expressionless. I barely recognized him from the guy in the Knights’ room who held me and told me I was beautiful. “Something that not even your pet could protect you from.”
“Now just a minute—”
I seized Noemi’s arm and held her back. “Noemi, can you leave us alone, please?”
She spun on me. “What? No. I won’t—”
“Please. I’ll be fine.”
She hesitated, looking from me to the boys. “Val—”
“Just go.”
She looked like she wanted to argue some more, but the look in my eyes must have swayed her. “If that’s what you want.” She turned and left. It wasn’t until the sound of her footsteps faded that Ryder spoke again.
“Say it, Moon.”
I swallowed hard.
“Say it.”
“I’m out. I’m going to fail the class and the year. Just like you wanted.” The pressure was building behind my eyes, in my throat, throughout my whole body.
Don’t cry. Do not let them see you cry.
“Exactly like I wanted,” Ryder taunted.
“It had to be this way, Valentina,” Jaxson spoke up from Ryder’s other side. “You know how it works now. There was no way you could stay.”
“Not when the Spades decided you had to go.” Ezra picked up the line. “I don’t know what you did that they chose you, but they would have made sure you left one way or the other.”
My eyes cut to Ryder. Don’t know what I did to choose me? So he never told them about that night in the woods.
I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes, but it was gone so fast I could have imagined it.
“It’s right that it was us who got rid of you.” Ryder broke away from the group and moved toward me. “I would have been disappointed if you had fallen to anyone else.”
The pressure was swelling, rising, becoming unbearable. I bit my lip so hard it hurt. I couldn’t cry. Please, don’t cry!
Ryder didn’t stop until we were only inches apart. He filled my vision—blocking out the other Knights and making himself the center of my crashing world.
“You never belonged here, Valentina.” His voice was soft, almost gentle if it weren’t for the words falling from his lips. “Where you belong is that disease-ridden slum with your whore mother and her second fatherless mistake.”
I felt it well up and collect on my eyelids. I blinked and the tear dripped down my cheek and onto my mouth. That’s when the pressure broke. I couldn’t hold it in anymore and a sob choked me as tears rushed from my eyes.
“It’s going to be okay,” said Ryder. “Everything is going to go back to the way it should have been. There’s only one more thing.”
I didn’t see it coming through the blur of my tears. In a breath, Ryder’s lips were on mine, tasting the salty pain of what he had done to me and claiming his final prize. It was the barest of kisses—over before it even began.
Ryder turned and walked away without another word. The other boys followed him, not sparing me another glance as I sank to the floor and let the sobs come.
Chapter Twelve
What am I going to do?
The cold seeped from the floors into my bare legs. They began to feel as numb as the rest of me.
After everything that’s happened. Everything I’ve gone through; I’m going to pack my bags and go back to Wakefield.
My mind spun. I’ll lose everything graduating from here would have given me and... I’ll never find out who took it from me.
That thought lodged in my mind. My tears slowed as the full weight of that hit me. If I leave, I’ll never discover why all this happened. Never know what I stumbled on in the woods or why the Spades wanted to make sure I never did.
If you leave... Ryder will have won.
My stomach heave
d at the realization, and once that feeling broke through, a wave of emotions followed. I wasn’t letting that happen.
Bang!
Strange jumped in her seat when the door flew open. “Miss Moon! What on earth do you—”
“I know you know.” I marched up to her and planted myself in front of her desk. “I know you all know that I’ve been marked.”
She visibly stiffened. “Now listen—”
“No, you listen.” I leaned over and looked her dead in the eyes. “One night, I saw something I shouldn’t have and everything changed. My friends and class turned on me, and my teachers abandoned me.
“I can accept that this is the way things will be, but I wonder if you can.” Her eyes were huge behind her wire-framed glasses. “This is an elite school. One of the best in the world. I know you’re proud to teach here. You love your job and care about your students, so unless you’re a sadist, you can’t be okay with what’s going on.
“It must be bothering you deep down that your students have been hurt and there was nothing you could do, but this time you can.”
“B-but I can’t.” She lowered her head. “I’m sorry, but no matter how I feel, I cannot give a grade for work I don’t receive.”
“Then don’t,” I announced. “Give me the zero. Just allow me the chance to make it up. Give me another assignment and I’ll do it, whatever it is.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is. It’s not against any rules to give me a makeup assignment, especially when you didn’t get the first one due to sabotage.” I peered into her eyes, my desperation leaking through. “Please, Professor. I worked so hard to be here, and now a few bullies are going to take it away. You don’t have to let that happen.”
I fell silent after my speech and held my breath as a mix of emotions flashed across her face. With every second that passed, the vision of Ryder smirking his victory grew sharper in my mind.
She really won’t change her mind? She’s going to turn her back and let this stand when we both know it’s wrong. She—
“Did you tell anyone else you didn’t finish the assignment?”