The Princess and the Bully (Goldsworthy University Book 1)

by Tiffany Ransier

  I guess I’m failing alone then. Of course she’d turn hers in.

  I run a hand down the back of my hair as I watch the stack of folders get picked up by the professor starting on the left.

  My jaw drops as she starts counting them. Fuck! Why is she counting? Why can’t she just take them and put them on her fucking desk.

  Grinding my teeth, I clench my fist under the table.

  “You look panicked, Callan.”

  As my name leaves her lips, I turn to glance at her.

  She raises an eyebrow. “You didn’t do your paper, did you?”

  I don’t respond, crossing my arms and leaning back in my chair. Of course she wants to fucking rub it in. I think after class we’ll play another game.

  Professor Harper booms, “So far everyone’s turned theirs in. Great job, class.”

  She moves over to the next row. I’ll be the odd one fucking out and she’ll call me out.

  “Ask me nicely,” she whispers.

  My eyes widen as I turn my head in her direction. “What?”

  She pulls her bag off the ground, sitting it on her lap between the table and her body. The moment she does, I spot a dark blue folder. She moves a few things away and touches the top of it.

  No fucking way there’s a paper in that folder.

  “I finished mine last weekend, and I had some time and figured that you probably weren’t going to do yours. You didn’t even do the outline or turn in your sources. And don’t worry, I made sure it sounds like someone else wrote it.”

  Fuck. If I accept this, my worries are over.

  “Time is running out. Better hurry.”

  I look up to see Professor Harper in front of the row to the left of ours.

  Is it worth my pride to ask the girl who might be partially or fully responsible for my brother’s death for a favor?

  No. I don’t think it is.

  I’ll sink on my own. It’s not like it hasn’t fucking happened before.

  But I’ll lose my spot on the basketball team.

  “No.”

  She sighs, setting her bag on the floor. “Fine.”

  Plop.

  She sets the folder on the table right in front of me.

  “You’re really giving this to me, just like that?” I ask, touching the edges of it. “I didn’t even do what you wanted, princess.”

  “Despite the fact that you’re a major asshole and I hate you for everything you put me through, I do owe you. You punched that guy in the face for me remember? And you got suspended.” Her eyes meet mine for a second before she turns back to the front. “Just know this is a one time thing.”

  I open my mouth to respond that I don’t need her pity when I hear Professor Harper call out, “Callan, is that your folder? Pass it up already.”

  Wil keeps looking straight ahead with a blank face.

  What will it look like if I put it away in my bag or even hand it back to her?

  No. I’m stuck with passing it up front. And…I do need to stay on the team. Sports have always helped keep my anger at bay.

  The guy in front of me holds his hand out.

  After placing it in his hand, Wil lowers her voice, “Now we’re even.”

  I punched a guy in the face, and I didn’t even do it for her. But she spent hours saving my ass. How can I call that even? No. It bothers the hell out of me but I owe her now.

  After class, I check my phone notifications as I leave the building. Guys messing around in the group chat. Missed call from my dad? And a notification from BookSmarter?

  I open the BookSmarter app to a message that flashes on screen saying ‘Your petition has been submitted. Please wait for the result.’

  Wait. What?

  I click on it, finding it locked at 5k signatures achieved at the top.

  Shit.

  The board will be meeting about this soon then. I still haven’t found the answers I need. She can’t go anywhere.

  “I hope you’re happy.”

  Whirling around, I find Wil with teary eyes glaring at me. She swipes a finger at the corner of her eye.

  “I don’t deserve to be expelled. I didn’t do anything. If anything, my life is being threatened!” she yells, her lips quivering as she covers her face.

  Is she talking about what ever happened on the lake on Halloween?

  People around us slow to a stop at her outburst. Nosy fucks.

  “Let’s talk somewhere private,” I murmur, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her away.

  Her eyes widen. “No!” she tries to tug her arm out of my grasp. “I don’t want to talk to you or do that–”

  “Shut up, Wil!” I scream, gripping her arm tighter. I stare into her tear-filled eyes. In a lower tone, I whisper. “We’re just going to talk. Got it?”

  Without waiting for a response I continue on, taking her to the basement, locking the door behind us.

  This time, I flip the light on, letting her go and lead the way to the couch. She sits at the opposite end, as far away from me as possible.

  “Let’s get one thing straight,” I start, “I did not start that petition.”

  She snorts. “Don’t fucking lie Callan. Your name is at the top and it’s connected to your BookSmarter account.” She shakes her head, crossing her arms and leaning into the arm of the couch. “You must really think I’m stupid.”

  “I didn’t fucking do it, okay?” I still haven’t figured out how they hacked my fucking account. “Someone hacked my account and made it.”

  She looks at me with disbelieving eyes.

  “Why would I make a petition that might possibly get you expelled when you’re the one and only lead behind my brother’s disappearance? Every tip I’ve gotten from people saying they’ve spotted him somewhere or his car have been dead ones. The memory of that night is somewhere in your head, and I need it.”

  She uncrosses her arms and clasps her hands together. “You should’ve told me.”

  “How would I know that petition would actually make it to five thousand? Shit is hard to do. Besides, you don’t tell me shit right away. You never even told me how you ended up with Silverstone.”

  A small smile forms on her lips. “Yeah. I know you hate the guy for whatever reason, but I like him.”

  A strange heat moves up my chest as I digest those words. “You what?”

  “I mean, I almost feel like we’re friends. Though he does sort of act like he’s interested, I’m not into him like that but he’s fun to talk to.”

  Hearing those words eases this annoying feeling of rage. “You don’t want to be friends with him,” I mutter, unclenching my fists at my sides.

  “He saved my life. I was drowning. Someone…tried to kill me.”

  The rage returns at full force like a flash. “Who?” I bark, turning her chin to meet my eyes. “What did they look like?”

  Her lips flatten as something like pain flashes in her eyes. “Like you. They were dressed like you, Callan. I thought you were drowning me.”

  I let go like I’ve been burned and turn away.

  Of all the things I would ever do to her, I would never ever drown her. The feeling of the water seeping into every fiber of your being. The burn in your lungs as you suffer without oxygen. The light leaving you with only the darkness.

  No.

  I lock eyes with hers. “I wouldn’t do that. I might have choked you that night, but that’s as far as I took it. After I left you there I went back to AAA with my friends.”

  “They must have grabbed one of the masks you guys left behind. But Kane saved me. The guy swam off and ran for it when he saw him.”

  For once, Silverstone was useful for something. But this begs the question. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

  She opens her mouth and closes it a few times. There’s something she isn’t saying.

  “I remembered something recently. The night before, you know, the night of the third round of the hazing, I found bruises all over Heath’s abdomen.”


  What the fuck? Bruises?

  “Maybe they were from football. They started practice as soon as school began.”

  “No,” she insists. “These were a deep purple color and there was something else. A weird symbol was bruised into him. Almost like a fork, but it was super tiny. I thought maybe you might have beat him.”

  Me? Beat Heath? “I would’ve been just as bruised and you would’ve seen them on my body. Neither of us win when we fight each other.” Could he have gotten into a fight with someone else?

  She covers her mouth. “Maybe it was the person who made him disappear.”

  Could be. I need to ask around and see if someone else might’ve noticed it too. A small fork symbol. What could that even mean?

  “Anyway, do you know where the meeting is going to be? I need to go so I can plead my case. I refuse to be expelled.”

  “They don’t allow anyone else in the meeting besides board members, so no, you can’t come.” I think I have a plan and I can’t let her interfere in it. I’ve learned a lot about how this college works. Not because I wanted to. This might be the one time that information is useful.

  I stand up off the couch and move out of the way. “Let’s go. I have a lot of shit to do.”

  Her lips flatten as she gets up, moving past me quickly.

  I grab her arm before she’s out of my reach. “Hey.” She glances up at me with worried eyes. “You aren’t going anywhere so don’t worry about it. I still need my answers.”

  Her expression doesn’t change, in fact there’s something else in her eyes. Something I’ve seen reflected back in my own in the mirror many times. Hopelessness.

  My stomach twists into knots and loosen my grip. Why am I filled with the need to reassure her that she isn’t going anywhere?

  I push it away, letting go of her arm, and eventually hearing the door close.

  My plan will work.

  I move my hair to the side and glance at myself in the mirror before strolling in. There’s no one at the front or side desks to stop me. All of the lights are dimmed because there’s no one here.

  It’s the first technical day of vacation. Sunday. Campus is pretty empty and all of the teachers, assistants, and administration are gone.

  The only people in the building are in one of the conference rooms.

  Striding down the hall at a leisurely pace, I glance through the glass doors of each one, looking for the group of stuck-up assholes. Stopping at the last one, conference room number five, I spot twelve heads. They’re all here then. All except for one.

  I cover my mouth to stop the smile from spreading across my face. I can’t afford to laugh. I need to keep a straight face.

  Pulling open the glass door, I step inside and maintain an air of seriousness around me.

  Murmurs fill the room as they talk amongst each other, glancing at me. The murmurs stop when I take the spot at the head of the table.

  “With all due respect, Callan, that spot is for the dean,” one of the ladies say.

  “I understand that perfectly, but he isn’t here.” For the life of me, I can never remember the names of these people. They’ve come over our house so many times, but I can only really remember six of them.

  “Callan, son, where’s your father?” a voice I know very well asks.

  Strong dark brows, heavyset, and dark blue eyes. Tyrell’s father, the newest member of the board.

  I shrug, “I don’t know Mr. Sonnenfeld. I was told that I needed to come and stand in for him until he gets here. He doesn’t want this meeting to take up any more of his time than it needs to. So, gentlemen, ladies, please vote on the expulsion of Ms. Karden.”

  They all look at each other, chattering loud.

  “Callan, I don’t think we should vote without talking about this,” Mr. Hardington blurts.

  Noel’s father pushes his glasses up his face, looking ever the nerdy pharmacist.

  “Mr. Hardington, when my dad does show up, I believe he’ll love to see that we used our time here wisely. You all are aware of my brother’s disappearance, I assume?” Looking around at all of them, most people nod.

  “We’re so sorry for your loss,” Mrs. Hardington says, patting my hand.

  Everyone else voices their agreement.

  I force a few tears to my eyes. “Thank you. All of you. So you know exactly what she might’ve done to my brother. Everyone seems to know the circumstances so there’s no need to not vote. She deserves to suffer for causing my family pain. Let’s vote.”

  They nod, taking in my words, and grabbing the pencil and paper from the center of the table.

  A sly smile forms on my lips as I watch them write their answer down and place it back in the center.

  As soon as they’re done, I motion for the stack to be passed down.

  “Your father will be very pleased,” Mr. Iverson says.

  Luella’s father with his giant blond beard looks ecstatically at the pile.

  I don’t have to read these to know they all voted yes for her expulsion. It’d shock the hell out of me if there was even a single no.

  “He would be." I pick the first piece of paper up and unfold it. “Yes,” I announce.

  “Wait, Callan, what are you doing?” Mr. Hardington asks.

  “Reading the votes of course,” I say, pulling the next one open.

  He stands up quickly, adamantly hitting his hands against the table. “But you can’t do that!”

  “I agree, Callan.” Mrs. Hardington stands up next to her husband. “We only read them once the dean is ready to vote.”

  “But he is,” I respond darkly. “These votes are final once they’ve been passed to the person sitting in this chair. My father isn’t here, and I don’t think he’s coming. You see, his car had a little trouble.”

  Okay, I might have pulled a few wires out with Tyrell’s help. So damn lucky to have a friend who knows so much about cars.

  “And his phone is broken,” I say in an over the top sad voice.

  “I just talked to him a few hours ago,” Mr. Iverson yells.

  “Of course you did, Mr. Inverson. It’s such a shame that electronics can stop working so fast. He’ll order a new one soon, I promise you, but unfortunately that won’t help him right now and his vote needs to be cast.”

  “You can’t do that!” Mr. Sonnefeld shouts.

  I chuckle and straighten my tie. “The rules clearly state that if the dean does not show up to cast his vote, a family member can stand in for him and vote in his stead. I’m a family member, am I not?”

  “Why are you doing this, Callan?” Mr. Browning asks.

  Ashlynn’s father is the only one who doesn’t look peeved.

  “I’m simply fulfilling my duty so we can close this petition.”

  He seems to be satisfied with that answer as he nods. “Fine.”

  Everyone else whispers to themselves as I look through, opening every vote

  All of them say yes as I suspected.

  “Let the verdict be known that this is a no,” I say smoothly.

  Everyone erupts, pushing the room into chaos.

  “That is not the way your father would have voted,” Mr. Hardington says crossly.

  “Maybe not,” I reply, playing dumb. “But there’s nothing you or anyone else can do now. The dean has the final say whether all the votes are yes or no. Once the decision has been made, it can not be overturned and the petition can not be repeated. Wilhelmera stays.”

  Some of them are slack jawed and some of them are yelling questions, but I don’t have to answer anything. The only thing I have to do is throw all of these votes in the trash and write the outcome on this petition.

  I pop the cap of the pen off with my mouth and scribble ‘no’ in the petition decision spot in the top right corner of the paper. Grabbing my phone from my jacket pocket, I snap a pic of the petition in case they decide to try not to file it.

  “I hope you all understand, I only voted this way because once she’s out
of the country, there’s only so much we can do. She’s responsible somehow, I know it in my gut.” As those words leave my mouth, I’m left with a bitter taste. Especially when they all clap. But why? “Nice to see all of you again. Have a good holiday.” A weight is lifted off my shoulders as I walk out those glass doors and get back in my car.

  I glance down at my father’s phone in the cupholder and finally let myself laugh. I laugh until I almost cry thinking of my father’s face when his car broke down on his way here. And when I took his phone and peeled off? Fucking priceless.

  If everything could work out for me like this, I’d be set.

  I scroll through my phone and find her name, hesitating with my finger hovering above it.

  I can almost hear her firm tone if she were to answer and her stubbornly saying she doesn’t want to talk to me. I can almost picture how she’ll sigh with relief at hearing that she won’t be expelled. A slow smile spreads across my face at the thought.

  No.

  My brother’s face flashes in my head and anger slowly pushes to the surface again.

  I need to stay focused. Stop thinking about her.

  I’ll let her read the verdict in the email.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mera

  I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since Tuesday night. It’s Monday. They should’ve had the meeting by now. I should’ve heard something.

  God, I hate being kept waiting.

  Just give me the bad news already.

  The only thing I got was an email telling me the decision on the petition would be emailed.

  I haven’t gotten any notes since Saturday, so whoever’s been sending them is gone with their family on Thanksgiving break. I don’t know how to feel about that.

  Suddenly, I feel a vibration on my bed and find my phone ringing. It’s Mother.

  I take a deep breath and press accept.

  “Mera, have you heard the decision yet?”

  “No,” I respond slowly. “Did they call you with it?”

  She sighs heavily. “No. But I do know that it won’t be the answer either of us were hoping to get. I spent all day Friday and Saturday talking to the board. Every single member was adamant that their vote would be no.”