by Ruby Vincent
“Are you sure?” said one of the housekeepers. “You’ve been through a lot. We’re more than happy to help.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m fine now.”
I had to repeat that about a half dozen times before they would leave. When I was finally alone, I set about the task of fixing up my room. The whole thing took so long, and was made longer by Sofia’s constant stream of worried text messages. Between unpacking and reassuring her, I missed lunch and was forced to eat a bag of chips I had stashed away from home. I breathed a sigh of relief when I put away my last bottle of Honey Hair shampoo.
I left my massive bathroom and threw myself in bed. My phone buzzed moments after I hit the pillow.
Alex: It’s ready.
That blew away all thoughts of sleep. I quickly typed a reply.
Me: What are you going to do?
Alex: Nothing I haven’t done before. All you need to do is tell me when you’re ready to pull the trigger.
Me: Not now. Tomorrow. 12:15 exactly.
Alex: You got it.
I tossed my phone next to me and fell back into the sheets. What happened last night hadn’t changed what I needed to do. There was another name that would be crossed off my list.
I DIDN’T HAVE THE USUAL eyes following me across the quad the next morning. Instead, I made a quiet trek through the front courtyard and slipped onto the first floor. The stares didn’t hit me until I stepped onto the second. Whispers followed me as I walked to my locker.
“Did you hear what happened?”
“Someone tried to kill her.”
“I know she’s marked, but what kind of psycho would do this?”
“I’m not having anything to do with murder.”
“This is getting crazy.”
My ears were perked and listening closely. This was the first time since that damn card showed up in my locker that my classmates were whispering something about me that I wanted to hear.
Yes, you stupid little sheep. Realize that what is happening to me is wrong.
I rounded the corner and stopped dead. A single person leaned against my locker, clearly waiting for me. I held still for one more second, then kept walking.
“Morning, Ryder,” I said lightly. “What brings you here? Come to threaten me? Choke me? ’Cause you should know I’ve been growing my nails extra long in case I need to rake them across your face again.” I wiggled my fingers between us for effect.
Ryder laughed. His hand closed around mine before I could pull away. “No one’s going to hurt you, Val.” His thumb glided over the sensitive skin of my palm and I couldn’t stop the shiver that traveled up my hand and through my body. I yanked my hand away. “I’m just here to talk,” he continued. “Ezra told me the truth of what happened in the announcer’s box.” His eyes swept over my bandaged nose. “You should know he only got a few weeks of trash duty and a month of Saturday detention. If you thought this was going to get him kicked out, you were wrong.”
I shrugged. “I’m not surprised one of the precious Knights gets away with hurting me.”
“He didn’t touch you.”
“Of course you would believe that.”
“Believe that you’re damaged enough to break your own nose?” A smirk curled his lips. “Yeah, I believe that. You forget how well I know you.”
“I know you too, Ryder,” I replied as I gave him a smile to match. “And I’m not the only one who’s damaged. In my case, I know why. But you... I’ve never understood what made you so broken.” I took a step back. “Maybe it would help if you talked to your dad about it.”
His face twisted into the familiar frown. “Not likely to do that as the guy has been fucking missing for over a year.”
I cocked my head, giving him a strange look. “No, didn’t you hear me? I said to talk to your dad.”
His frown deepened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Gotta go. Time for homeroom.”
“Hey!”
I ignored him and continued on my way. I’d have to get my books later.
Homeroom was packed by the time I walked in. Almost everyone was there including Ezra. His face was expressionless as he tracked me across the room to the phone box, but as always, his eyes said more. I put my phone away and headed for my seat.
“Hold on, Miss Moon.” Wheeldon’s voice stopped me halfway. “I’ve changed your seat. You’ll be in the front row now.”
I turned around and went to the desk he pointed at. Probably a good call to move me away from Ezra, fake beating or not. I sat at my desk with nothing to do but try to ignore the whispers around me. I wasn’t naïve enough to think the fire would make my class lay off, but many of them looked genuinely freaked out. Maybe I could use that to root out who only wanted me gone, and who wanted me dead.
Homeroom let out and I hurried to my locker to get my textbooks. It was nearly impossible to focus on schoolwork that day, and if my professors noticed me wandering, they cut me some slack. Every time I looked at the faces around me, I saw that gloved hand and a dark figure escaping into the night.
The bell chimed for lunch and a chorus of zippers, snapping textbooks, and chairs scraping the floor broke into my thoughts. I got up and joined the crowd on the way to the cafeteria. The lunch lady handed me a tray of chicken cobb salad and pita bread pizza and I took it to my spot at the window. With one eye, I focused on my food, but the other was fixed on the clock.
12:04
12:08
My nails dug into my palms as the seconds ticked down.
12:15
Not bothering to hide my smile, I picked up my pizza and tore off a bite.
“THAT IS REALLY COMING along, Valentina.”
I looked up from my misshapen hunk of clay to shoot Scarlett a look. “Really? Because I’m not even sure what it is.”
Scarlett threw her head back laughing. She once offered to let me hang out in her class when I needed a break and today, I decided to take her up on it. The second my last class let out; I came straight to the art room. Really, I was just delaying the fireworks, but it was nice sitting in this colorful space messing around with clay.
“I’m glad you joined me today, Val.” Scarlett borrowed a stool from another workstation and sat next to me. I caught the serious expression dawning on her freckled face and bit back a sigh. So much for ignoring my troubles. “How have you been, Val? I heard about what happened with you and Ezra. Not to mention the fire in your room.”
“I won’t lie.” I pressed my thumb into the mound of soft clay, dotting it with holes. “It’s been a rough few days.”
“I’ll bet. Your nose. Is it broken?”
I nodded.
Scarlett sucked in a breath. “I can’t believe Ezra would do this. He was such a sweet boy.”
I said nothing.
“And the fire. Who would do something like this?”
“Seems like the kind of thing that would happen in a place that allows kids to be targeted and tortured.” The words fell from my lips unbidden. “I mean, if I could be tripped down the stairs and have my medical history blasted to the world, why shouldn’t I be lit on fire too. It’s just the life of the marked.”
“Valentina...”
I took my eyes off the mess I was making and met hers. She held my gaze for all of five seconds and then looked away. “Is this the part where you pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about?” I asked. “Like all the other staff do.”
“No,” she said softly. “This is the part where I tell you the harsh truth. Our—my—acknowledgment will not help you. There is nothing I can do.”
“I don’t understand that,” I burst out. “Why does everyone in charge act like they are so helpless? It’s fucking Lord of the Flies in here!”
Scarlett didn’t scold me for my language. Instead, she rested her hand on my arm and squeezed. “In that book, there was something at play bigger than those boys could fight. It’s the same here. Evergreen has been this way long before you and I ar
rived and it will remain long after. There are people at work to make it so.”
“The Spades,” I whispered.
Scarlett nodded. Once.
“So they just get to run around the school, doing whatever they want, and no one stops them.”
“You can stop this, Val. You don’t have to put up with this. There are so many good schools.”
I was shaking my head before she finished. “I’m not leaving. There are many good schools, but this one is the best. I’m not giving this chance up.”
I expected more arguing, fussing, groans of frustration, maybe a few headshakes, but instead she smiled. “You’re a brave girl, Valentina. Much braver than I would have been and... braver than I am now.” Lowering her head, Scarlett took a deep breath. “You deserve more than ‘there’s nothing I can do.’ I don’t know how yet, but I’m going to find a way to help you. Put a stop to this.”
Something I hadn’t allowed myself to feel for a long time began to blossom in my chest. “Really? You mean that?”
Scarlett straightened. “Yes. Just tell me what I can do.”
“I mean, I— I don’t—” I bit my lip, thinking. There was one thing I really wanted to know. “Walter McMillian.”
She blinked. “McMillian?”
“Yes.” I got the rest out before I could stop myself. “I want to know more about what happened to him, but I can’t find so much as his name online and people don’t tell me much these days. Do you know anything about what happened to him?”
Scarlett opened her mouth.
“I know it’s a longshot,” I blurted. “You probably weren’t born when he went to school here.”
“I wasn’t, and thank you for noticing.” Scarlett’s grin lightened the mood. “I admit I don’t know much about Walter, but...” A funny look came over her face. “Hang on one second.”
That was all the warning I got before Scarlett popped out of her seat and hurried across the room. Behind her desk was her personal supply closet. She ducked inside. “I wasn’t here,” she called back to me, “but my father was. He was two years ahead of Walter, and you know they keep the classes separate, but I asked him once what he knew about what happened.”
Scarlett reemerged and this time she was holding a book. She held it up triumphantly. “This is his yearbook. Borrowed it once to surprise him with a portrait of his younger days.”
I sat up so fast I almost toppled off the stool. Seriously? Scarlett had been sitting on this the whole time. She flipped through until—
“Ah ha. Here he is.” She placed the book in front of me and pointed to a singular face at the bottom of the page. “Walter McMillian.”
After a year of thinking about this guy and who he was, there he was smiling back at me. I reached for the book, then stopped when I saw my brown hands.
He was cute.
Not sure why that was my first thought, but I couldn’t help it. Even with the long poofy hair and oversized glasses, Walter had the strong jaw and classically handsome looks that made people swoon.
“So he was a sophomore,” I said, peeking the yellow blazer.
“That’s right. That’s when it all went down, I hear.”
“Someone told me his friend was marked and he tried to help them.”
“Not just his friend.” Scarlett pulled the book back toward her and flipped through again. “It was his girlfriend. He loved her, and refused to turn on her.” Scarlett pushed it back and pointed to another face. “It’s a shame. His intentions were good.”
I gazed at the lovely face that looked back at me. No wonder Walter couldn’t let her go. Not even those ridiculous hairstyles could cover up how beautiful this girl was. It wasn’t just her features, but the sweetness you could see in her smile. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt her.
“Nora Wheatly,” I read. “Do you know what happened to her? Why she was marked?”
I deflated when she shook her head. “I know she left the school after he died, but Father wouldn’t give me more details. It was a dark time that hit the school hard. Applications dropped to double digits, and students jumped at their own shadows. No one wants to think about what was done to Walter, or the fact that his killer was never caught.”
I shivered. I couldn’t blame them. This stuff was frightening. “It’s not right what happened to him,” I whispered. “To both of them.”
“No, it wasn’t.” Scarlett closed the yearbook. “But we can’t change it. All we can do is make sure it never happens again.”
To me, went unsaid.
MY THOUGHTS WERE HEAVY as I left Scarlett’s classroom. I haven’t really learned anything new, but at least I know their names.
Sighing, I pushed Walter from my thoughts for the time being and rescued my phone from homeroom. It buzzed in my hand the second I grabbed it.
I hid a grin as I walked past Wheeldon’s desk. Cue the fireworks.
Sofia: Val, the dorm is blowing up.
Sofia: I wish you were in the group chat so you could see this.
Sofia: Screw this. I’m sending you screenshots.
I scrolled through the avalanche of photos she sent me as I let myself into my new building. It was even better than I thought.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I raced to my room, burst inside, and yanked open my laptop. I logged on to my newsfeed and drank in the trending stories.
“Evergreen Gone Wild.”
“What Really Goes On In The World’s Top Prep School?”
“Evergreen Students Involved With Prostitution?”
“Bullying At Evergreen?”
It was so beautiful I thought I would cry. I picked a new site at random and was taken to another page. I didn’t bother to read the article; I only had eyes for the video.
Alex had done an amazing job piecing together the footage from my button cam. He took hours of bullying, taunts, insults, secrets, and stairwell hookups and condensed them down to a five-minute movie trailer of what life in Evergreen was really like—for me.
I had gotten lucky with the hookup video. After a few nights of sticking my head in the stairwell on the way to my room, I finally overheard the sounds that could not be mistaken. A quick run upstairs, ducking my head like I was oh so embarrassed, and the button got the cherry on top of what was a shocking video.
“I was thinking five— No, four dollars for a fuck.”
“There are pills that will help you stay awake to study. You can have some of mine. I also have coke if you’re really hard up.”
“Can I borrow your razor? I’m sneaking Jared in through the window tonight.”
“Cade is going to beat me out for valedictorian at this rate. I’m thinking I should just cheat. There’s a junior who sells term papers for only five hundred a pop.”
“Stop playing hard to get. Give it up already, slut.”
“Out of the way, bitch.”
“Why couldn’t that fall down the stairs have finished you off?”
That last gem Natalie shouted at me across the cafeteria. I had gotten it all, but thanks to Alex, my voice and anything else that could point to me had been scrubbed from the video before they sent it off.
I picked up my phone again and opened the messages from Alex.
Alex: The video is up. Hope you’re pleased with the results.
I thought of the pages of accusations, curses, threats, and blubbing from the group chat, and could just imagine the look on Evergreen’s face as he fell under the wave of bad press and angry phone calls.
Rule Number One, I remembered. Evergreen values its reputation above all.
I typed my reply.
Me: More than pleased.
The List
Airi Tanaka
Natalie Bard
Isabella Bruno
Maverick Beaumont
Ezra Lennox
Jaxson Van Zandt
Ryder Shea
The Spades
Evergreen Academy
Chapter Six
“It was her
, wasn’t it?”
“Of course, it was her. Who else would do something like this?”
“But Valentina wasn’t there when I said that about the pills.” The whispering has started up again, but I was surprised to hear it was mixed. Plenty of people were blaming me, but not all were, thanks to me leaving my cam in the locker room more than once. I had heard so many juicy things in there while I was around, that I knew my cam would pick up even more when I wasn’t.
“My mom recognized my voice,” I overheard Darren say. “Saying that I would pay four dollars for a fuck. She tore into me for half the night.”
“I think it was Katie Reynolds.” These murmurings came to me while I was spinning my dial. “She got into it with Natalie at the start of school and said people were going to see what she was really like.”
“Shit,” another voice said. I kept my face forward, not wanting them to know I was eavesdropping. “No one likes the Diamonds, but you can’t go around doing things like this. Evergreen is going to go mad.”
Hmm. No one likes the Diamonds? That’s good to know.
I got my things out and headed to homeroom. I stepped inside and realized right away that something was wrong. Wheeldon was up and glaring at the four boys standing in front of the phone box.
A hush fell on the classroom as I approached the Knights. “Excuse me.”
Ryder held out his hand. “Give us the phone, Moon.”
“Why would I do that?”
“We know you leaked that video to the press,” said Ezra.
“And when we get proof,” Jaxson continued, “you’re out.”
Ryder stepped forward. “Give me the phone.”
I peered over my shoulder at Wheeldon. “Aren’t you going to do something about this?”
“I... can’t.” His grimace showed how hard he was fighting with himself. “The headmaster told me not to interfere. You need to give them the phone.”
Sighing, I didn’t fight it anymore and plucked it out of my backpack.
“Unlock it.”
“A please wouldn’t kill you,” I mumbled to Ryder as I pressed my thumb to the pad. The home screen lit up and I put my cell in his outstretched hands.