Page 36 of Spin the Damn Bottle

"You didn't send these?" There's a tremble to my voice.

His hand tightens on my shoulder, and he attempts to smile at me, but I see his eyes.

I think I'm going to throw up. That's creepy. Majorly creepy.

I drop the flowers on my tray. "I'm just..."

"Hey, hey. We'll take care of this," he whispers.

The rest of the table is staring at us, but I can't focus on them right now.

"I need to go to the bathroom." I flee.

I know Jason won't like it, but I can't bring myself to care.

In the stall, I stare down at the bowl, feeling bile make its way up my throat. I try to breathe. My heart's racing in my chest, and I feel tears running down my cheeks. I'm not sad; I'm terrified, and just as pissed.

I don't know how long I stay inside, but when I come out of the stall, I notice Brooke, leaning over the sink, up close and personal with the mirror as she touches up her already perfect makeup. Yuki and Sophia stand beside her, the first with her arms crossed, looking bored, and the second, checking her phone.

I’m still shaking, and I hate thinking that those girls could have overheard me as I lost it.

Manon Montgomery and Astrid Nilsson come together. Astrid's a junior, and well on her way to becoming the next Brooke. While she's not my favorite person, we've not really interacted so I don’t have much of an opinion.

Brooke shoves her lipstick into her purse and smiles directly at me through the mirror. "Tummy issues?"

"Something like that," I mutter.

She snorts. "I'll bet. I don't blame you. I'd have tried to get a little Alden in me too, in your shoes."

I'm practically shaking with anger I know isn't entirely directed at her. "Well, I didn't. I guess only one of us is a gold-digging slut."

Yuki blows a reluctant laugh she disguises in a cough, while Sophia openly laughs at her sister's expense.

"What the hell?" Brooke demands. "I never did anything to you."

I pause, taken aback, because, well…she has a point.

Brooke did bully Sophia for two years straight, and I was stuck in the middle, but the girl hasn't actually said or done much to me, personally, even when the rest of the school did.

Suddenly I feel ugly and petty too. As Sophia's friend, I've always hated Brooke. I only ever saw her at the enemy, but Sophia dropped me like a hot potato for greener pastures. Maybe I shouldn't take for granted everything she told me, and claim her enemies as my own.

"I'm sorry," I force out. "This isn't about you. I'm having a shit day." She's right next to me, so I reach out and gently touch her forearm to let her know I mean it. "I know you're not a gold digger, you have plenty of money. And well, you're a slut, but so am I. Sex feels good, right?"

Sophia's gaping in horror, but I tune her out.

As forBrooke, she chokes on a laugh."Duh."

"Hell, yeah. Especially with Jason," Yuki adds.

Oh, that girl."Green's definitely your color. He's mine. Get used to it."

I stroll out of there with my head high. I didn't even vomit.

* * *

Every now and then, our PE class is replaced by outdoor labor disguised as a class, either with the farm, the horses, or gardening. It's meant to teach the spoiled brats of Cross some humility, I think. The jocks are spared, as they need to keep up with their weight and endurance training.

Today,I'm with the horses, although I can't ride. I like horses well enough, and I don't mind mucking their stables as long as I also get to brush them. It's nice, refreshing even, to spend time out of doors, where I get to contemplate just how crazy the campus is.